CAN YOU TAKE THE HEAT?: The WWF Is Cooking! (Hardcover)

~ Jim "j.r." Ross (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Can You Take the Heat? offers something seldom found in a celebrity cookbook: a WWF-style announcement for each recipe. This is important, both to give the book the raucous flavor so crucial to the entertaining identity of the World Wrestling Federation, and to introduce some of its worthy names that might be unfamiliar to the culinary world. The announcer, Jim "J.R." Ross, gives the personal background of each dish. Thus, Sgt. Slaughter is represented both by the specifics of his Mess Hall Dip (the secret is the 12 ounces of sour cream, "or more if desired") and by Ross's reminiscence about the night he and Sarge shared an $8 room in Baton Rouge and Sarge introduced Ross to a local restaurant's best menu item, Sweet and Sour Chicken. "After a sake or two, Sarge could damn near balance an entire egg roll on his chin!" Sarge orders you to enjoy his dip, and regrets that if he were to yield to the impulse to share with you his secret recipe for Slaughter Steak, he'd be forced "to use the Slaughter Cannon and the Cobra Clutch on you."

Though lots of the entries exist to be silly--you can live without Mick Foley's Knuckle Sandwich recipe--the book isn't just a gag. You really can make J.R.'s Slobberknocker Pork Chops and Stone Cold Steve Austin's "Stomp a Mud Hole in Your Steaks and Ribs" Simmering Sauce. Do try this at home, folks!

Product Description

Things are starting to sizzle in the kitchen.Can you take the heat?

Want to know what's in The Rock's Famous Rock-Bottom Pancakes? What Chyna eats to make her the Ninth Wonder of the World? What dishes can make even Stone Cold Steve Austin smile? Here's your chance to find out. If you think you can handle it, you too can eat like a World Wrestling Federation Superstar. Champion wrestlers need fuel -- lots of it -- and quick and delicious meals are a priority, not an option.

In Can You Take the Heat?, the Superstars of the World Wrestling Federation serve up their favorite meals...with a whole lot of "Attitude." And to make it even better, each mouthwatering recipe is introduced by good ol' J.R., who offers the behind-the-scenes "dish" on each meal and the wrestlers who love it, peppering the book with plenty of down-home Federation flavor.

Get started with out-of-this-world appetizers like Sgt. Slaughter's Mess Hall Dip, Mick Foley's Knuckle Sandwiches, and Chyna's Guacamole Salad.

Move on to the main-event recipes: Stone Cold's Rattlesnake Rib Rub, the Hardy Boyz' Chicken-Fried Steak, Triple H's Swordfish a Ia Helmsley, J.R.'s Tex-Mex Stew, Big Boss Man's "Pepper" Steak, Rikishi's Rump Roast, and Mean Street Posse Potpie. And if you're watching your waistline, you'll even find some lighter fare like Ivory's One-Pan Fish Dinner and Tori's Maple Barbecue Chicken.

Now throw on some killer tag team side dishes: Too Cool's "Home Boy" Fries, Al Snow Peas, Billy Gunn's Grilled Badd Ass-paragus, and Acolytes' Beer Bread.

Getting full? Well, don't tap out, because we've saved the best for last: Smackdown desserts like Kane's Red Velvet Cake, McMahon Millionaire Pie, and Stone Cold Cinnamon Ice Cream.

A hardcore cookbook that will have all those fancy-pants recipe books running for cover, Can You Take the Heat? dishes up delicious, stick-to-your-ribs meals that will satisfy even the biggest appetites.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow (October 24, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060393785
• ISBN-13: 978-0060393786
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #361,511 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars These Recipes Are That D@mn Good, November 6, 2000

By	Chad Spivak (North Miami Beach, Florida) - See all my reviews

Yes, Triple H himself would have to agree with that statement. Okay, so I am a fan of the WWF, and I was going to buy the book anyway, but I love to cook as well. This book was a really nice surprise.

Jim Ross looks like he likes to eat, so why wouldn't his cookbook be excellent. Not only is is loaded with lots of good photographs, but the recipes are dynamite. So far, I have made the Rock's chocolate chip cookies, and the APA's beer bread (man, was that tasty). I really enjoyed the little descriptions written by Jim Ross for each one as well. Some of them are quite funny.

All in all, this recipe book seems to be a real winner, but then again, anything related with Vince McMahon and the WWF seems to be gold, at least as of late. This cook book would be a nice addition to any at-home chef's collection, and would easily make a nice conversation piece at your next party.

P.S. - I can't wait to try the Big Boss Man's "Pepper Steak." Just don't invite Al Snow over for dinner!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars simple, down-home favorites, October 26, 2000

By	John Cochrane (Alpharetta, GA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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Many of these receipes won't offer startling culinary revelations, but they are good American staples nonetheless. The photos of WWF superstars and the lead-in paragraphs to each recipe will please any wrestling fan. A few of the items aren't quite so common: ceveche, cabbage balls, pico de gallo. As with the recent WWF autobiographies, it's a fast read, has an eye-candy format, but also contains enough meaty entries to make your mouth water and your stomach growl. A great read for any wrestling fan, could be a good way to interest a teen in cooking. Highly recommended, and a great value.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunner!, November 14, 2000

By	"alight" (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews

I've been steadily working my way through the recipes in this book for the last few weeks--a different treat to go with every WWF RAW show. Frankly, I'm surprised at how good most of the recipes are; I expected this cookbook to just be another way for the WWF to make a cheap extra buck off wrestling's current popularity. Down-home treats like meatloaf and chicken fried steak share equal time with unexpected delights like merlot sorbet and breakfast quiche, so there's lots to choose from for all palates. The Tex-Mex recipes are at least as spicy as the titles would lead you to believe--Stone Cold's simmering sauce is more likely to stomp a mudhole in your tastebuds than in your steak. Ingredients tend to go for convenience over taste, so bottled gravy, packaged mixes, canned soup, and jello are frequently listed; a few recipes do focus of fresh veggies, rice, and low-fat cooking methods. It's obvious the editors had fun matching recipes with wrestlers; you gotta love Edge and his party meatballs(awesome!), but it's hard to believe Vince would actually be caught dead eating the cool-whip concoction known as "Millionaire Pie".

The flavor text that introduces each recipe is the real treat for wresting fans--background information on road agents, old time greats, and mid-card guys living it up in the Ohio valley is great fun to read, and with JR's personal writing style, it's like you're catching up with old friends. The combination of wrestling history, great photos of the stars, and pretty simple recipes make this a great first cookbook for young fans, while WWF collectors will love a new addition to the ubiquitous action figures and t-shirts.