I'm a huge fan of quick and easy. No, not what you're thinking. (At least in this case.) Quick and easy like cooking on a weeknight after a long day. At that point all I want is a lot of flavor without a lot of effort. So, rather than have to eat out of styrofoam box, I became good at finding shortcuts.

One shortcut is using simple marinades on meat and fish. Marinades that are big on flavor, but take only a minute or two to make. Nothing complicated. One way to do this is to use flavored vinegars.

Chef Rafael Palomino, owner and executive chef of Sonora, Pacifico and Palomino's Grill restaurants in New York, offers some great vinegars infused ...More

Try and sit in front of the TV watching sports all weekend and not have a bowl of snacks nearby. No pretzels. No chips. No dip. Nothing.

Never happen. We watch sports, we snack. It's part of our genetic makeup. Cavemen used to sit around ...More

Chocolate has been riding high ever since studies started to show benefits ranging from increases in heart health to boosts in brain function. And chocolate's reputation as a mood enhancer is legendary. (You married guys know what I'm talking about.) ...More

Here's something I honestly didn't know: Beef jerky is a high protein, low fat, nutritious snack. Judging by the people I've always seen eating it, I just figured it had to be bad for you. ...More

Attention amateur chefs: the deadline for entry in the 2007 National Beef Cook-Off is almost here.

The National Beef Cook-Off, the country's premier amateur beef-cooking contest, (not like those underground, back-alley amateur beef-cooking contests you read about), ...More

OK, kids. Today's word is "tostada". A tostada is defined by The Food Encyclopedia as: "a Mexican tortilla, usually crisply fried and topped with meat and vegetables." Fried and topped with meat? Gotta love that Mexican cuisine.

I found a great version that goes one better - by bringing tequila into the mix. Tequila-Cured Salmon Tostadas is a recipe from Fonda San Miguel, a favorite of Austin, Texas restaurant-goers for over thirty years.

It's a little more complex than the usual recipes I post, but even novices can get it done, and it's well worth the effort. The salmon has to be cured in tequila a full day in advance, but it goes together quickly once the fish is marinated.

It makes an impressive appetizer for that dinner for two you promised to cook her. Just make sure she knows how much effort you put into it.

Here's how you do it.

I turned on the radio this morning and caught the tail end of a discussion about a survey ranking the top five or ten types of guys that get all the women.

I only heard the top four. Numbers 4, 3 and 2 were: Surfer Dude, Musician and Artist. I can see that. One is a laid-back, easy-going, (read: brain-dead, unimposing) guy who is fit, tan, and engages in a relatively dangerous sport. (Cue swooning perky chicks in bikinis.) The other two are sensitive types who "speak" to women through their art. (Cue swooning emotional chicks in all black and heavy eye makeup.)

After much discussion they got to the number one choice. Athletes? Financial Wizards? Guys With a Sense of Humor? Sensitive Types Who Cry During Kodak Commercials? Nope. The number one type of guy women find most attractive is: Guys Who Cook.

So you can ride the waves and write love songs all you want. If you want to score with women, make them dinner. (Have I not been telling you this?)

Can't cook? Learn. (Tip: Watch Giada De Laurentiis on the Food Network. Trust me.) And I'll be posting more recipes and tips regularly. Until then, fake it. Start with things that are so easy to prepare you can do it even if you can barely make toast. A good place to start is by finding products and dishes that require minimal cooking skill.

Go get some stuff from Tastefully Simple. They have over 50 gourmet products that are good to go either right out of the box, or by adding one or two other ingredients. Examples? They have a Milan Sunset Pasta Sauce Mix that only requires you to add diced tomatoes and a splash of olive oil. She'll think it's homemade. For dessert they have a number of options that'll make you look like a pastry chef. The easiest is the Chocolate Ugly Cake. Dump the mix and some water into a pan and bake. Spoon into a wine glass, top with fresh raspberries and you're in.

They have soups, seasonings, breads, dressings and snacks as well. Whatever you need to go gourmet. And most products run between $3.99 and $12.99, so she can eat like a queen, without you spending like a king.

Available at www.tastefullysimple.com