The Vulgar Chef vs. Thug Kitchen

Two popular cookbooks, "The Eat Like Shit Cookbook" from the Vulgar Chef (aka Kyle Marcoux), and the Thug Kitchen's "Eat Like You Give a F*ck" both share the same gimmick - edgy profanity.  Without the attitude and the curse words sprinkled throughout each publication, there is nothing that separates these publications from all the other cookbooks already out on the market. The Vulgar Chef uses the same Mornay cheese sauce that my favourite cookbook uses for macaroni and cheese; the basic vinaigrette recipe from the Thug Kitchen is no better than the one in everyone's favourite cookbook. Does that make the recipes in these books any less appealing? Not at all. "Eat Like You Give a F*ck" has a lot of great vegetarian foods inside and depending on how long you can tolerate the hardcore shtick, it would make a great source for those times a meatless dish is required. Meat lovers and food porn fans can't get enough of Marcoux's creations, as his food mashups are inspired. He was even featured on "FrankenFood". With that in mind, here are two recipes from each of these cookbooks that caught my eye, cleaned up for the easily offended.

Thug Kitchen's Carrot Cake Cookies

Ingredients

192 g flour (whole wheat pastry or white)
64 g packed light brown sugar
58.5 g chopped walnuts
58.5 g raisins or chopped candied ginger (optional)
5 g baking powder
2.5 g salt
2.5 g ground cinnamon
2.5 g ground ginger
2 medium-sized carrots, shredded
118 mL milk (regular, almond, nondairy, whatever)
59 mL olive or grapeseed oil

1. Preheat oven to 190 ℃. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, mix the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and ground ginger until you no longer see lumps. In a separate bowl, mix the shredded carrots, milk, and oil. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ones and stir until there are only a few dry spots. Fold in the nuts and raisins (or chopped candied ginger) and stir until there aren't any dry spots.
3. Spoon the dough onto the baking sheet for about 18 to 22 minutes, until the bottoms are golden brown.

The Vulgar Chef's Drunk as Fuck Mussels with Smokey Ass Garlic Onion Butter

Ingredients

900 - 1360 g mussels, cleaned and debearded
64 g chopped red onion
60 g fresh chopped garlic
32 g corn kernels (can or off the cob)
32 g thinly sliced fresh or pickled jalapeño
32 g chopped fresh basil
237 mL bourbon or white wine
1 chopped medium-sized tomato
butter (half a stick)
olive oil
cooked and chopped bacon
crumbled blue cheese
salt and pepper to taste

1. Run the mussels under cold water, and rinse or scrub any debris on the shell. Yank the beard (the thin, sticky membranes hanging out of the shell) out. If you spot any gaping mussels, check for signs of life by picking them and squeezing them a few times or knocking them with another mussel. The mussel should slowly close itself back up. If it doesn't, toss it in the trash. Soak the remaining mussels in a bowl of cold water for 30 minutes.
2. Heat 14g of butter and 14 g of olive oil in a large pot at medium heat. Add the garlic, jalapeño, basil, onion and let cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Toss in the mussels and give everything a good stirring. Throw in the bourbon, tomato, and corn and cook until the mussels open up.
3. Melt the remaining butter. Once the mussels open up, throw in butter and give everything one final mix. Serve in a bowl, and top with the blue cheese and the bacon.