I'm sure you've heard your mother or grandmother say that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. I bet you never thought they were right!

True, you need more than culinary skills to pull off a successful relationship, but trust me, no guy would ever complain about his girlfriend cooking too well!

Believe it or not, most men want a women who takes care of him in a motherly way without being too much like his own mother. He wants you to do his laundry, buy his toilet paper, and yes, cook for him. Looking to start a new step in your relationship?

Give cooking a try to help your main man fall madly in love.

1. Where to Start

If you never baked bread with your mom, or even learned how to boil water on the stove to make pasta, cooking may be a bit of a challenge for you. Luckily, you're not on your own.

You can us a variety of techniques to start learning the basics of maneuvering around a kitchen. Once you've learned the first few skills, the rest won't seem very difficult at all!

Check out your local bookstore. Cookbooks come in all shapes and sizes, and there are even some for beginners or young adults.

Choose a book that has recipes that sound tasty to you—if you won't taste-test, you shouldn't serve to a guest; that's my rule. Make sure you start with recipes for meals. Desserts can be fun to make (and eat), but baking is more difficult than cooking, so if you're new to this game, don't try to bake a cake from scratch on your first day!

While in the bookstore, you can check out some great food magazines as well. These come with recipes as well as handy articles containing numerous hints for new chefs.

Television is a great place to learn as well. Check out the networks solely devoted to food, as well as other channels that showcase the preparation of recipes. When you see something being done, you can get a feel for how to do things.

You can even TiVo or record the show so that you can follow along at your own pace and make the same meal!

For advanced beginners or those who completely want to dive into the world of food, check out the classes at your local community center or at a junior college. Sign up for some that sound fun and interesting! You'll shell out a little more money this way, but you'll get one-on-one instruction from some great chefs.

2. The Menu

Of course, when you've cooking for another person, like your sweetie, it's always best to find out ahead of time what he likes to eat!

If your boyfriend is allergic to chocolate, for example, taking a chocoholic baking class may not be very helpful. If you want your new culinary skills to be a surprise and really make your man melt, simple take notice to what he grabs off of a buffet line or orders at a restaurant.

When in doubt, call his mother. She may even be able to share the exact recipes he loves best.

3. The Big Day

When you learn to cook, you can continue to please your man daily (or every once in awhile at least, if you aren't ambitious enough to cook dinner every day).

However, after learning a new skill, you can really get your honey's mouth to drop if you plan a very special meal just for him. Set the mood for love—buy some candles, pop open a great bottle of wine, and have a little mood music ready.

Make the setting even more romantic by keeping the work you've done under wraps. Who wants to stare at a pile of dirty dishes as they eat?

You probably won't have time to clean up before serving dinner, so if you don't have a separate dining room, set up a card table in the living room. With the lights dimmed and rose petals sprinkled around, it'll seem like a four-star restaurant.

Remember, however, that you boyfriend will be focused the most on the food. Prepare everything to perfection and be sure to keep courses hot. Enlist a friend to help you prep during the day if you're still a little nervous.

Don't worry too much though—even if you burn dinner, it's the thought that counts.

When your boyfriend get that first bite, he'll see how much effort you're putting into making the relationship work. Love is only a pork chop away.