COOKING WITH YOUR CHRYSLER

By Historianbuff (Own work)
 [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0),
Public domain or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

My wife is a superb cook and has incredibly well-honed instincts on working with ingredients, temperatures, and time to consistently produce diverse delectable dishes. It is a gift with her, and even if you would burn all of her recipe cards, she would still shine in the kitchen. I can count her culinary failures since 1977 with the fingers on just one hand--and that does not include the thumb.

However, a food preparation arena she has not yet entered is one that has been occupied for years by truckers and other individuals who spend much time on the highway--i.e. cooking with a hot vehicle engine while driving.  There are recipes available devoted to this art (for example, the seminal "fast food" cookbook Manifold Destiny by Chris Maynard and Bill Scheller). Although there are certain basic concepts which auto chefs quickly ascertain (such as "don't place the food directly on the oily engine block--wrap it in foil first," "don't allow leaking radiator hoses to steam your veggies with coolant," "keep the crown roast well away from the fan," and "avoid making souffles unless your car is running really smoothly"), there are enough variables in the process that only an individual with keen culinary instincts could prepare decent banquets on the motor (or, as they call it in the trade, "host a block party").

As with real estate, the key is location, location, location. Steaks should be grilled on the exhaust manifold, which is the hottest part of the motor. Baked potatoes go on the engine block. Vegetables should be steamed on the cooler valve covers. Ironically, nothing should be cooked on the grill.

A workman is only as good as his tools.  Unfortunately, modern cars with their overcrowded engine compartments and heavy layers of insulation under the hood are not nearly as well suited space-wise or temperature-wise as their elder brethren in serving as stoves or ovens. Most experts agree that the ultimate vehicles for preparing "meals on wheels" are mid-fifties to early-sixties Chrysler products equipped with the massive Hemi V-8 power plant. These engines are well ventilated, have plenty of spacious flat cooking surfaces, and produce the best ranges of heat for food preparation.