Once upon a time, there was an easy roast chicken recipe, handed down by a fashion editor at Glamour magazine to her assistant, who was in search of a dish to prepare for dinner with her boyfriend. She made the chicken. Her boyfriend loved it. He had seconds. And shortly thereafter, he proposed. But that's not all: Three more young women at the magazine made the chicken for the men in their lives who then, in short order, popped the question. Glamour published the recipe--dubbing it, naturally, Engagement Chicken--and since then, the magazine's editors have heard from more than 60 women who have gotten engaged after making the dish.

Commitment-phobes be warned: This bird means business!

Of course, there is more to life than weddings. And there's more to this cookbook than Engagement Chicken. 100 Recipes Every Woman Should Know also includes 99 of the magazine's other most-loved, best-reviewed dishes, all designed to get you exactly what you want in life, exactly when you want it. From Prove to Mom You're Not Going to Starve Meat Loaf to Impress His Family Chardonnay Cake, these recipes will help you cook with passion and persuasion. And they're all written with your real life and real needs in mind. Because whether you're a novice or an expert, cooking should never be intimidating--and it should always be fun.

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"Recently I met some beautiful young women from Glamour magazine. They make a roast chicken they call `Engagement Chicken' because every time one of them makes it for her boyfriend, she gets engaged! How wonderful is that? That's the best reason I ever heard to make a roast chicken."
--Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa cookbooks