Does This Taste Funny?: A Half-baked Look at Food and Foodies - Paperback

by Michael Dane (Author)

After many years of working in standup comedy, followed by a small nervous breakdown, Michael Dane taught himself to cook at the age of fifty. Along the way, he found a little bit of sanity. If you're a full-fledged foodie or a kitchen klutz, whether you love to cook or live for take-out -- if you're craving humor with a bite, this book is for you. Join the author on his stumbling culinary journey, as he bridges the gap between Top Ramen and Top Chef, from 'The Piggly Wiggly Cookbook' to 'Modernist Cuisine.' If you like gadgets, you'll find out about about everything from quinoa sifters to guns that shoot beef jerky. You'll also read about two of the most important things any good cook should have: a cast-iron skillet and a catchphrase. You'll meet a group of performers who make music with vegetables . . . a man who has made the best doughnuts in L.A. for the past fifty years . . . and a tattooed, fire-loving chef with a connection to Hunter S. Thompson. Find out how the host of "The Splendid Table" feels about okra, and learn about cooking a fox from somebody's mom. The author's own mother makes a surprise appearance, too, and though this isn't a cookbook, there are even a couple of recipes for good measure. Dig in!

Author Biography

Michael Dane has successfully avoided real work for most of his adult life. He has been writing since fourth grade, when his mom read his first story and said, "You should be a writer." Instead, he did standup comedy, appearing regularly at the Comedy Store in Hollywood. He's also performed on a frozen lake for the opening of ice-fishing season, at a synagogue for Purim, and at the Oxnard Strawberry Festival. Surprisingly, none of those gigs led to an HBO special. Michael Dane lives in Sacramento now, where he has decided his mom was probably right. Not for nothing, he also makes a killer meatloaf.