Manifold Destiny: The One! The Only! Guide to Cooking on Your Car Engine! [Paperback]

Chris Maynard (Author), Bill Scheller (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 18, 2008

Giving new meaning to the term "fast food"

Rest-stop grade F meat patty? Nah. Nuggets of reconstituted poultry bits? Pass. Deep-fried fish discus? No, really, thanks all the same.

It's time to bid farewell to the roadside meal as you know it. Nearly twenty years ago, Chris Maynard and Bill Scheller opened the world's eyes to the beautym of car-engine gastronomy in the original Manifold Destiny. And now that another generation of both drivers and eaters has emerged, the cult classic is due for an overhaul. In this shiny, spanking-new edition, learn how to make s'mores in your Scion, poach fish in your Pontiac, even bust out a gourmet snack from under the hood of your Escalade.

With step-by-step diagrams, crowd-pleasing recipes, and thorough instructions, now you can turn your car into a kitchen without ever crossing any golden arches. Hilarious, bizarre, and ultimately (seriously!) useful, Manifold Destiny is and always will be an unparalleled original. So, slap a ham steak under the hood of your car, hit the gas, and drive until you reach delicious -- which is in approximately fifty miles, depending on traffic.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Feeling a mite peckish on those long road trips? Pack along this humorous cookbook and whip up Cajun-style shrimp in your car or recreational vehicle. All you need are shrimp, pork fat, "whatever 'Cajun' seasonings you've seen advertised," a set of wheels and someplace to go. Cook on a medium-hot part of the engine for about 55 miles. If that's too much work, pick up several stuffed peppers (preferably from a backwater North Jersey Italian deli), wrap them in foil and pop under the hood. Maynard, a photographer, and Scheller, a travel writer, are as adept at roasting trendy cookery as they are at warming pastrami sandwiches while they drive an auto rally. They teach drivers to view their vehicles in a new way, locating cooking surfaces via the "burn your finger" method of temperature verification. They may even change the way people select new cars: the Chevrolet Celebrity GL offers six servings, while the Camry has only three but sports a bun warmer, a feature seldom mentioned in Toyota ads. The authors sober up to serve a clear warning: carelessness under the hood can be dangerous to car and driver. Illustrations not seen by PW. Author tour.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"[A] witty, cleverly conceived and actually workable guide." -- Los Angeles Times

"You'll be the envy of everyone at the rest stop!" -- Missoula Independent

"[A] witty, informative paperback by Chris Maynard and Bill Scheller, a couple of fun-and-food-loving guys who first published in 1989 to let chefs and chauffeurs know they can cook up a right smart snack or meal using the heat of the engine while driving on a reasonably long trip." -- Chicago Tribune

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Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; Original edition (November 18, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416596232
• ISBN-13: 978-1416596233
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #516,454 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars it works!, December 2, 1999

By 

Al Kihano (Iskandria) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Manifold Destiny: The One! The Only! Guide to Cooking on Your Car Engine! (Paperback)

The cooking times in _Manifold Destiny_ are given in mileage. This cookbook lists many tasty dishes and gives detailed, practical advice on how to prepare them on your car engine.

It works like this: find a hot spot on your engine, then wrap your food in tin foil, wedge the package into the hot spot, and drive....

Pull up the hood when you stop, then unwrap the package and chow down. I tried salmon filets with a suburban; they cooked very nicely after about fifty miles.

This book is a genuine contribution to cookbook literature.

31 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Out of Date, Out of Mind, September 26, 2007

By 

Future Southerner (Minneapolis, MN, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Manifold Destiny: The One! The Only! Guide to Cooking on Your Car Engine! (Paperback)

I was given Manifold Destiny in the early 1990s for a college graduation gift because my friends knew that I was going to travel a lot (and did) by car. It was a hilarious read and I enjoyed it. However, unlike the majority of reviewers here, I actually TRIED a bunch of recipes. Folks, I'm here to tell you that your results aren't as good as the read. I even secured the efforts of a couple of truckers (who had years of experience cooking food on their engines) and found out that newer cars are better insulated, making cooking anywhere on their engines mighty difficult. Not to mention that everything is STEAMED. Got that? You know what my steak with mushrooms looked like 4 hours after being attached near the hot part of the engine block? Disgusting and undercooked. Chicken wasn't much better. Steamed vegetables weren't ever completely done no matter where they were placed. I tested this in 8 different states (including Hawaii) and 4 different vehicles. My college buddy did try fish in a Chevy truck on the way to Montana. That seemed to work well, but the flavor was not that great. Manifold Destiny was a great idea whose time has passed. I'll stick to wayside stops and my campstove, thank you.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars an enduring winner, July 23, 2001

By 

Michael Christman (Sausalito, Ca USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Manifold Destiny: The One! The Only! Guide to Cooking on Your Car Engine! (Paperback)

I have an old edition of this book (eighties) and I have been amused by it from start to finish. The premise sounds wacky but the authors, despite their obvious humor, are serious. Anyone who likes to cook will love this book- in fact, the more serious the better, since the book takes such a preposterously irreverent approach to recipes and dining.

It's also uniquely American- I can't imagine this book being born in any other culture. Buy it, if you can find it, it's a gem.