I can honestly say, I never found an appeal to food cooked with alcohol even before I realized my alcoholism. So it's kind of a "Don't miss what I never had" kind of thing.

That being said, I noticed a lot more people "accidentally" offered me desserts, that are soaked in rum, the last few weeks. They realize their mistake before I open my mouth to respond, but it's had me wondering what the universe is saying lol. I guess I made a lot of friends this year, who want to share! Lol

To answer your question, I'm not sure. I would feel guilty if I bought alcohol to cook with.

I don't cook with alcohol and never have, so for me this is a non-issue. My opinion is that it should just be considered on a person by person basis. Most recipes which include alcohol call for a very, very little amount. Yes, you'd be consuming alcohol, but not with the desire to get drunk. My personal experience is much like 1-2, I liked the effect - what it feels like to be drunk. So cooking with alcohol wouldn't be my thing anyway. Unless you go to the booze in the cheerios scenario, there's never enough added to get a buzz... my 2 cents.

yeh, I have never used alcohol in cooking either :)

Great question. I've heard the alcohol is burned out of the food, and it's just a flavor thing, but I do know that early on once I smelled the tequila in the shrimp I was eating and it "did something to me." I got scared and called another alcoholic and they assured me there was no alcohol in the shrimp.

Honestly, I think if your desire to drink, or your reaction to how alcohol affects you has been changed, by a higher power, alcohol in any form will no longer have a positive affect on you, and I know the AA Nazi's will disagree, but if God is all powerful, who is to say he can't completely change the way your body reacts and the way your mind reacts even if you take the drink or eat food with alcohol in it?

I've had two times in my sobriety when I encountered alcohol post-God removing a desire to drink alcohol in my life. The one time was when some stupid little wench knowing served me a dessert with alcohol in it, and the other time was when one of my co-workers equally stupidly didn't know the difference between a sweet and sour mix and a margarita mix at work. Both times nothing happened allergenically, and in my inventory those nights what some might think was an unfortunate event, showed me that God really is powerful enough to completely change people's bodies, minds, and spirits when it comes to alcohol being inside of them.

I've heard terrible horror stories of "purest" insisting you can't take pain pills, can't use things like red wine vinegar, cannot use rubbing alcohol! I have first hand experience knowing, once God does a great act and removes the affect alcohol has on the alcoholic, and that alcoholic is committed to God doing so, in order for the life to be alcohol free, then if mistakenly taken or even if taken just out of curiosity, the recovery and the ability to continue to manage will stay intact.

I've got to remember that alcohol was never the problem or out to get me, it was how my body and mind reacted to it, and once I gave my body and mind over to God, if it changed, then that is a testament to how powerful God is.