So, it’s the beginning of a new school year, and you’ve got a hot prospect. How can you woo him (or her, as the case may be) and get those googly eyes to focus only on you?

Easy.

It’s like your mom always said: the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Even if you aren’t exactly Julia Child, you can still follow instructions, and that’s all you need to do to bust out a romantic dinner that’ll have him drooling for your food and bolting with you to the bedroom.

Trust me, it’s way better to make food for your dude than take him out. Anyone can whip out a credit card, but it makes you look extra-special if you can whip out a spatula and use it like you’re supposed to. Plus, it’s obviously sweeter to make dinner than to buy it, and it gives you the opportunity to tailor what you make to what your guy really likes. (And it might even inspire him to cook for you . . . swoon!)

Before you get carried away, don’t go all Bridget Jones and try to make super-fancy recipes for multiple courses. Keep it simple, especially if you don’t have a ton of cooking experience. Odds are, your guy loves the classics: what meat-eating man would deny a nicely grilled steak or a plate of spaghetti just like his mom used to make?

So set out that tablecloth, light those candles, put on some tunes, and give these two tried-and-true recipes a whirl. Read More »

The ladies of Tough Love were back last night and, as on the first two episodes, sexy Steve had a sexy lesson up his sleeve. He instructed each girl to set up their own photoshoot where they demonstrated what “sexy” means to them. The definition of sexuality is personal and unique to each individual, so this photoshoot would reveal how the women feel about their bodies and what they think men find attractive. The main test here is whether the girls can recognize the thin line between what is considered sexy and what is actually slutty.

Arian (Miss Party Girl) totally missed the boat and went straight for nudity and soft-core porn poses. Although I am definitely not surprised by her choice, I’m disappointed that she wasn’t able to see the point of this test. She knows that her ultra-sexual nature is what landed her in a Tough Love Boot Camp, so why did she waste this valuable learning experience by regressing? And with whipped cream, no less?! Read More »

I have never liked blueberry pie. In fact, I would even go beyond that—I’ve always thought it was disgusting. I am not the biggest fan of fresh blueberries, either, but lately I have started to like them more and more.

Despite all of this, last week I could not stop thinking about how I really wanted to make a blueberry pie. Why did I think this… why? I have no idea. I am still unable to explain it. But I suspect it was divine intervention, because the resulting blueberry pie was THE BEST THING I HAVE EVER EATEN.

The recipe is dunce-free (not that CC readers are dunces, of course) and uses fresh berries, which I suspect is the real reason for my enthusiasm behind this pie. All previous blueberry pies that were set in front of me were either a) made from cans of blueberry pie filling or b) things that I refused to eat because I was under the impression that I hated blueberry pie. Read More »

Here’s a simple Q&A to get this party started.

Q: What’s better than ice cream?

A: Ice cream cake, of course.

Q: What’s better than ice cream cake?

A: Ice cream cake that’s not very bad for you—low-guilt ice cream cake, if you will.

Q: How are you going to impress your friends and family on the 4th of July?

A: By making them this beautiful, low-guilt ice cream cake!

Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, roll up your sleeves and get ready, because this is the simplest ice cream cake EVER. It has four ingredients: Read More »

The quintessential dessert of summer is the strawberry shortcake, and for good reason. There’s even a licensed character named after the dessert, for crying out loud. So when you make one, you want to make it good—and no, that does not involve picking up a four-pack of preservative-loaded, Twinkie-like “shortcakes” from Walmart.

What, you’ve never made your own shortcake before? Then you, my friend, are seriously missing out. Allow me to be your guide for your first foray into the world of better-tasting shortcakes—once you’ve entered, you’ll never look back.

For two nice-sized shortcakes (a little bigger than those store-bought lumps), you need:

• 2/3 cup flour

• a generous sprinkle (about 1/8 tsp) salt

• ½ tsp baking powder

• 1 ½ tablespoons sugar Read More »

This happens to me all the time: I want to eat a nice, healthy salad, I really do—but I crave sugar instead. Usually, I end up eating a square of chocolate instead of a bowl of Romaine.

But now I’ve found the perfect solution: sweet spinach salad!

This takes less than five minutes to make, and it’s DELICIOUS. I feel like I am eating a dessert salad whenever I make it, no joke. All you need is some spinach, a few strawberries, a dab of honey, and a squirt of lemon juice.

Easy process: slice the strawberries and cut off the tops. Rinse the spinach and chop or tear it into smaller pieces. Toss the spinach and the strawberries in a bowl, and poke them for a few seconds to combine them.

Now for the fun part: squirt the lemon juice (I use about half a teaspoon) over the salad, then drizzle the honey over it. Mix everything up with your fork, and that’s IT! Dig in and enjoy… it’s the perfect side for a warm, summery day.

So, I set out the other night to make a crostata, but let’s just say I don’t seem to be at that level in my baking prowess yet. In my understanding, a crostata is supposed to have a nice, firm, flaky, golden brown crust… and, well, mine didn’t.

In good news, though, it tasted great. And it ended up looking exactly like something else I like a lot—pizza.

So if you too want to try dessert pizza, here’s all you need: about 1 cup sliced fresh strawberries, 1 small sliced apple (optional), 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 ½ teaspoons cornstarch, 1 tablespoon water, enough pie dough for 1 small pie (use your discretion), 1-2 tablespoons chocolate chips, 1 tablespoon milk, and a little bit (not more than a tablespoon) of brown sugar, oats, and flour. Read More »