How to “Get ‘Em Girl’s”

I’m not sure how to take The Official Get ‘Em Girl’s Guide. The cookbook “has the stated goal of uplifting women by helping them use food to get the man of their dreams.” It contains enough tips to get even rank beginners through the preparation of a heavy – by which I mean unhealthy – comfort food-type meal, which (of course) is exactly the type of meal that will win the heart of a man.

That is assuming that all men at like those portrayed in so many fast food ads: so macho that they need to break into song at random intervals to trumpet their male-ness, lift and/or pull heavy objects and eat large quantities of meat at every conceivable opportunity.

Now, it’s entirely possible that the book is a somewhat heavy-handed, tongue-in-cheek look at the age old saying “the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach,” but this is one cookbook gimmick that absolutely does not appeal to me, despite the fact that I usually like every cookbook that crosses my path. The ideas that women don’t have much to offer and that men have such a limited range of things they can appreciate just rub me the wrong way in general, and aren’t really selling points when there are so many more useful cookbooks out there (try How to Cook Everything, for example). 

If you want to seduce a man or a woman with food, find out what he or she likes and try to cook it well. Even if it doesn’t turn out perfectly, it’ll get you much farther in the long run than relying on stereotypes for your menu choices!