When I tell someone that I really don’t know what is in my phyllo appetizers (or my marinades, or my chutneys), I’m not kidding. I’m really not trying to be selfish or covert.

I normally do begin with a recipe, but after an initial perusal of my pantry and fridge, that recipe gets a radical make-over. On some of my more organized days, I might record the changes I make in the margins, but as a rule, the only way to reprise one of my recipes exactly is either by having extra-sensory tasting and smelling abilities, or by running lab tests on the stuff stuck to the pages of the cookbook.

I do have some general—and I do mean GENERAL—flavour principles that I follow. I divide my seasonings into roughly—and I do mean ROUGH—ethnic or geographical categories. My phyllo fillings can usually be categorized as Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, or Asian influenced.

These all have subgroups. Mediterranean includes Greek and Italian; Middle Eastern includes Egypt and Israel with a side trip into Morocco; Asian spans from India to China, including anything with curry. I told you that they were vague.

There is one final auxiliary branch: dessert.

Based on these criteria, my phyllo appetizers could contain any of the following:

oregano, basil, rosemary, fennel, mozzarella cheese, feta cheese, any goat cheese, Asiago and Romano cheese, kalamata olives, capers, roasted garlic, spinach, chard,  sun-dried tomatoes, marinated artichoke hearts and mushrooms, pine nuts, anchovies, olive oil, eggplant, dill, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, cloves, all of the “C” spices, allspice, mint, honey, currants, dates, bulgur, tahini, chick peas, walnuts, pistachios, sesame seeds, sesame oil, curry, garam masala, 5-spice powder, ginger, saffron, chilies, cauliflower, frozen peas, snow peas, lentils, cabbage, shitake mushrooms, peanuts, coconut, or tofu.

Add into these any part-jars of chutney, mustard, barbecue sauce, tomato sauce, or ketchup that I might find hanging out in the fridge, you now have a pretty vast ingredient list that would test the memory of the best brain in the country.

I also adjust my filling if it seems too wet by adding bread or cereal crumbs, or grated cheese. If it seems too dry, I will often add an egg, balsamic vinegar, Worchester sauce, kejap manis, or booze.

Dessert phyllo are fairly simple. They are usually either brie or stilton, with some sort of sweet sauce or chutney, nuts, and dried fruit. Just don’t ask what’s in the chutney, because you will get a similarly vague answer, although I can state with fair certainty that there will always be allspice and currants in my chutney.

There is one method to my madness: I use different shapes to identify whether the filling is vegetarian or not. I always reserve the triangle shape for cheese and vegetable fillings and use cigar shapes for anything with seafood or chicken in it. I rarely would use pork or beef as I don’t eat them.

I try to do sweet phyllo in purse or package shapes, but you can also distinguish these by sprinkling them with crushed pistachio or pecans.

If you still don’t believe me, I should also add that I usually pre-make my appetizers long in advance and freeze them. I also freeze any left-over filling to make additional batches. I know that I should be labelling my containers, but I always figure that I will remember! It’s just a silly little game I play with my own mind; I’m really not trying to mess with yours!

Despite my not actually having these recipes written down, I manage to make my phyllo triangles or antipasto or chutney time and again, and they taste very much like they did the time before. I cannot account for this scientifically. This has been the best that I could do.