Customer Reviews

Cooking Your Way To Romance

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This is one of the best cookbooks I've ever owned. It's witty, and charming, and full of great recipes. The directions are clear and the dishes turn out great. And of course, I love it when my husband cooks for me!

This is a handy book for any man looking to either get started cooking or add a lot more recipes to their repertoire. The recipes are easy to follow and shouldn't be difficult for a first time cook. Initially the recipes are themed together so that you can cook several items for one meal. With each of these sections is a story with insites on adding romance to your relationship. In the back of the book are even more recipes and a quick guide to selecting wine. Although it's a thin book, don't let that fool you because there is plenty of good content and it's well worth the buy, with recipes as simple as guacamole dip to harder dishes like roast duck. Give it a try!

This is a great book for the epi-curious romantic, but also stands on its own as an inspiration for the more experienced. The humor, full-meal suggestions, and anecdotes make this much more than a simple collection of recipes; and it's further enriched with a guide to wine selection, a guide on setting the table, unit conversions, and a glossary of terms. And while the book is very oriented towards "the traditionally inexperienced man cooking for his woman", it's innocent enough that I think it lends itself to any wooing situation.

One of the hardest things with any new endeavor is getting past the learned or imagined certainty that you're doomed to failure--Cooking Your Way to Romance eases this fear with its light humor, personal stories to pull you in, and calm assurance that if you try, it'll be all right. It's also filled with recipes for more than just the food on the table. It guides you through eight full meals--dinners and lunches, soups, salads--and preparation of mood and self.

Romance is kindled with some setting with a bit of the author's background--and a delicious dinner centered around a chicken parmigiana. The first accompanying illustration shows a young man choking a still-feathered chicken in a pot, a skeptical woman standing back: "I appreciate your intentions, but who's going to clean up this mess when you're done?" The instructions are much more sane, and easy to follow (though I still made a few mistakes--I can say from experience that the recipes in this book are very forgiving).

The meals are an international tour for your loved one: Italy, Mexico, France, New Orleans, and more, with running commentary egging you on, lovely illustrations, and decent full-color photos of many of the meals to let you know what you should be winding up with.

While none of the individual recipes are intrinsically more romantic than they would be if found somewhere else, Cooking Your Way to Romance packages everything in such a way that romance is always close at hand. The book weaves a tale through the planned meals, guiding setting and mood, and telling the story of your romancing--not just from your point of view, but from your partner's, as well, with snippets of conversation between your partner and their friends, suggesting the effects your cooking is having so that you can feel them and believe them. Just remember the mantra--you're doing this for _them_.

As an inexperienced cook, I could have used more suggestions as to how long things would take to prepare (a gimmick could have been ratings--novice, journeyman, master); and perhaps hints on possible substitutions (I had a tough time tracking down tomatillos), and something that's always perplexed me--what to do with the extra ingredients when you inevitably buy more than the recipe calls for.

That said, I'm looking forward to revisiting the meals I've accomplished so far and approaching meals I haven't yet found the time for; my wife insisted that I get a copy to keep in addition to the one we raffle off.

Illustrations by Lanny Liu nicely enhance the commentary and recipes of Carl R. Wendtland in "Cooking Your Way To Romance", a thoroughly 'user friendly' collection of easy, delicious, elegant dishes suitable for any romantically inclined dining occasion from a first date to a 50th anniversary celebration. The twist is that these are recipe instructions designed to be carried out for men! Of special note are the 'Wine Selection' section about the basics of choosing and serving an appropriate beverage, and the 'Glossary of Terms' for guys unfamiliar with kitchen jargon. "Cooking Your Way To Romance" takes even the most novice aspiring chef through each recipe step-by-step in a readily accessible manner which insures success for ever dish, ever time. "Cooking Your Way To Romance" is the perfect do-it-yourself cookbook for guys wanting to impress the gals in their life!

I had such a great time working on this project, and it is so pleasing to see that people are finding value in Carl's philosophy about Life, Marriage and it's inextricable link to the kitchen.

Carl and his wife, Moralee, have been married for 39 years and Carl attributes this success to his personal approach: cherish your wife as the most valuable person in your life. Carl chose cooking as a way to show Moralee his feelings for her, and he did this by creating delicious meals and adding that special ambiance that would transport her from her everyday life, staright into setting of his choosing; whether it be Italy, Mexico, New Orleans or France.

Join Carl in this expression of Romance in the kitchen, and create delectable menus such as: Roast Duck on a Bed of White and Wild Rice, Crawfish Etouff'ee, Chicken Enchiladas Verde, Carmora's Tuscan Style Soup with Salad and Breadsticks... and more!

Not only is this book a great addition to YOUR kitchen, but it makes a fantastic gift book, as well. Give a copy of "Cooking Your Way To Romance" as a gift for one of these special occasions:

Wedding Gift
Valentine's Day Gift
Birthday Gift
Bachelor's Gift
Sweetest Day Gift
Wedding Favor
Graduation Gift

Buy this book for yourself or for another -- but either way, BUY IT, you won't be sorry.