Q: Is writing a recipe and its directions down in my notebook copyright infringement or fair use?

A: Let's not overthink this.

On the other hand - if your cooking counts as satire, it could be fair use!

A: * If you are simply writing down a recipe from another source for your own personal use in your notebook, that would generally be considered fair use and not copyright infringement. Some key factors to consider:

* Recipes themselves cannot be copyrighted, but the creative expression surrounding a recipe (like the text and formatting of a cookbook) can be.

* Making a copy of a recipe just for your own cooking uses is usually seen as fair use, similar to copying just a couple pages from a book. This is a non-commercial personal use and doesn't harm the market for the original work.

* However, if you extensively copied full cookbooks or website content without permission and tried to pass it off as your own, that could cross the line into infringement. Or if you wanted to publish the copied recipes in your own cookbook or website for commercial gain, that would require permission.

* Simply jotting down a recipe in your personal cooking notebook does not appear to meet the standards for infringement. As long as you give credit to the recipe source and don't try to commercially benefit, you should be fine legally. It’s a very common practice for home cooks to write down recipes for their own kitchen use.

So in summary - no need to worry about copyright issues just for keeping helpful recipes in your personal cooking notebook at home. That falls under accepted fair use exceptions.