Your waffle iron can do so much more and Will it Waffle? ($12) by Daniel Shumski will unlock all the way to do so. Pizza, falafels, filet mignon?? Bet you never knew your simple waffle iron could do that. 53 different ways to appease those hungry taste buds of yours.
You scream, I scream, we all scream for ice cream. Well, pipe down because there’s a book that’ll help you make awesome ice cream flavors like Bourbon Pecan Pie and Chicken and Waffle. Coolhaus Ice Cream Recipe Book ($20) grew from the Coolhaus food truck dreamt up by Natasha Case and Freya Estreller. Both started off in architecture and real estate, respectively, and now have ended up with a national ice cream brand. 240 pages of every kind of ice cream you can imagine, including an extensive vegan and vegetarian selection.
Macaroni and cheese used to be a cheap, filling and quick meal for students and kids. Now, Homeroom out of Oakland, California, have turned it into something more. And their book, The Mac + Cheese Cookbook ($14), will SHOCK AND AMAZE you…with all their gourmet recipes for the old standby. Introducing hip flavors like sriracha mac and cheese, truffle mac and cheese and vegan mac and cheese. We’d like to suggest other flavors like cheesy mac and cheese, and mack-a-doodle cheesy mac.
They also include recipes for side dishes like Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and frozen Peanut Butter Pie. Mmm…pie. Pick up a copy now, and if you’re in Oakland, go visit them.
In the future, there might not be enough meat to go around. Overpopulation, water shortages and many more factors will lead to humans obtaining protein from sources such as insects. Get a head start on the competition with The Insect Cookbook ($21). In it, they’ll teach you where to buy insects, obviously how to cook them and how to store them. Learn how to satisfy the munchies with burgers, crepes and pizzas, all prepared with delectable insects. “Chipotle? Pssh. No thanks. Not unless they serve grilled grasshoppers inside.”
Meat. Beer. Rock n’ Roll. What else does a guy need? Ok, maybe sports. But the online ManBQue community sure has the first three. They grew out of Chicago’s rock n’ roll community and expanded coast to coast. Now, they’ve dropped a dream cookbook on men, ManBQue: Meat. Beer. Rock and Roll ($16). The title says it all. Inside, recipes and suggestions on perfecting burgers, steaks, wings and sausages. Those are the four basic food groups, right? Head over to ManBQue after buying the book and join all things meat, beer and rock n’ roll.
The smartphone will control all aspects of life in the future. Mark that down. It can start a car, unlock the front door to a house, turn on the lights and monitor sleeping patterns. And food. Glorious food. Control when food starts cooking with it. Exhibit A: Belkin’s partnership with Crock-Pot.
The Belkin Crock-Pot WeMo Smart Slow Cooker ($99) lets users change cooking temperatures, check meal times and obviously, turn the unit on and off. All this can be done miles away from home using a smartphone. Belkin also has more coming in their automated line, including a Mr. Coffee smart coffee maker and a Holmes smart humidifier. Here’s another prediction. Apple will enter the home automation category and revolutionize it.
Looking to get more beer in your diet without going the intravenous route? Learn how to cook with it. The American Craft Beer Cookbook ($13.30 paperback, $10 Kindle) is a 352-page tome that lists 155 recipes made better with beer. Author John Holl rounds up the tasty ways to boost your appetizers, main dishes, side dishes, and desserts with some of the best craft beers around. Slow-Cooked Dopple Bock BBQ Meatballs or American Wheat Beer Steamed Clams might take longer than Rachael Ray’s 30-minute meals, but those won’t kickstart your beer buzz either.
We all know the big pizza chains don’t get their business because their pizza is delicious. They get tons of orders because they’re in every single neighborhood in the U.S. and they advertise out the wazoo. But if you’re aiming to make 2013 about quality pizza, you can reject that wazooiness with Uuni, a personal wood-burning oven that promises to deliver primo pizzeria flavor to your plate at home. Due to some sort of pixie magic, the Uuni can replicate the crazy high temperatures of traditional wood-burning ovens (600°-840°F), and it’s precisely that heat leads to the charred crust you find with Neapolitan-style pizza. Peace out, Papa.