Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

I'm a horrific grudge holder. I'd serve my worst enemy a large helping of my boot on their butt.

Yes, grudge holder - that would be me, and mind you, I'm cursed with an elephant's memory, so I truly never forget. That said, if for some reason I could not just shut my door in front of my worst enemy's faces, yeah, I'd serve them tea or coffee. It has happened (the person in question didn't do anything to me directly, but to my husband. He showed up with some of our friends. Oh, and my husband forgave him. I will never be able to). I was bleeding inside, but I served him tea with biscuits, just like I did to everybody else who happened to be in my house at that time.

Honestly, I would bake for them the best treats that I know, or cook them the best meal that I know, accompanied by the best drinks (coffee, wine, et cetera). And I would take pleasure in them enjoying it as much as someone that I truly cared about would enjoy it.

Speaking from personal experience, karma - both good and bad - always come back to you.

@Traveller: I, too, would relish their enjoyment of my food and drink. Mainly because it is the sensible thing to do, as it will not stoke the fire. And also because it would feel like taking control and winning them over.

I suppose the feelings depend on your history with an enemy.

Beer. Lets have a few drinks and bury the hatchet. Figuratively speaking.

The only real enemy I have is my evil, evil, evil ex-husband. The man still cannot figure out why I left him??!! a Anyway, I am tempted to take a page from the movie, "something to talk about" where Julia Roberts made a nice dinner with a little 'something extra' in the ingredient list. As the aged aunt said, "it won't kill him but it will make him sick as the dog he is"... mwhahahahahaha!! And yes, I know I probably got the quote wrong- it's been ages since I saw that movie.

@Brooke29: I hear ya! I have the same memory you do. It is a curse.

I've tried the nice route. It doesn't work in this country. I bought top shelf alcohol (as in Rum, Tequila, and Vodka) for someone I did not like since I knew they were coming over (other people were stopping by as well, hence the quantity-my house is the party house since I am known as quite a hostess). I figured maybe my hospitality would calm that person down. Not even a thank you or anything. Ugh, so disgusted. I went out of my way. Last time that will happen. If someone's jealous-there's nothing you can do...Kindness won't kill that.

Can you still buy strychnine?

@RichardCrystal--you're comment reminded me of one my favorite plays, "Arsenic and Old Lace." Here's part of a synopsis I found on wikipedia:

"His family includes two spinster aunts who have taken to murdering lonely old men by poisoning them with a glass of home-made elderberry wine laced with arsenic, cyanide and "just a pinch" of strychnine."

They don't exist to me. I seldom invite friends over, so I sure as hell wouldn't invite an enemy over.

What did Judas eat at the Last Supper?

Here's a new wrinkle:

Regarding enemies of chefs. . . . does anybody know of an instance where a culinary professional was less than hospitable to a nemesis patron or restaurant reviewer?

As in any profession, chefs are prone to giving VIP treatment to VIP's (whomever the VIP may be in their mind, either personal or professionally based). There are scores of stories flying around about individual reviewers and chefs - all to be taken with a grain of salt for the urge to make good stories out of things is a strong urge in most anyone I've ever met. And of course there are sites to be found online where waiters rant on about their customers, including stories of how they (mostly) or the chef (sometimes) evened the score.

On the other hand, here is an interesting story of warmth actually being grown across a very troubled table by the act of sharing a common food-oriented task: Lose Weight Make Peace at Middle East Diet Group.

I'm not above using food as a weapon.

My favorite food weapon is sausage bread.
My ex-MIL used to make it - her son (my ex-hubby) loved it. When we were married he always asked me to make it, so I did, though I really didn't eat much of it - it's not my kind of thing to eat.

He had a second place to live, supposedly for business in a different town - sometime into our marriage. I stayed home and raised the children alone a lot, thinking "He's working so hard". Ha, ha, ha!

Well, the laughter probably has warned you of what's next.

I kept on trying to send food with him to this other apartment when he came home every two weeks or so . . . and I really just could not understand why he wouldn't take it, particularly the sausage bread. He loved it, and it had an emotional significance as it was something his mother had made and he connected it to her (and of course men generally have very soft spots in their hearts for their mothers, and rightly so!).

It was after I discovered that he was living with another woman in that apartment that I understood why he didn't want to take the sausage bread. Funny - because his reluctance to take the sausage bread was the sole, singular, only clue I had that anything was awry! Everything else was hunky-dory, no other clues.

I should have listened to the sausage bread. It could have warned me.

Now, happily divorced from this ridiculous situation, I send sausage bread on holidays to him and his new family. It is a delicious thing.

Funny how I hear they do not eat it. :)

That is the flip side of this question. How does good food taste to those who approach the table as enemy?

It is never just about the tastebuds. :)