The way to a man's heart....

... is through his stomach.

I've been cooking for guys for a few years now so I know this first hand. Beside, I don't think I'm the only person who can attest to this either. I'm a pretty damn good cook if I do say so myself and there are a few things that I make that, when mentioned, make my friends' eyes light up.... which is why I make them so often. There is nothing more pleasing to a cook than seeing people truly enjoy the fruits of their labor... and my friends never fail to enjoy what I cook..

My favorite is introducing my friends to old family recipes that I've loved for years and having them love them as much or more than I do, like galumpkis (cabbage rolls) and kifli (crescent cookies). Puffy and Joey are usually the ones who get to be my guinea pigs when I attempt new recipes and as far as I know, I haven't disappointed them yet.

One of my favorite new recipes is carbomb cupcakes/cake (which Puffy recently requested and I have spent a good part of the day working on): Guinness chocolate cake, Jameson ganache, and Bailey's Irish Cream frosting. I've made them quite a few times since I put them together and they never fail to be a huge hit.

picture and recipe from http://www.mybakingaddiction.com/guinness-cupcakes/

They even made my friend Evan think of me when he found a recipe for Blue Moon cupcakes. Which he sent me with the a note saying that I needed to make them next time he was in town. They weren't as good as the carbomb cupcakes but they weren't bad.

Oh, another thing. If alcohol and/or bacon can be added to a recipe, do it! Don't think twice! Not only will they make it better, guys will love you for it.

...Oh, gravy and cheese, too.