Manifold Destiny: The One, the Only, Guide to Cooking on Your Car Engine!

by Chris Maynard, William Scheller

A hilarious but practical guide to cooking under the hood of a car contains more than forty-five recipes, safety guidelines, and simple directions for producing such dishes as Poached Fish Pontiac and Thruway Thighs. Reprint. 30,000 first printing. Tour.

Genres: Cookbooks, Food, Cooking, Nonfiction

151 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

Reviews

[Tracey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've had Manifold Destiny : The One The Only Guide to Cooking on Your Car Engine by Chris Maynard & Bill Scheller for several years & find myself returning to its tongue-in-cheek attitude every once in a while.

As explained in the subtitle - they do indeed provide detailed information on how to cook on your car engine. Inspired by a desire to keep a pound of pastrami hot while on a trip from Montreal back to Boston, Chris and Bill decided to experiment with preparing meals while on the road. They start with a discussion on what parts of the engine are best as cooking surfaces: the exhaust manifold and fuel injector housing provided the best results. They even include diagrams of a couple of engines to help you find those areas in your own vehicle.

Packaging the food is another important step - three layers of aluminum foil, tightly wrapped with secure seams. Semi-solid foods are to be avoided; most of their recipes focus on a cut of meat. Clearance is always an issue; they stress several times to stay away from the various linkages & not to pull hoses too far out of their original positions.

They put these techniques to the test during the One Lap Around America long-distance rally, where they discovered their Lincoln Town car was ideal for meals such as stuffed chicken breasts or steamed fish. They recommend a list of supplies for a car cooking kit, and even rate 4 different brands of aluminum foil. The second half of the book is recipes, grouped by geographical sections of the US. The Northeast includes dishes like Cutlass Cod Supreme and Thruway Thighs; while the Midwest boasts of Cruise-Control Pork Tenderloin and Leadfoot Stuffed Cabbage. California cuisine is even represented with Poached Fish Pontiac and Chicken Breast Lido. Cooking times are given in terms of mileage - most running between 50 - 100 miles. (approximately 1-2 hours)

I'm no foodie, but the recipes look both doable in that environment, and relatively tasty. Chris and Bill seem to be playing it completely straight; but the whole idea is just oddball enough to get a chuckle or two out of me, even after multiple readings. Recommended to long distance drivers looking for something a bit more tasty than chain restaurants & truck stops.

[DeeDee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not likely to read this cover to cover, but it DID give me the courage to Car B Q 4 lbs of chicken wings under the hood of my Jeep last weekend.
FYI, it takes 200 miles to do this. Trip back from Owasipee camp with my boys provided the excuse/opportunity.
Worked nicely for a first try, too.
Wonder when I'll have the courage (and the itinerary) to try a pork roast? heh

[Trishtator · Rating 4 out of 5]

These two northesterners wrote a fantastic book. The recipes are divided by U.S. regions, but I find the "western" recipes are a little off the mark. Where's the beef?? Still, the technique is excellent, and I'm excited for roadtripping!

[Saif Ahmed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book, now for the cooking

I love the idea of cooking with the engine. Avid off roader, itching to see where I can stash good to cook on the inline 6-cyl in my Jeep.
Sure promises to be better than frozen burritos.
I loved the irreverent humor the authors are so good at. And though they recommend not flipping a vehicle to access the catalytic converter, stranger things have happened on the trail!

[S. Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

appetit

[Barbara · Rating 2 out of 5]

With today's modern vehicles, the specifics of how to actually cook under the hook, are more difficult to achieve. The first edition of the book was a more amusing read, when it was relevant.

[Graham Clayton · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the best book titles of all time :-)

[Kirsten · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some cute stories, but needs lots more recipes and an index.

[Deb · Rating 2 out of 5]

The recipes are okay, but the info on where you can put things atop your car engine is invaluable. The book mentioned this as being the #1 question, so I'll share the answer: No, your food won't taste like oil or exhaust.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

love the tongue-in-cheek, mildly sarcastic prose between the instructions and recipes. plotting road trips so i can try the concept out! the recipes are straight forward and seem decent, nothing revolutionary except the cooking method.

[O Babs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originality: 5 stars
Execution, as in "are these really recipes that might work?": 4 stars
Silliness: 4 stars
Endurance: 3 stars; I don't miss the copy that has disappeared from my shelf. The memory of having read it is good.
Opportunity: edition for hybrid cars?

[Misfit]

Erm, amazing what you can find in products tagged Amazon oddities on a slow work day :D

[Rob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Plan to have baked 'salmon w lemons' when we visit Tahlequah in a couple weeks. Also identifying other road meals when we head to the coast in a month.... :)

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title fascinated me so I had to read it. Unique and witty, real recipes to cook while driving are presented.

[Darlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cook time in miles.... awesome and reminiscent of growing up taking car trips.