Discomfort Food

Warning: This book is not for the faint of heart…or the weak of stomach. This Is Why You’re Fat: Where Dreams Become Heart Attacks (out now) — like the horrifyingly addictive blog that spawned it — is a you’ve-gotta-see-it-to-believe-it tour of extreme cuisine: the Elvis Donut (peanut butter-glazed, topped with bananas and bacon); ditch dogs (hot dogs topped with mac and cheese); and deep-fried, well, everything (Twinkies, Mars bars, Oreos, deviled eggs).

But the book, unlike the website, offers recipes, so adventurous home cooks can create their own versions of such artery-clogging delicacies as the Bacon Mac and Cheese Meatloaf. Or the McNuggetini — perfect for your next cocktail party: Mix 3-4 shots of vanilla vodka in a large McDonald’s chocolate milkshake (yum!), rim 2 martini glasses with 1 container of barbecue sauce (huh?), garnish each glass with a chicken McNugget (eww!).

 

Most of the recipes are relatively accessible. You don’t have to be Paula Deen to bake up a batch of bacon chocolate-chip cookies. If you want to have "The Porkgasm," however, you will need five different kinds of sausage and your own smoker. But first, ask yourself, do I really want to eat a massive mound of pork that’s shaped like a pig? Those little garlic-clove eyes are even scarier than the calorie count.

 

This Is Why You're Fat: Where Dreams Become Heart Attacks is out now from Harper Studio