Manly Cooking Hint #1: Shrinkage

No, I'm not talking about small portions, in fact, I'm not suggesting small food at all.  If you are a mediocre cook like me, you must focus your energy on pleasing your guest's visual appetite.  With proper presentation you can turn "macaroni and cheese" into "noodles with a delicate cheese sauce."   If cooking tips were weapons, this one is nuclear.

Hint:  Ramekins.  Serving food in a ramekin is my ultimate cheap shot.  For some mystical reason a ramekin will transform food into a dish that no sane person can resist.  Bake a little brownie batter in the bottom, top it with cool ice cream, and now you have personal brownie bakes.  Same sized food portions cooked in stupid little ceramic dishes seems to please most humans.

The science behind this kitchen marvel is pretty simple.  When women see food in a ramekin they think you have shrunk their meal down to little personal sizes.  Women love miniature versions of larger objects.  It's in their DNA.  For example, take the Mini Cooper.  Women flock to these miniature sized cars like flies on stink.  I doubt there is a woman alive that has been in an REI without saying "I love those little display mini tents, I wonder if they sell them too."  Admit it ladies, you have at least thought about those mini tents.  Small dogs are another example.  The ability to put a little bite sized pooch into a purse causes women to salivate wildly.  The same goes with mini foods.  When women see a mini dessert they have a natural tendency to want to nurture it and take it home in hopes of it growing up one day into a successful full sized dessert with a PhD. 

For men it's a little different.  Men see a personal dish as their opportunity to dominate the whole dessert.  There will be no sissy sharing of a man's personal carrot cake.  Men want to know they can eat a whole cake and not get in trouble, but they don't want the ridicule that comes with eating a cupcake.  They also like the comfort that comes with the ability to pick up a personal dessert and throw it like a football if he is so inclined.  We are simple creatures, but we too love our personal sized foods.

For those that have not used a ramekin before, here are some tips:

1. Ramekins are cheap.  Make sure you buy at least 4.
2. Simply putting food in them is not enough, you must cook or chill the food in the dish for maximum effect.  Otherwise you just have food in ridiculously shaped bowls.  Trust me, people want to see little bits of cheese baked onto the outer edges.  Anything less will just put your guest into an unhealthy rage.
3. Expand beyond the sweet and venture to the savory.  I once put chunks of a honey baked ham into the ramekins, topped them with brown sugar and citrus juice, and then broiled them for 10 minutes to caramelize the sugars.  Little personal hot ham pots. 
4. Not all foods are subject to the influence of a ramekin.  Fried chicken really needs a bucket and polish dogs really need a warm bun.  Violating the nature of a food item is not advised and doing so could cause a tear in the very fabric of the universe. (At least according to the mysterious salesman at Bed Bath and Beyond).  That being said, some foods are just reluctant to be cooked in personal sizes, don't be afraid to push them a little.
5. Finally, glass bowls are not ramekins.  A proper ramekin should be opaque.  This is especially important for novice cooks because as long as you can get the crust of your dish to look good, the rest of the crap you cooked underneath the crust will get the benefit of the doubt.  How food appears will determine how critical your guest is to the fact that you can't cook.  Don't shoot yourself in the foot by using little glass bowls.