2 Chainz during Lollapalooza 2013 at Grant Park on Aug. 4, 2013, in Chicago
“Call Fergie, invite her over to watch a movie on Netflix. Once she accepts, start making green beans” is just one of the many highlights of the new 2 Chainz cookbook. Some fans may have been surprised to find that accompanying 2 Chainz’s just-released third album, B.O.A.T.S. II: Me Time (Based On a TRUE Story 2), is a 30-page digital cookbook. It’s something that the rapper’s Instagram followers have known for a long time: The man loves food.
The B.O.A.T.S. II cookbook is filled with healthy recipes for such dishes as teriyaki salmon, garlic mashed potatoes, shrimp scampi — and something called “Me Time Sauce.” If the recipes aren’t especially noteworthy, the true genius of 2 Chainz comes out in his instructions.
For example, he suggests that you “put on your Versace apron” before preparing the teriyaki salmon. For his herb-crusted rack of lamb rib chops, he recommends: “Once finished, plate racks of lamb alongside a bottle of extravagantly priced Cabernet. 2 Chainz and fine wine. You want true? That’s true enough.” To fully enjoy his sautéed asparagus recipe, he advises chefs to drape themselves in “an Adidas sweatsuit, chainz n thangs.”
2 Chainz’s approach to creating culinary treats, it turns out, certainly differs from the techniques in Coolio’s cookbook. While the ’90s-era rapper hasn’t had a radio hit in well over a decade, he has made a splash with home chefs with recipes such as “Bro-Ghetti,” “Crybaby Chicken,” and “Chicken Lettuce Blunts” from his 2009 cookbook, Cooking with Coolio and the online cooking show of the same name.
Now the rapper is looking to make the transition to chef full time. To fund the career change, he is putting 123 songs, including his Grammy-winning single “Gangsta’s Paradise,” up for auction at the Royalty Exchange, according to The Guardian. Here’s hoping that the sale will be successful so the rapper can write a follow-up chapter to his “Salad-Eatin’ B–ches”.
Liberace Cooks! Recipes From His Seven Dining Rooms
by Liberace and Carol Truax
Behind the candelabra, there was a man who loved to prepare forward-thinking dishes (remember, this was the ’70s) like tuna sashimi, Prosciutto Scampi, nusstorte and something called Chicken Divan, which calls for cream, butter and parmesan cheese.
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The Nancy Drew Cookbook: Clues to Good Cooking
by Carolyn Keene
The cookbook is filled with recipes to whet any young-girl-detective appetite and includes such mysterious titles as “Broken Locket Meringues,” “Whispering Statue Sherbet,” and “Old Stagecoach Sausage Loaf.” (Another mystery: the real author of the book, as Carolyn Keene is a pseudonym.)
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Don’t Fill Up on the Antipasto: Tony Danza’s Father-Son Cookbook
by Tony Danza
For those who’ve wondered who’s the boss (of the kitchen). Co-written with his son Marc well after Danza’s cookbook (which was co-written with his son) is filled with classic Italian-American recipes — from “Sunday Sauce with Meatballs” to “Mother’s Lasagna” — inspired from Danza’s Brooklyn upbringing.
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Karma Cookbook: Great Tasting Dishes to Nourish Your Body and Feed Your Soul
by Boy George
The one-time pop icon delves deep into macrobiotic cooking in this cookbook filled with intriguingly titled recipes like “Chickpea Corruption.” George had time to hone his cooking skills while serving time in prison (for assault and false imprisonment of a male escort), and would prepare vegetarian meals for fellow inmates.
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The Yul Brynner Cookbook: Food Fit for the King and You
by Yul Brynnner
Awkward grammar notwithstanding, Yul Brynner’s cookbook is one of the best of the bunch with recipes that reflect his eclectic upbringing, travels and unique ethnicity (the actor was born on Sakhalin Island, a small strip of land near the southeastern Russia coast just north of Japan). The book includes dished influenced by Russian, Japanese, French, Thai and Romany/Gypsy cuisines.
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Alice’s Brady Bunch Cookbook
by Ann B. Davis
Finally, a cookbook for those curious about what what a fictional housekeeper cooked for a fictional family. The cookbook — which was published in 1994, well after the Brady Bunch was off the air — features recipes such as Yankee Doodle Mac and Cheese, which calls for three types of cheese, butter, cream and white wine, which would undoubtedly raise the cholesterol of any person—fictional or real.
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Cooking with Heart and Soul
by Isaac Hayes and Susan DiSesa
When Isaac Hayes isn’t in the studio, cooking up love songs; he’s in the kitchen, cooking up Southern-style food. Recipes were gleaned from famous friends, and include Wesley Snipe’s Rum-Glazed Cornish Hens with Apple-Sourdough Stuffing and John Travolta’s Hamburger Royale with Cheese.
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A Treasury of Great Recipes
by Mary and Vincent Price
There’s nothing frightening in this cookbook by horror-master Vincent Price and his wife, Mary — except, perhaps, a culinary concoction they call the Banana Pancake Flambé Stonehenge. The cookbook is a treasure trove of 1960s “gourmet” cuisine, with recipes culled and reproduced from top restaurants around the world.
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In the Kitchen With Miss Piggy: Fabulous Recipes
by Miss Piggy
Just to be clear, Miss Piggy did not write this cookbook. She, did however, seek contributions from a Who’s Who of early ’90s celebrities, including Andre Agassi, Tipper Gore, General Norman Schwarzkopf, Brooke Shields, Candace Bergen, Liz Taylor and many more. Since a portion of the proceeds went to City Meals on Wheels, we’re guessing the hammy star didn’t seem to mind recipes that included pork.
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My Cookbook
by Gerard Depardieu
This cleverly-titled cookbook from the Green Card star dives deep into the Gallic cuisine of his homeland, featuring classics like Boeuf Bourguignon and Moules Mariniere. Now that he’s fled France, perhaps the actor will write a second book incorporating recipes from Russia and Belgium.
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Cooking for You Alone
by Johnny Mathis
Taking the award for Most Depressing Cookbook Title is this effort by singer Johnny Mathis. While his 1957 album, Johnny’s Greatest Hits, stayed on the Billboard charts for 490 weeks, his simple spiral-bound Alone quickly faded from pop-culture memory — which, of course, means that now it sells very well on eBay.
MORE: Fall 2013 Music Preview