Why Is Mario Batali on Food Stamps?

[Alcibiades]

12. That's absolutely true

The strange thing is that some folks seem to think cooking is not masculine. I was talking to my aunt a few months ago about my recipe for butter chicken, and she said to me that it's a wonder I'm not gay. I told her that cooking doesn't make you gay, it's being attracted to the same sex that makes you gay.

But what I wish I had said was that the reason I know how to cook is because I like to eat. If you don't know how to cook, you're a slave to other people. You're dependent upon someone else to prepare your food the way you like it. How manly is that? Plus, eating out is expensive. I know so many single guys who never learned to cook who waste so much money on dining out, much of it at fast food places where the food is bad and bad for you.

All it takes is one good cookbook, even a basic one: I use the better homes and gardens one. And the internet is a good resource. You also have to learn how to actually follow the recipes, most of which have been tried and tested by better cooks.