Secret Recipes for the Modern Wife

Think this is a regular cookbook? Think again.

In Secret Recipes for the Modern Wife: All the Dishes You'll Need to Make from the Day You Say "I Do" Until Death (or Divorce) Do You Part, Nava Atlas uses old-school photos and illustrations to accompany recipes that include very little real food and a whole lot of emotion.

The book includes instructions like "preheat lust until too hot to handle, then cover until it has cooled down enough for you to realize desire alone is not enough to sustain a relationship (though it can often make it more agreeable)."

My favorite was the recipe for "Way Too Much on Your Plate," which instructs the modern wife to "combine children in a house or apartment and stir together, losing temper every so often."

My one complaint is that it's a little depressing at first glance. The wit is very dry. I probably wouldn't give it as a gift until the bride has passed her five-year anniversary and can appreciate that marriage is a whole lot more than a sum of its ingredients.