Cooking and music have always been my favorite hobbies. I have loved to cook before I could even reach the counter and picked up my first instrument when I was four year old. When I listened to the iconic record MM.. Food for the first time, I witnessed my two worlds collide. 

It has been 15 years since Daniel Dumiele, better known by his stage name MF Doom, released his iconic food-themed album, MM…Food (2004). Daniel Dumiele has released over 100 records under names such as Viktor Vaughn and Metal Fingers, and has also released work as a member of groups like Madvillian, Danger Doom, and Doomstarks. However, MM…Food was only the second record he released as “MF Doom” and it has become one of his most critically acclaimed. Doom throws it back to what he believed was rap’s golden age. Although the lyrics are not directly about food, Doom uses food-themed metaphors and titles to discuss the topics of hip-hop as a genre, his friends, and more. The album consists of Doom spitting verses over old-school funk beats. He brings us back to vintage hip-hop.

The first time I listened to MM.. Food I was intrigued by the theme: two of my passions, food and music, are masterfully brought together. My first listen to MM.. Food made me a little hungry — I mean, who wouldn’t be after listening to an album with tracks that are named “Beef Rap,” “Kookies,” and “Hoe Cakes.” I started looking around to see if anyone had written up some recipes inspired by this masterful record, and was utterly disappointed. Not a single article existed out there that provided the public with some recipes inspired by the album. This is practically a crime so I took the responsibility into my own hands. I couldn’t simply let this amazing food-themed album exist out there without recipes to accompany the titles! This was my social, cultural and moral duty. So, here they are, the recipes that you never knew you needed that pair with MF Doom’s iconic MM.. Food.

 

Appetizer:

“Rapp Snitch Knishes”

Mini Potato Spinach Knishes

Yileds 25 Mini Knishes

Ingredients: Directions:
For the Knishes:

  • 1 pound of russet potatoes, peeled and quartered (about 2 medium sized potatoes)
  • 1 TB canola oil
  • 1 TB butter
  • 1 ½ diced yellow onions
  • 1 large egg
  • ⅙ cup matzo meal or all purpose flour
  • 2 ½ oz spinach leaves, roughly chopped
  • Salt and pepper

For the Garnish:

  • ¼ Cup sour cream
  • 4 TB chopped chives
  1. Preheat oven to 375° Fahrenheit.
  2. Place potatoes and a teaspoon of salt in a pot and cover with enough cold water to submerge the potatoes. Bring to a boil and gently boil for about 2 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Drain and mash the potatoes.
  3. Heat oil and butter in a large pan. Cook onions for 20 minutes, stir occasionally until they are golden brown. Transfer onions into a food processor,add the egg and a few pinches of salt and pepper. Pulse several times until the onions are finely chopped. Scrape mixture out of food processor and into a bowl with the mashed potatoes. Add matzo meal or flour and mix until the mixture is uniform.
  4. Add chopped spinach to skillet previously used for the onions and sauté over medium heat until wilted. Add spinach to potato mixture and stir until uniform.
  5. Grease two baking sheets lightly and scoop a tablespoon of the potato mixture and roll into ping pong sized balls and place on the baking sheet. Repeat until all of the mix is used then push down on each ball with your thumb to flatten slightly.
  6. Bake knishes for about 30 minutes, then turn the oven to broil and move knishes to the top rack to brown for 2-3 minutes.
  7. Set knishes on a platter and garnish with a small dollop of sour cream and sprinkle chives on top.

 

Main Course:

Option 1

“Beef Rap”

Vegetarian Beef Taco Wraps

Yields enough wraps to serve 5

Ingredients: Directions:
For the Filling:

  • 2 TB olive oil
  • 1 small yellow onion, chopped
  • 1 lb vegetarian ground beef alternative (precooked)
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1 TB tomato paste
  • 1 TB taco seasoning
  • ¼ cup chopped fresh tomatoes
  • 15 oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 2 heads of romaine lettuce

For the Garnish:

  • Shredded pepper jack cheese
  • Pico de gallo
  • Avocado
  • Chopped cilantro
  • Sour cream
  • Lime
  1. Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat and add the chopped onions. Stir occasionally and cook until onions are golden brown.
  2. Add chopped fresh tomatoes and tomato paste to pan and mix until tomato paste covers everything, add 1 TB of water to help mix if needed. Then add the vegetarian ground beef alternative and mix thoroughly.
  3. Sprinkle taco seasoning over the contents of the pan and cook for a few minutes until completely warm throughout.
  4. Transfer contents of pan to a bowl and use the pan to cook the rinsed black beans with some salt and ground black pepper. Then, transfer black beans to a separate bowl.
  5. Serve the wraps by taking one leaf of romaine lettuce and filling it with the vegetarian ground beef mixture and the black beans. 
  6. Repeat until all of the vegetarian ground beef mixture and beans are used.
  7. Garnish lettuce wraps with pico gallo, sour cream and cheese. Sprinkle all of the wraps with chopped cilantro and lime if needed.

 

Option 2: 

“Gumbo”

Shrimp and Okra Gumbo

Yields 5 servings

Ingredients: Directions:
  • 3 TB butter
  • 1 Cup finely chopped onion
  • ¾ Cup finely chopped green bell pepper
  • ¾ Cup finely chopped celery
  • 3 cloves of garlic, minced
  • ¾ tsp dried thyme
  • ¾ tsp salt
  • ⅓ tsp  black pepper
  • 2 ½ cans diced tomatoes
  • 1 package thawed frozen okra
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 16 oz vegetable broth
  • 1 pound medium raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • ½ TB hot sauce 
  • ½ tsp filé powder
  • Hot cooked rice
  1. Melt butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, bell pepper, and celery and sauté for about 15 minutes, until tender
  2. Stir in thyme, salt, and pepper and cook for a few minutes before stirring in tomatoes, okra, vegetable broth and bay leaf.
  3. Bring to a boil and then cover. Turn the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes.
  4. Add shrimp, hot sauce and filé powder and cook for 3 to 5 minutes until shrimp turns pink. Remove and discard bay leaf. Serve over rice.

 

Dessert:

Kookies

Chocolate Chip Oreo Chunk Kookies

Yields about 2 dozen cookies

Ingredients: Directions:
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup white granulated sugar
  • 1 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 2 tsp hot water
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 3 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 ½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 12 crushed oreo cookies
  • ½ cup of chopped walnuts, optional
  1. Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit.
  2. Cream together the butter, sugar and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla.
  3. Dissolve the baking soda in hot water and then add it to the batter and add the salt as well.
  4. Stir in flour, chocolate chips, crushed Oreo cookies and nuts (if you decide to include them).
  5. Drop large tablespoon size balls of the dough onto a baking sheet leaving about an inch between each ball.
  6. Bake for about 10 minutes in the preheated oven until the edges are a golden brown color.

Article by Tovah Popilsky

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