Biker Billy's Hog Wild on a Harley Cookbook

March 3, 2003
The typical Harley-Davidson owner, according to a recent New York Times
article, is 45 years old with an average income of $78,300. Why such a person would be interested in Milwaukee Proud Beer and Cheese Soup, or the frozen peas in Crankcase Curry, is just part of the Biker Billy mystery. The other part is how Hufnagle (Cooks with Fire; Freeway-a-Fire) has managed to find enough uses for jalapeños, tomato sauce and kidney beans to generate this third volume of his gourmand-on-wheels series. Actually, many of the 200 recipes are borrowed from fellow motorcycle addicts from across the country. Lisa's Day-Long Muffin is an energy pack of banana, nuts, brown sugar and chocolate chips. Alternatively, Dena Sheet's Fiery Breakfast Burritos, stuffed with pork, peppers and cheddar, is a gas in every sense of the word. Hog mavens are evidently drawn to pork as further exemplified by Chris File's Ragin' Cajun Pork Roast, which is layered with Tasso Ham and Jalapeño Pepper Jack Cheese before cooking in a Dutch Oven. Chili, of course, earns a chapter of its own and while none of the 14 versions break new ground, readers are at least given the verbatim (albeit unappetizing) instructions of Bruce Peterson for his Emergency Chili: "Drain the grease.... If you strain it through a sock... you can lube the wheel bearings on yer ol' lady's grocery wagon with it." The 55 photographs are of choppers, and anyone turning to the Resources appendix in hope of locating a supplier of hot peppers will find instead the phone number of the Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum in Pickerington, Ohio.

May 15, 2003
\deflang1033\pard\plain\f3\fs24 Macho cooks who've conquered the outdoor barbecue but are hesitant to move forward may be attracted to the indoor stove by the recipes in Bill Hufnagle's \plain\f3\fs24" Biker Billy's Hog Wild on a Harley \plain\f3\fs24 Cookbook. Few symbols offer the macho rush of a big motorcycle, so these recipes collected from Harley enthusiasts threaten no male self-image. Biker Billy begins with breakfast recipes: some, such as the oven-roasted Dine and Dash Potatoes, are useful in anyone's kitchen; others, such as his well-liquored eggnog, are for mature adults only. No sissified vegetarian fare here--the author's favorite vegetable dish is ratatouille-filled pie infused with smoky chipotle pepper and dubbed Machine Gun Pie. Thailand's pad thai makes an appearance. Despite the title's appeal to a niche audience, Hufnagle has plenty of attractive recipes for all appetites to relish. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2003, American Library Association.)