They that love Mirth, let them heartily Drink,
‘Tis the only Receipt to make Sorrow sink.Ben Jonson (1572-1637) English playwright and poet
“Private Entertainment of the King and Queen,” Highgate, London (1604-05-01)
(Source)
Receipt and recipe (both from the Latin recipe "you take this!") were originally used in English for medical formulations and prescriptions. "Receipt" was often abbreviated "Rt," which, as a ligature, looks like "℞" or "Rx" -- which is still used as an abbreviation a medical prescription.
Quotations about:
recipe
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The only American invention as perfect as a sonnet.
H. L. Mencken (1880-1956) American writer and journalist [Henry Lewis Mencken]
(Attributed)
Referring to the dry martini cocktail.
A cookbook is only as good as its poorest recipe.
Julia Child (1912-2004) American chef and writer
Quoted in Frank Prial, “Light’s Still on Julia Child,” New York Times (1997-10-08)
(Source)
Apparently a phrase she used frequently, as she drew on numerous cookbooks as source material and reference for her own. Another use can be found in an interview with Mike Sager, "What I've Learned: Julia Child," Esquire (1 Jun 2000).
Often given (perhaps from other occurrences) as "A cookbook is only as good as its worst recipe." For example, her obituary by Regina Schrambling, "Julia Child, the French Chef for a Jell-O Nation, Dies at 91," New York Times (13 Aug 2004).
