Author: Benjamin Woodley Judd

Ben Whishawbi Peas

Party Food, Side, Snack

Let’s start with the best news – despite my mad science skillz, I did not accidentally engineer a way for two men to procreate meaning that Benny Whish wasn’t dropping by to spring a decade’s worth of child support payments on me.

The bad news is that he isn’t still curled up in a ball pining over me … which is just odd and kind of rude, TBH.

I first met the other Ben while he was starring in Hamlet in 2004. I played the roles of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and let’s just say I spied action on and off the stage. Oh the action off stage …

Our torrid dressing room affair quickly blossomed into love and I vowed to make him a star, and us a power couple … fulfilling my fantasy to date someone that looked similar and shared my name given it didn’t work out so well with Batfleck.

After I purchased the rights to Perfume to try and snag my first Oscar, he brutally stole the role out from under me. We went through an extremely messy break-up that even the divine Cate Blanchett could not fix, despite her best attempts on the set of I’m Not There.

I’ve utilised the following decade to tear him down at any opportunity, so was super surprised to hear that he wanted to reconnect. Needless to say, I was extremely wary when he arrived … but shock of all shocks, he wanted to apologise for the Perfume slight.

While it doesn’t bring me back the Oscar I was robbed of, the fact that he could admit that I would have done better with the part is enough for me to forgive him. Plus – it is pride month and since we’re both married gay men, I was softened by the idea to double date. I’m a sucker for the community.


He on the other hand is a sucker for my Ben Whishawbi Peas.

 

 

While this used to be our go to post-coital snack, there was something oddly pleasant about sitting down with a beer and the spicy snacks, to work through our issues and celebrate actual happy relationships as adults.

Seriously, being this mature makes me sick … but these babies don’t – enjoy!

 

 

Ben Whishawbi Peas
Serves: 6.

Ingredients
2 cups frozen peas, defrosted and drained
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 tsp onion salt
1 clove of garlic, minced
¼ cup wasabi
1 tbsp tahini
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard

Method
Preheat oven to 100°C.

Place the peas on a lined baking sheet with the olive oil, toss to coat and bake for about three hours, or until they are well dried.

While they are baking, combine everything in a jug.

Remove the peas from the oven and transfer to a bowl and toss through the wasabi coating. Return to the baking tray and bake for a further 15 minutes, or until dry and crisp.

Devour.

 

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Spiced Cualiflower Salad Tiatia

Salad, Side, Snack, Survivor NZ: Nicaragua, TV Recap, Vegetarian

Previously on Survivor New Zealand, Lee-gel was swiftly booted from the merged tribe … and was just as swiftly followed by Mike. After a glorious coconut chop challenge, Barb took out reward and then control of the tribe, pulling in Jak and Tom to potentially take out Sala. Then my angel Lee lost the duel and found himself out of the game for good, breaking my heart in the process.

Back on redemption, Mike was still pining after Georgia whilst doing some extremely basic maths and complained about Shannon for playing the game. Though he was kind enough to hope he’d see her on redemption soon – that’s nice, right?

Meanwhile at Casar, Avi wandered aimlessly around the camp while Sala continued to be a sweethea … what do we have here? I spy Avi taking Lee’s confessional stance, having the camera frame his crotch – look who is trying to woo me. They all complained about going stir crazy and wanting more space, before Sala gushed about how happy he is, how he wants to play honourably and how the money would help him. Seriously, give him a chicken to save and call Sia, because I want him to have 100k, dammit.

Shay gave a rundown on where the numbers lie and that despite the fact she doesn’t really trust Barb, she was feeling safe. Which you know means Sala may actually be heading to redemption island sometime soon.

Avi continued his campaign for my heart, giving another crotch confessional … whilst frolicing in the water in his jocks. Let’s be honest, THAT IS NOT A ONE-TWO PUNCH I CAN RESIST. Evidently hearing I’m into some skin action, Jak got sweet Sala to whip him up a loincloth, and i’m strangely aroused by the idea.

Shannon then approached Avi about where he was standing, confused about whether she should actually take out Sala. Avi – in crotch-confessional #3 – then confirmed that she just wanted to reassure her place in the alliance, which sounds like a classic tale of misdirection … but can it actually be that obvious?

Jak then returned in his loincloth and I hate myself for it, but I’m strangely into it. In an angry hate-sex kind of way.

Hearing how erotic the episode was playing out, Matt decided to break it up for the next immunity challenge – a staged battle of digging for clubs and breaking a jar, climbing under obstacles with a full mouth of liquid and spitting it in a container … before finally completing a puzzle. Barb and Shay fell out in the first round, followed by Nate, Jak and Sala in the second, leaving Tom, Shannon and Avi to battle it out for immunity. Almost instantaneously Tom solved the and took immunity, though didn’t need it according to Barb.

Back at camp Barb confirmed that getting Sala out was still the plan, which upset Nate due to the fact he is so damn loveable … which is exactly why you boot him ASAP. Avi, Shay and Sala meanwhile locked in the vote for Jak, making Sala feel safe. Barb and Shannon then reconfirmed the plan to get rid of Sala, with the latter concerned about Nate since he likes Sala so much.

Meanwhile Tom battled to reign in Jak, who is wanting to push the screwed narrative so far that it may blow up in their faces. Thankfully for the potential flippers, Tom got through to Jak and he was actually quite convincing that he had resigned himself to going home.

Sala and Avi then checked in with Nate, making Nate super nervous and guilty. On the flipside, Jak and Tom got together by the beach to celebrate how well their acting was going. Nate then threw some confusion into the mix by approaching Barb while she was trying to relax, to see if they could change the plan to Avi.

At tribal council, we got to see Lee looking babin’ on the jury which of course made Shannon feel anxious, given the fact he is not her biggest fan. Shay then threw some shade about people being fake, Sala said he felt bad voting out good people, which in turn made Nate feel super anxious. Matt got in on the act by throwing shade at Jak, and Shannon rationalised why the boys need to get over her flipping and painted herself as a perfect goat before flipping once again, this time with Barb, sending Sala to redemption island.

Mike was extremely shocked to see Sala arrive at redemption where Sala spoke about feeling blindsided but given he is an absolute delight, he expected it and was back to his happy self in about ten minutes. Not so happy was Avi, who could barely wait to get back to camp before laying into Shannon, Barb and Nate for taking out Sala. He was particularly annoyed with the girls, who to their credit stood their ground and took the tantrum … before badass Barb just shrugged and confirmed that Avi is probably next to go.

The next day Avi was still feeling a little salty and behaved how I do at work, wandering around hoping not to have to engage with people. He then told us about how much he needed the money and couldn’t bare to vote for one of the traitors to win the prize. As much as I think the tantrum was horrible for him, his dislike of people has well and truly kept me on his side.

Jak and Tom then reconnected by the beach to discuss their luck at still being in the game, where Tom showed how well he understands the game. Jak then approached the queen in her hammock, interrupting her reading in the process, to see where they stood. This started a steady stream of people going to her to see what the plan was, really cementing her as the queen of Survivor NZ.

While everyone was lounging around camp with Avi ignoring them, they were surprised to hear that instead of a reward challenge … it was time for the next duel! This of course filled Shannon with dread, considering that Mike is still extremely pissed with her and the fact she just blindsided Sala.

After a brief interlude of Sala telling Mike to go into underwear modelling – slay Sala, YAS – and telling us how he wasn’t cut out of the deception of the game, Matt arrived for the duel and to make everyone left in the game feel a little nervous. Sala told them all that while he had no hard feelings, he did want to ask some questions … to see if Avi or Shay knew he was going. When they confirmed that they didn’t, he was sweet – bless this saint!

Mike on the other hand had no qualms tearing Shannon to shreds, for flipping on him and Lee. Not wanting to take it, she agreed that she didn’t need to go as far as she did with the lies but wasn’t willing to leave her place up to chance.

With the smack talk fizzling, we got down to the duel which is a classic memory game. As happy as it makes me to see that it is anybody’s game, memory challenges are boring as shit to watch slash commentate. Mike got out to an early lead … which Sala could never catch-up to, exiting the game as the eighth boot.

While he was sad to be exiting the game, he was proud to be able to say that he kept his integrity and walked into my arms with his head held high. After briefly berating him for not doing a 180 and cutting his rivals as quickly as he could, I decided not to kick a friend while they’re down and whipped him up a delicious Spiced Cauliflower Salad Tiatia.

 

 

I know that the 90s taught us that cauliflower is disgusting but that is the horrifically steamed or boiled take on the veggie, which leaves it sodden and bland. Bake it though, and you really make it sing. Then add some spice and well, just go make this baby.

Enjoy!

 

 

Spiced Cualiflower Salad Tiatia
Serves: 4-8.

Ingredients
olive oil
1 head of cauliflower, trimmed and cut into florets
400g can of chickpeas, drained, rinsed and dried
1 tbsp turmeric
1 tsp garam masala
salt and pepper, to season
small handful of coriander, roughly chopped
½ cup natural yoghurt
½ a lemon, juiced
seeds from a pomegranate

Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Place the cauliflower and chickpeas on a lined baking sheet and toss through a lug of oil. Sprinkle over the turmeric, garam masala and a whack of salt and pepper, and rub with your hands to coat. Place in the oven and bake for twenty minutes to half an hour, or until golden brown and crisped.

Once they’re down, transfer to a bowl and toss through the coriander, yoghurt, lemon juice and pomegranate seeds.

Serve immediately and devour.

 

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Whishaw’n’hopin’

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

Sometimes I don’t know if the burgeoning culinary writing fame is a blessing or a curse. I mean, it is fantastic to share a glimpse of life on the A-list with plebs like you – oh, congrats Bey and Jay, so excited about the birth of Ben and Annelie Jnr’s – but then you’ve also got the curse of friends desperate to appear to help their careers under the guise of reconnecting.

Yes, that may sound harsh … but I am referring to an ex here, so I’m always going to throw a bit of shade.

As you know, I caught up with my boy Lin-Manuel for Tony Gold and he was telling me how desperate my ex Ben Whishaw was to reconnect. Now since he is currently filming a lead role in Mary Poppins Returns opposite Lin, Mez and Ang, I’m kind of concerned about his motives for catching-up … since that movie is fucking A-list.

Is it possible to impregnate a man? Or is he London spying a return to his OG Aussie love?

Image source: Unknown.

 

As you can probably tell, we are very social but the fun isn’t only limited to celebrities! You can follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Tumblr.

Cheazy-E Bacon Cob

Bread, Dip, Party Food, Snack

Reconnecting with Pete Doherty to discuss turning our life story into a musical got me feeling all nostalgic and emotional, and as such, I felt it was high time to get the time machine out and check in with a dearly departed friend. One that I’d always wanted to spin our life story into a movie, but was never able to due to a (since ended) feud with Ice Cube.

Yep – I went back to the early ‘90s to see my boy Eazy-E.

Given his somewhat sudden death occurred during a period I was banned from entering the U.S.A., I was never able to say a final goodbye and that is something that has weighed on my soul ever since. Though not enough to keep me from getting deported/banned from the U.S. 60 times since, the latest being by the Cheeto in Chief last month.

It should come as absolutely – said in my best Gia Gunn breaking character as Kim Kardashian voice – no surprise that I grew up in Compton with the N.W.A. and was an integral member of the group … until I was asked to leave for causing too much drama with rival crews. Despite being ‘released’ from the group, it was always accepted that if Eaze is the godfather of gangsta rap, I am definitely the godmother due to our close, unshakeable bond.

Fun fact: Straight Outta Compton was written about me as a cheeky nod to the fact that I’m anything but straight. That song is so much more cerebral than people think … and really should be the anthem for next year’s pride. I mean, I’m practically the OG Babadook.

I decided it was best to go back to ‘93 at the peak of his feud with Dre, as it wouldn’t arouse any suspicion since we’d get together every few nights to talk smack about Dre and plot his downfall. I know inventing time travel is a luxury but like SpiderMan, I know that with that great power comes great responsibility and it is often hard not to try and fix the past for my friends.

I mean, I had HIV medication packed and was ready to save him, butterfly effect be damned, but I backed out after he gave a rousing speech about how everything happens for a reason, carpe diem and Dead Poet’s Society. You may not be aware, he was a passionate fan of that movie … even more so than my year nine English teacher who clearly assumed he was the second coming of Robin WIlliams’ character.

He was not … and I’m well off tangent.

Given that I knew he didn’t have long left, I decide to whip him up his favourite, extremely unhealthy dish, my Cheazy-E Bacon Cob.

 

 

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, this is not a healthy dish … but damn is it delicious. I mean, there is no way any combination of cheese and bacon could go wrong.

Just remember, this is a sometime food – enjoy!

 

 

Cheazy-E Bacon Cob
Serves: 6-8.

Ingredients
2 cob loaves, one for the dip and one for extra dipping croutons
6 rashers streaky bacon, diced
4 shallots, finely sliced
250g cream cheese, softened
½ cup double cream
⅔ cup sour cream
1 cup mozzarella, grated
1 cup cheddar, grated
salt and pepper to taste

Method
Preheat your oven to 180°C.

Cut the top off one of the cob loaves and scoop out the bread. Place the hollowed cob on a lined baking sheet and cut the remaining bread – excluding the lid – into bite size pieces and place on another tray. Dice the remaining cob and place on the second baking sheet. Set aside.

Heat a skillet over medium heat and fry the bacon and shallots for about five minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Place the cream cheese, double cream and sour cream in the bowl of an electric mixer, and beat for a couple of minutes, or until combined. Add the cheeses, bacon, shallots and a good whack of salt and pepper and mix for a further minute.

Transfer the filling to the hollowed cob, place the lid on and bake for half an hour. Remove the lid and bake for a further ten minutes, adding the remaining bread to crisp up.

Serve immediately and devour.

 

As you can probably tell, we are very social but the fun isn’t only limited to celebrities! You can follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Tumblr.

Meatzza Doherty

Main, Pizza, Snack

Where do I start with my dear friend Pete Doherty. I mean, despite all the ups and downs – the latter of which there were many during the noughties – we’ve always had a solid friendship and he was been the greatest support a guy could hope for.

I don’t know if it had anything to do with the fact that we met whilst working as grave fillers at Willesden Cemetery in the late ‘90s – let’s be honest, it may have been the ‘00s, I wasn’t the most reliable narrator at the time – or not, but we’ve always tried not to sweat the small stuff with each other and have made the most out of every day.

Sadly though making the most out of every day back then involved a lot of coke, in addition to his blossoming music career.

Since we both recently got clean, I don’t want to dwell on coke years – plus, it will make the musical of our lives more exciting for you – but it goes without saying that I was his muse and was instrumental in the success of Babyshambles and the Libertines.

After leaving rehab in 2015, we made the difficult decision to keep our distance from one another to avoid falling into the temptations of our old habits. I would be lying if I said that I haven’t wanted to hang out with Pete every day of the past 18 months, so I’m glad that we both feel well enough to catch-up and prepare to tell our story, one step at a time like we are Sharon Needles as Caitlyn Jenner.

As soon as I heard footsteps in the hall, I ran to the door, flung it open and threw myself into his arms, saying everything I couldn’t during the course of our absence. Despite having our break, it felt like only yesterday that we’d last caught up, laughing and joking, and sharing what we’ve been up to.

While he was a little bit reticent about the musical at first, my Meatzza Doherty made quick work of winning him over.

 

 

No I don’t make it a habit of talking smack about my dear friend Saint Nigella Lawson, but I felt just one meatzza was nowhere near enough. While I couldn’t convince him that a Meatlovers Meatzza is a good idea, he was definitely sold on my chargrilled veggie version. But really, how couldn’t you be – artichoke, olives, capsicum, (non-grilled) mushrooms and feta … on a big-arse patty of meat. Could you ask for anything more?

The answer is no, FYI. I know you’ll enjoy it!

 

 

Meatzza Doherty
Serves: 4.

Ingredients
500g beef mince
3 tbsp parmesan cheese, grated
3 tbsp breadcrumbs
3 tbsp basil
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 egg
salt and pepper, to taste
400g can chopped tomatoes
1 tsp dried oregano
4-6 chargrilled artichokes, quartered
⅓ cup olives, pitted and halved
⅓ cup chargrilled capsicum, sliced
200g mushrooms, sliced
150g feta, crushed

Method
Preheat the oven to 180ºC.

Combine the mince, parmesan, breadcrumbs, basil, garlic, egg and salt and pepper in a bowl, and scrunch to combine. Press the mix into a lined pizza tray.

Next, combine the tin tomatoes and oregano and smear over the bloody patty. After that, throw all the veggies over the top, followed by the feta and throw into the oven for half an hour, or until cooked and golden.

Remove from the oven and allow to rest for five minutes, before serving / devouring.

 

As you can probably tell, we are very social but the fun isn’t only limited to celebrities! You can follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Tumblr.