Gastronaut: Adventures in Food for the Romantic, the Foolhardy, and the Brave

Comedian Gates is an "epicurean desperado," willing to cook and eat anything—at least once. After all, he argues, if we eat 22 tons of food over our lifetimes and use 16% of our waking lives preparing food, shouldn't we try for the occasional "culinary epiphany" by maximizing our "excitement-to-mastication ratio"? A "culinary disaster" is not necessarily a "culinary failure," he reminds readers as he explains how to prepare fish sperm, sweetbreads, head cheese and cow heel. He admits he hasn't (yet) tried some dishes—such as those for Roasted Placenta Loaf, and Quick 'n' Easy Termites—but most have the user-friendly directions that signify a well-tested recipe. The book has no rigid structure, so a chapter on gold-plating food leads to a section on how to recreate a bacchanalian orgy or even the Last Supper, followed by an exploration of cannibalism and a look at cooking with aftershave. By the time readers reach the 11 pages of directions for producing an imu (a Polynesian pitbake requiring, among other things, a huge yard, a couple of truckloads of scrap iron and a small lamb or goat), they'll be with Gates in spirit, even if they're not ready to bring in the backhoe. (Apr.)