Publisher Insight Editions has been killing it in the IP cookbook game for a while now, but I have to admit I was a bit skeptical when I received a copy of their newest entry into the canon: Cooking With Deadpool: Over 60 Recipes From the Merc With a Mouth (recipes by Elena P. Craig and DP snarkery by Marc Sumerak). I mean, chimichangas, yeah, sure, haha, but…

I should’ve had more faith. I’ve made a bunch of recipes from the book and they have all been huge hits with the entire family. And unlike a great many cookbooks, Cooking With Deadpool is fun to just sit down and read. Sumerak, who has written several of the Marvel Guides to the X Universe is amazing at capturing the essence of character voices and putting himself in the heads of some of our favorites in various, bizarre scenarios.

Here, he offers cooking tips, tricks, and food history from Deadpool’s POV with the merc’s penchant for weirdness and absurd metaphor (with less foul language and innuendo, children present and all), and yet, somehow, I still learned how to spatchcock a chicken (heheh, cock). There are also a few bits and pieces from Cable, and Sumerak nails the gruff, practical “I can’t believe I agreed to this bullshit” equally as well as he handles the DP madness.

What should you make first? The most Deadpool of recipes in this book is probably “A Self-Portrait in Meat.” It’s a one-pan meal that includes a protein, vegetable, and starch. Everything cooks for the same length of time (45min-1hr), so you don’t have to mess around with it and can do something else while it’s in the oven. And it feeds six with leftovers for the next day. (There are four of us, and we ate it fresh for dinner and then as part of a “clean the fridge leftovers” dinner toward the end of the week.)

Why, you may be wondering, is it called “A Self-Portrait in Meat”? Well, it tastes delicious with the glaze giving it a sweet tang, the cook time means the edges are well-done for the weirdos who like it that way, and the center is nicely medium-rare for smart people, and you give it potato eyes and a carrot nose and mouth so it looks like an avocado had sex with an older, more disgusting avocado – and from that unholy mix, a certain someone’s face was born.

My kids thought it was hilarious.

Next, the “Crepes of Wrath”: folded crepes with roasted grapes. I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking, “roasted grapes? The fuck?” And both of my kids and my husband thought the same thing. I even thought it a little, but I decided to make them anyway because mulled wine is good and that’s hot, right? And the recipe called for fruit to be roasted with balsamic, pepper, and thyme… interesting if perhaps not traditional.

Let me tell you a thing: they were delicious. Especially on the best, easiest crepes I have ever attempted and all of it topped with créme fraîche. We had them for dinner and then I ate the leftover grapes out of the container the next morning by themselves. Highly recommend.

And last, the moment you’ve been waiting for: yes, I did make chimichangas. Two of several variations on offer. Full disclosure: I baked them at 350 for 15-20 minutes instead of frying – less for health reasons and more because I didn’t feel like cleaning up a fry station – and it worked fine. These are the first chimichangas I have ever made that stayed closed after cooking and the toothpicks were removed. (There’s a two-page spread on rolling, which is *chef kiss.*) They are also the first ones I’ve made that didn’t crack or explode. Plus? They’re the first ones my husband didn’t find a reason to complain about.

Which ones have we tried so far? “Ya Basic Chimi” (chicken, bean, and cheese) and “Crab Rangoon Chimis” (I used shrimp the second time because we couldn’t find crab). The Basics are filling, hella solid, and delicious… and the recipe gives you permission to use precooked chicken, so they’re easy, quick, and cause minimal mess. The Crab Rangoon variant is rich (I used lower fat cream cheese to prevent heart attacks) but not quite as filling, so you may want to make extra.

We can’t wait to try the rest.

Cooking with Deadpool does have some dessert recipes, but we’ve been doing test runs on the deliciousness in Star Wars: Galactic Baking: The Official Cookbook of Sweet and Savory Treats from Tatooine, Hoth, and Beyond.

What we’re loving about Galactic Baking is the range of recipes. It has everything from cupcakes to savory hand pies, and we even found a couple that were kosher for Passover – provided approved ingredients were used – which everyone in my husband’s family appreciated very much. I also found that, at least thus far, it’s easy to swap out flavors and equivalent ingredients to tailor treats to meet individual tastes or allergy restrictions, which is great because watching other people enjoy dessert when you can’t is literally the worst.

“The Loth Cat Kibble” was a huge hit. Supplies were limited so we used 8 cups of multigrain trademarked “O” shape cereal and toffee chips instead of peanut butter chips (which we couldn’t find anywhere). Neither substitution had any effect on how much people ate… which was a lot. We definitely should have put the kibble in something with a cover far sooner than we did because leaving it in a huge, open bowl on the counter was not good for anyone’s blood sugar or efforts to go for the healthy snack options. Oh well.

“The Snowdrift Meringues” made my husband and father-in-law very happy because there’s no leavening agent other than air, which, luckily for all, is kosher for Passover – so these are acceptable post-Seder treats for those sticking to the rules. None of us are huge peppermint fans, so I added a couple tablespoons of cocoa to the egg whites when they were about 3/4 of the way to stiff peaks and then, when they were done, tossed in some mini-marshmallows and voila! Hot cocoa meringues. This type of cookie is fantastic for playing with favors and add-ins as long as egg yolk isn’t one of them; I learned from a very disappointing “It’s one drop, how bad can it be?” experience. The answer? “One drop will ruin your entire batch.”

Keep killing it, Insight. I’ll keep cooking.

Cooking with Deadpool is available now.

Star Wars: Galactic Baking is scheduled for release on 5/4/21.