The Guy Can't Cook: Over 350 Fantastic No-Fail Recipes a Guy Can't Be Without.

John Abbott is a professor of history at Laurentian University’s Algoma University College. He is the co-author of The Border at Sault Ste Marie and The History of Fort St. Joseph.

This is not your grandparents’ world. Gender roles and responsibilities have been decoupled. Don’t panic, guys. Suck it up. “Put on your whites, and get ready to learn what those chef guys already know: cooking isn’t brain surgery. But it’s creative, challenging, and it can make you as sexy and addictive as chocolate mousse.” That is Cinda Chavich’s advice, followed by about 500 pages of instruction, wherein the guy’s predilections for the basics (sustenance such as sandwiches, soups, diner dinners and pasta) are taken in hand and refined through sections dealing in decadence (dining à deux, steak house suppers, wine geek dinners, small plates, Szechuan dreams, and dreamy desserts) to celebratory observance (the big holiday dinner, high holidays, fancy baking, sauces, dressings, and extra info). All this is followed by advice about culinary gadgets, mixing and matching menus, and an introduction to culinary terminology.

Chavich knows her guys. The recipe for Pasta Fresca shows them how to shape up. Make this when tomatoes are in season. “Take some fresh tomatoes, basil, olive oil, and a few shards of good Parmesan cheese. Toss it all together with hot, chunky pasta and you’ll be eating before the fat lady sings. Add some capers for a shot of acidity—if you like that sort of thing. A dab of chili paste is good for guys who like to spice it up.” Forget the whizzer. Chop up the tomatoes by hand into small pieces and combine with the other ingredients. “Squish and mash everything around with a fork and set aside at room temperature to marry.” Then deal with the pasta. Upping the ante, there’s “Tenderloin for Two” with lemon herb butter. Here, as elsewhere, there is advice for the “Wise Guy.” “The classic ‘aphrodisiac’ vegetable is the asparagus—long, slender spears to pick up with your hands and nibble from tip to base.” And so it goes from “Sticky Toffee Pudding with Rum Sauce” to “Suicide Chipotle Wings.”

This hefty volume is worth its weight in saffron. Its advice is golden.