100 Recipes Every Woman Should Know: Engagement Chicken and 99 Other Fabulous Dishes to Get You Everything You Want in Life by Cindi Leive and the Editors of Glamour (Boek)

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Once upon a time, there was an easy roast chicken recipe, handed down by a fashion editor at Glamour magazine to her assistant, who was in search of a dish to prepare for dinner with her boyfriend. She made the chicken. Her boyfriend loved it. He had seconds. And shortly thereafter, he proposed. But that's not all: Three more young women at the magazine made the chicken for the men in their lives who then, in short order, popped the question. Glamour published the recipe--dubbing it, naturally, Engagement Chicken--and since then, the magazine's editors have heard from more than 60 women who have gotten engaged after making the dish.

Commitment-phobes be warned: This bird means business!

Of course, there is more to life than weddings. And there's more to this cookbook than Engagement Chicken. 100 Recipes Every Woman Should Know also includes 99 of the magazine's other most-loved, best-reviewed dishes, all designed to get you exactly what you want in life, exactly when you want it. From Prove to Mom You're Not Going to Starve Meat Loaf to Impress His Family Chardonnay Cake, these recipes will help you cook with passion and persuasion. And they're all written with your real life and real needs in mind. Because whether you're a novice or an expert, cooking should never be intimidating--and it should always be fun.

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"Recently I met some beautiful young women from Glamour magazine. They make a roast chicken they call `Engagement Chicken' because every time one of them makes it for her boyfriend, she gets engaged! How wonderful is that? That's the best reason I ever heard to make a roast chicken."
--Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa cookbooks

About the Author
Cindi Leive is the editor-in-chief of Glamour magazine, which reaches more than 12 million readers each month, and of glamour.com, one of the best-read women's magazine sites in the United States. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband and two children; her specialty dish is Get Him to Clean the Apartment Burgers, page 109. (Which, by the way, work.)

I really enjoyed the engagement chicken recipe, but the amount of prep work was exhausting. You need to start several months in advance, initially leaving random copies of the recipe around the boyfriend's apartment. Then you need to bring up the recipe whenever possible, like crying when your friends eat engagement chicken, wondering aloud if you're getting too old to eat engagement chicken, and mentioning how happy your mother would be if you finally made engagement chicken. It turned out well (a little lemony), but there were definitely times where I wanted to give up and go to McDonalds for a "I'm going to die alone and the cats will eat my face" chicken sandwich instead.

Otherwise, this is a decent basic starter cookbook, but it is neither very exciting for advanced cooks or very informative for beginner cooks. It seems to be aimed at the latter but does not have pictures or many tips for new cooks.

100 Recipes Every Woman Should Know: Engagement Chicken and 99 Other Fabulous Dishes to Get You Everything You Want in Life is filled with delicious sounding recipes...and, it's fun to read!

I have actually made the roast chicken recipe and it is very good. (Already married when I made it...)Roast chicken is a comfort food and it looks like a big deal to make--although it is actually very easy. When a woman (or man for that matter) cooks for her boyfriend--especially when it's a comfort food--it says I love you and I'll take care of you. This is even more significant if the boyfriend (or girlfriend) doesn't really cook themselves. It really IS a big deal to have someone cook for you.

Cooking really CAN get you what you want! (Within reason, of course...) Cooking for a loved one makes them feel good and special...make their favorite dish and the world is your oyster!

If you are looking for more "love potions", make sure your home is conducive for love. Try a little Feng Shui in the love corner! My favorite book for that (includes some good recipes, too) is HARMONIOUS ENVIRONMENT.

Like I said, many of the titles to these recipes will just make you smile...silly stuff. But the reality is, buy this book if you don't know how to cook--or even if you do, as it has lots of nice recipes. Why? As sexist as it sounds, women should know how to cook for their man! (Or, if the guy likes to cook, fine! Gay couples, you know what I mean...)There is NOTHING like a home cooked meal to show you love someone. In addition, when you cook, you put your energy into the dish...it just tastes better than store bought!

Highly recommend!

http://www.amazon.com/Recipes-Every-Woman-Should-Know/dp/1401324061/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1351338579&sr=8-1&keywords=100+recipes+every+woman+should+know