SHROOM SHALAKLAK BOOM SOUP

April 1, 2009
Don’t forget to mushroom tip your waitress!

Don’t forget to mushroom tip your waitress!

Can you feel the rhythm?  It starts with your hips going back and forth like a metronome.  Feel it flow out to every point in your body.  You and your date are under the spell of the mushroom.  There is nothing either of you can do but let go.  Dance, fool, dance!  Your bodies will pulsate and writhe together.  The warm embrace of the soup will inspire you two to become as one…for a half hour or so.  It is for your benefit that you carry on.  This mystical culinary potion has no fat to speak of.  The natural flavor will cause your brain’s synapse to snap, crackle, and pop in a pleasure-filled frenzy.  My advice: Take advantage of this recipe while it remains 100% legal.  No doubt there is some buzz killer on the mission to make this soup contraband because it’s too sexy for their conservative closed minds.

Total time: approximately 30 minutes
Projected cost: $10
Drinking Buddy: Red red wine

shroom-shalaklak-boom-prepIngredients (serves 2):
1. 1 can of chicken broth
2. ½ cup of sherry
3. 1 tablespoon of olive oil
4. 1 teaspoon of salt
5. 1 leek
6. ½ pound of fresh shitake mushrooms
7. ½ pound of white mushrooms
8. 2 small handfuls of raw walnuts
9. 3 garlic cloves minced

Step 1
Wash off the leek, trim the edges off, spit it down the middle and chop coarsely.  Wash the mushrooms thoroughly and chop them coarsely.
shroom-shalaklak-boom-cut
Step 2
Heat up the olive oil in a stockpot on medium-high heat.  Sauté the garlic and leeks until the shrink down and become translucent (approx 3 minutes).  Add in the mushrooms, salt and sherry and cook the mushrooms down until they soften (approx 5 minutes).
shroom-shalaklak-boom-veggies
Step 3
Dump in the chicken stock, bring it to a boil, and then simmer the goodies covered with a lid on low until the mushrooms absorb the liquid (approx 15 minutes).  Gently puree the mushrooms, leaving some chunks intact.  Serve it up with a small handful of walnuts over each bowl.
shroom-shalaklak-boom-broth-puree-serve

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GARLICKABLE FRIES

March 27, 2009

Lick it before you stick it!

Lick it before you stick it!

Agreed.  They are addictive.  Your first instinct is to run your tongue across them, indulging in as much essence as you can suck down.  It’s like a smoking crack: you know better, but you do it anyway.  You may not want to go on without it.  You will have postpartum depression and experience nasty withdrawals that will alienate those you love. We’re talking about high-grade lower fat* shit here.  The street value is ridiculous.  That is how these good baked garlic fries can be.  My advice is to get your date hooked.  Turned them into your garlic fry crack whore.  They will be under your spell and willing to do anything for their garlic fix.  I mean ANYTHING.  Be warned that garlic can be a smelly curse.  But if ye both eat of the stinking rose, neither of ye shall recoil.

*Baked garlic fries are not low fat, just less fattening than the deep fried version.

garlic-fried-prep1Total time: approximately 50 minutes
Projected cost: $2
Drinking Buddy: Beer, preferably Belgium like Chimay or Leffe

Ingredients (serves 2):
1. 2 tablespoons of olive oil
2. 2 teaspoons of salt
3. 1 teaspoon of black pepper
4. 2 large potatoes
5. 4 cloves of garlic chopped finely

Step 1
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Peel the potatoes, and then slice the potatoes lengthwise every ½ inch on one side, and then flip them 90 degrees and cut more ½ inch strips, thus creating fries.
garlic-fried-taters
Step 2
Throw the fries in a bowl and toss in the garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper and toss it together with your hands.
garlic-fried-toss
Step 3
Lay out the fries evenly along the baking sheet, leaving space between them.  Bake them for approximately 40 minutes, flipping the fries halfway through cooking.  The fries will be crisp and slightly browned.  Dump them onto a plate with a paper towel and blot out the excess grease.
garlic-fried-bake
Serve on a platter with your favorite condom-ment!

Baked Garlic Fries are the Devil's plan

Baked Garlic Fries are the Devil's plan

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MY HONEY BAKES MY APPLES SPICY

March 26, 2009
Wake and Bake!

Wake and Bake!

My honey’s got it going on.  She knows just how to handle my fruit. Ooh, baby!  You know just how to peel ‘em naked, rub ‘em down with your sticky icky, and then heat ‘em up.  Dessert will never be the same. Every bite is crazy healthy and bursting with flavor G spots.  Hot damn!  We can indulge all our flavor fantasies guilt-free.  No one can judge us because we are technically playing by the rules.  The calorie police don’t have to know how much pleasure we’re soaking up.  It’s none of their taste-hating business what we bake behind closed doors.  So enjoy with reckless abandon just because you can.  It will be our little secret.

baked-apples-prep1Total time: approximately 40 minutes
Projected cost: $3
Drinking Buddy: HOT COCOA or a HOT TODDY

Ingredients (serves 2):
1. 3 tablespoons of HONEY
2. ½ a lemon of juice
3. 4 Fuji apples
4. 1 cinnamon stick
5. 1 pinch of cloves
6. Plain yogurt to pour on top of apples (not pictured)*
*Optional

Step 1
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Peel the apples and cut halves off each side, leaving the cores intact.  Cut the smaller slivers off each core.  Add all the apple meat to a small baking pan with the cut sides up.
baked-apples-peel-cut-place
Step 2
Warm up a pan on medium heat.  Squeeze in the lemon, and then add the cinnamon stick, cloves and honey.  Mix it together and allow the spices to soak into the liquid.  Once the mixture bubbles up, remove it from the heat and pour the honey evenly over the apples in the baking pan.
baked-apples-spiced-honey
Step 3
Throw the apples in the oven and cook until they soften (approx 20 minutes), and then flip them and bake the other side through (approx 10 minutes), pouring sauce scooped from the baking sheet over the topside.  Serve up on plate with a little yogurt if you are so inclined.
baked-apples-bake-serve

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BEND OVER ENDIVE NIPPLERS

March 25, 2009
There's a nympho mermaid off the starboard bow!

There's a nympho mermaid off the starboard bow!

Hop into my endive boat and we can sail away to an island far far away.  The boat is fully loaded with all manner of extravagances.  A team of attentive monkey butlers who are never too busy making us fresh fruit SMOOTHEES to rub our bunions staffs the boat.  Did I mention we have a smiling octopus captaining the ship?  Seven tentacles control every aspect of the ship, leaving the last tentacle to sip MOJITOS.  We can shuffleboard the afternoon away against our robotic arm competition.  A chorus of endangered and extinct songbirds will serenade us while we dance the night away on the deck with lightning bugs setting the mood.  I bet you never thought all this could be possible from a little finger food.  Ye of little faith!  Accept that this appetizer shall get your date in the mood to sail away to Pleasure Island this night.  Ahoy there!

endives-nibbles-prep1Total time: approximately 5 minutes
Projected cost: $8
Drinking Buddy: MO MOJO MOJITO or a RAGING HARD ON LEMONADE

Ingredients (serves 2):
1. 1 tablespoon of HONEY
2. 1 pear
3. 1 handful of raw walnuts
4. Small handful of Roquefort cheese
5. 1 large red endive

Step 1
Wash the endive thoroughly.  Chop the stalk off and separate out the intact leafs to fill like boats.  Cut off narrow pear strips that can fit inside the endive boats.
endives-nibbles-wash-trim
Step 2
Use a butter knife to fill each endive boat with Roquefort cheese.  Place pieces of walnut over the cheese, followed by a slice of pear.  Once they are all assembled, drizzle the honey evenly over the filled endive boats and serve.
endives-nibbles-assemble
endives-nibbles-served-2

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LET MY LEMON CHICKEN PASTA GO!

March 24, 2009
Put down the chicken breast and no one gets hurt!

Put down the chicken breast and no one gets hurt!

Yeah, you heard me!  Take your hands off my chicken breasts and amscray!  You don’t see me walking around all cavalier and fondling other people’s breasts.  What?  Well that was consensual! Very very consensual!  Oh, and that other time.  You got me there.  But that was just to draw a laugh.  No, I’m not messing with you.  You can’t blame me for that!  It was a double dog dare!  And if I’m not mistaken, she did give me her number.  I cooked for her too.  We had a great evening and, yes, I did fondle.  But she insisted.  I was perfectly happy to just play Scrabble and discuss current events.  So once again, I’m not in the wrong.  You are!  Now are you going to put my breasts down so I can grill them or will I have to resort to fisticuffs?  I will defend my chicken breasts’ honor and then eat them if it’s the last thing I do!

Total time: approximately 35 minutes
Projected cost: $7
Drinking Buddy: Red red wine

lemon-chicken-pasta-prep1Ingredients (serves 2):
1. 2 tablespoons of olive oil
2. 1 teaspoon of salt
3. ½ teaspoon of crushed red pepper
4. ½ teaspoon of dried basil
5. 2 teaspoons of black pepper
6. ¼ pound of dried Rotelle pasta
7. 3 tomatoes chopped coarsely
8. 2 handfuls of sliced mushrooms
9. ½ a lemon of juice
10. ½ pound of chicken breast sliced into bite-sized pieces
11. 2 handfuls of bite-sized broccoli pieces
Step 1
Mix up the chicken with the lemon juice and black pepper and allow it to marinate (approx 10 minutes).  Warm up 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a pan on medium heat.  Then cook the chicken through in it’s own juices until it goes white (approx 6 minutes).  Set aside.
lemon-chicken-pasta-marinate-grillStep 2
Heat up the rest of the olive oil in a pan and stir-fry the broccoli and mushrooms with more lemon juice until they soften (approx 4 minutes).  Finally add the tomatoes along with a liberal dashing of salt, crushed red pepper and basil, and stew and stir it all down into a sauce (approx 5 minutes).
lemon-chicken-pasta-sauce1Step 3
Boil water, cook and drain the pasta al dente.  Pour in the pasta in with sauce and stir it up.  Crown it all with the lemon pepper chicken, and serve.
lemon-chicken-pasta-boil-drain AddThis Social Bookmark Button


SLOB ON MY KNOBBLER COBBLER

March 21, 2009
Don't be a slob, bob on my knob!

Don't be a slob, bob on my knob!

You read that right.  Why pussyfoot around the subject when we all know what this is about?  Sweet action satisfaction!  This cobbler is sure to earn you the type of brownie points you can cash in for attention of the oral kind.  Of course I’m talking about having your date hand feed you cobbler.  What?  You thought I was being inappropriate and crass?  Me?  A guy who writes a recipe blog called Cook To Bang?  Get your filthy mind out of the gutter!  I am merely trying to provide my beloved readers with upright (or is it uptight?) family values recipes to bring to their Bible groups.  And lord knows this dessert is sure to get your date to scream out, “Oh God!”

mango-cobbler-prepTotal time: approximately 50 minutes
Projected cost: $4
Drinking Buddy: Dust off that bottle of wine and get to the banging already!

Ingredients (serves 2):
1. ½ cup of oats
2. 3 tablespoons of brown sugar
3. 2 handfuls of mango chunks
4. 1/3 of a stick of butter
5. 1 handful of shelled pistachios
6. 1 tablespoon of flour (not pictured, sue me)

Step 1
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Create the crust by melting the butter in a small pot on medium heat.  Dump in the brown sugar and stil until it becomes like molasses.  Dump in the oats and pistachios and allow the butter and sugar to cook into them (approx 1 minutes).  Mix in the flour, stir for a moment, and then turn off the heat.
mango-cobbler-brown-betty
Step 2
Stuff the mango chunks into 2 small oven-safe bowls or ramekins.  Use a spoon to lay the crusts over the top of each bowl and press down so it is all contained.  Place these into the oven with something underneath like a baking sheet to catch any spillage.  Bake until the crust hardens and caramelizes (approx 40 minutes), then remove from oven, allow to cool, and serve up.  Bonus points if you listen to Depeche Mode a la mode while you eat it
mango-cobbler-bake

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HARDCORE SOFT-BOILED EGGS

March 19, 2009
Hard to the Soft-Core!

Hard to the Soft-Core!

A naysayer would say all porn is smut.  They wouldn’t distinguish between hardcore and soft-core porn.  The nuances are missed.  Soft and hardcore each have their time and place and both share a clear business plan.  How many big corporations can so clearly define their prime directive?  I am all for a little soft-core with its sweet, half-baked romances that lead to tedious T&A on satin sheets without revealing anything more than the viewer’s frustration.  And hardcore certainly has inspired some adventures unmentionable anywhere but a confession booth (sorry, Father O’Hanrahan). But choosing between soft-core and hardcore eggs, I prefer soft.  The ooey gooey soft-boiled yolk reminds me of simpler times when all I needed was Skinemax to get me through desperate times in high school.  But being an adult does have some perks.  I can choose between soft and sticky or the hard and icky.  Breakfast…it’s all about choices.

Total time: approximately 10 minutes
Projected cost: $4
Drinking Buddy: A NOT-SO-TEENY WEENY BELLINI or a SMOOTHEE OPERATOR

hardcore-soft-boiled-eggs-prepIngredients (serves 2):
1. Salt to taste
2. Pepper to taste
3. ½ an avocado sliced thinly
4. 2 eggs
5. 2 slices of bread
6. Butter for two pieces of toast

Step 1
Bring a pot of water to a roaring boil.  Add the two eggs and boil for 5 minutes, then place them in a bowl of cold water to cool, before placing an egg in a shot glass (or other small container).
hardcore-soft-boiled-eggs-boil
Step 2
Toast the two slices of bread, spread butter on them, and then quarter the toast.  Crown each quarter with a slice of avocado and set them on a plate surrounding each egg as if it were a god.
hardcore-soft-boiled-eggs-toast
Step 3
Use the side of a spoon to whack around the edges of each egg, and then remove the shell top.  Add a pinch of salt and your desired amount of pepper on each egg and serve immediately.
hardcore-soft-boiled-eggs-crack-servehardcore-soft-boiled-eggs-served-2

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PARTYCHOKE CHICKEN CHA CHA

March 13, 2009
Let me see you cha cha chicken!

Let me see you cha cha chicken!

Can you cha cha?  It’s only the simplest dance in the known universe.  I saw syphilitic lab monkeys doing it by accident and that was after an experiment with excess wine consumption.  If a drunken monkey can do it, you should be able to pull it off blindfolded.  This dish is on same page as the cha cha.  It’s almost impossible to screw the pooch on this one.  You could try pouring turpentine into the mix (CTB discourages this wholeheartedly), but then it would have a cool, briny taste.  Just follow the protocol below and spend your extra time kicking game. That will leave you with plenty of time to kick game while you dance the half-naked cha cha. Read the rest of this entry »


FRISKY FRIED RICE

March 11, 2009
Sometime you just get lucky

Sometime you just get lucky

Desperation leads to innovation.  That is what I learned making this ridiculous rice dish.  I was traveling in a foreign land where I met a local girl who spoke little English and I little Spanish.  But we were both hungry so I invited her over for lunch at my Uncle’s place with a very limited kitchen.  I was way out of my element not only from culture shock, but also from a cooking environment lacking even something simple like black pepper.  But I had professed in no uncertain terms, “soy un jefe de cocina muy excellente!”  So I went to work the only way I know how, recklessly.  There was an old bag of rice, some veggies I bought off a truck, 1 weird seasoning jar and the Lizano salsa, my new favorite condiment.  This stuff has as many uses as Astroglide, but far tastier to most.  My chica bonita was well impressed with the random dish I concocted out of thin air.  Her hunger for food was satisfied, but only my sexy gringo ass could satisfy her sweet tooth.  The takeaway for this sordid tale I offer you is that you can eke out a feast from an ice cube and cinnamon stick if you are clever.  It’s like making a condom out of saran wrap, but not as idiotic.

Total time: approximately 20 minutes
Projected cost: $5
Drinking Buddy: Moonshine that you made out of rubbing alcohol and grape soda*

*This is sarcasm. Cook To Bang does not endorse making yourself blind from homemade moonshine.  Save that for the hillbillies.

frisky-fried-rice-prepIngredients (serves 2):
1. 1 tablespoon of seasoning of your choice (Spike Vege-sal used in this pic)
2. 4 tablespoons of Lizano salsa (available at most local Latino markets) OR other favorite hot sauce
3. 1 tablespoon of olive oil
4. 1 coffee mug of dried white rice
5. 1 large carrot
6. ½ a lemon worth of juice
7. 1 onion
8. 1 egg
9. 1 handful of raw almonds

Step 1
Fill a coffee mug up with dried rice and pour it in a medium sized pot, then two mugfuls of water.  Bring the water to a boil on high heat, then turn the heat down to medium and cook covered until rice fully expands (approx 10 minutes, read instructions).  Use a fork to fluff the rice like a porn star.
frisky-fried-rice-boil1
Step 2
Cut up the onions and carrots into bite-sized pieces.  Heat up a decent sized pan with olive oil, then sauté the veggies until they soften (approx 3 minutes).  Add the seasoning and almonds and cook until the almonds soften (approx 2 minutes).
frisky-fried-rice-veggies
Step 3
Add the rice to the pan and mix them all up.  Crack the egg onto top of the rice and quickly beat it so it cooks into the rice.  Squeeze the lemon juice on top and crown it all with the blessed Lizano sauce.  Behold, an edible feast made from pure gumption.

frisky-fried-rice-mix-egg-sauce

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HO’S MAY BLOW-TATOES

March 10, 2009
“Kiss Me, I’m Irish!” said the drunk leprechaun gnawing on a potato.

“Kiss Me, I’m Irish!” said the drunk leprechaun gnawing on a potato.

You have to love the simplicity of the Irish.  The simple potato prepared in so many different ways kept a civilization alive, healthy and able to withstand the Roman Empire.  Not bad at all.  The potato has gotten the Irish through the worst famines, droughts, pestilence and snake invasions.  Much props to Saint Patrick for telling those slithery suckers to piss off.  So next time you indulge in a potato feast, think about the history of the carbohydrates you are eating.  When you’re done with that, pounce on your date and blame your crazy Irish roots, even if you don’t have them.

Total time: approximately 30 minutes
Projected cost: $3
Drinking Buddy: Depends on what you serve this with. If you are eating them solo, celebrate the Irish with a Guinness or whiskey

jane-potatoes-prepIngredients (serves 2):
1. 2 tablespoons of olive oil
2. 6 red potatoes
3. 1 tablespoon of coarse sea salt
4. 1 small handful of fresh rosemary
5. Pepper to taste (not pictured)

Step 1
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Wash off each potato, then cut them into mouthful pieces.
jane-potatoes-wash-cut
Step 2
Lay tinfoil over a baking pan.  Lay down the olive oil.  Toss in the potatoes and crown it all with salt, rosemary and pepper (if you so desire).  Toss the potatoes with your hands, ensuring the potatoes are well coated.  Throw the pan into the oven and cook until the potatoes brown (approx 25 minutes).
jane-potatoes-toss-roast
Allow these potatoes to compliment your favorite ENTRÉE and date.

jane-potatoes-served

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