I’m a firm believer that you can cook your way to a man’s heart. Look at Ina Garten (aka Barefoot Contessa) and her beloved Jeffrey. When Jeffrey was in college and Ina was barely legal, she would send home made brownies and cookies to his dorm. And they’ve been happily married ever since.

I may be a little foodie but I’m embarrassed to admit that I can’t navigate my way around a kitchen (which probably explains why there is no Jeffrey to my Ina). But if I really like someone I’ll make the effort to channel my inner chef and unleash the domestic goddess within.

Like making baked ziti.

Some epicureans may scoff at the simplicity of this pedestrian pasta dish but I’m telling you that I made this for my then boyfriend at the beginning of our courtship and he stuck around! Of course, I also bathed the pasta with logs of butter and pools of olive oil and parmesan but, hey, it’s the taste that matters!

But the dish that really sealed the deal was the Gold Coast French Toast from 101cookbooks. Or as I like to call it, “challah back french toast”.

You use thick slices of challah or any other sweet bread and saturate it in evaporated milk or half and half. I find that using half and half makes it much more luxurious than regular milk. And you can use heart shaped cookie cutters and serve your heart..er…french toast… on a platter.

Because you’re using such thick slices of bread, it can take a while to thoroughly cook each slice. So it’s best to make this dish during a languid, rainy Sunday–when you have all the time in the world to read the Sunday paper, lounge on the couch, and lick the remnants of cinnamon and nutmeg off your fingers.