Words by Shanice Spear
Prodigy went from cooking in the booth to cooking behind bars. After Prodigy was sentenced back in 2007 for illegal possession of a firearm he had to maintain a healthier lifestyle than most, even if it meant skipping a prison meal or two. Due to his sickle cell anemia, P was forced to cook for himself instead of relying on the prison food, which led to the creation and release of his cook book Commissary Kitchen: My Infamous Prison Cookbook in 2011.In the book he gives you a little bit of his prison experiences and food recipes. He shows you how to survive a system designed to wear men and women down from the inside out. “This book won’t make you a better cook, but it might make you a better person,” the “Shook Ones” rapper writes in the books introduction. From making dumplings out of soggy elbow macaroni to ketchup soaked sangria; as we celebrate Prodigy’s 43rd Birthday lets check out some of his best recipes from his cook book.
P’s clean hands Sweet Potato Pie
Using crushed graham crackers and melted butter packets for the crust, Prodigy then takes some yams along with juice from the can for the base and mixes everything altogether with sugar and honey. After heating up the filling in the microwave he then spreads the yams over the crust toasting everything for about 25 minutes.
P’s Prison Potstickers
For this creative meal all you’ll need is macaroni pasta, canned vegetables, hot sauce and soy sauce. Boiling the macaroni until it turns to mush, P begins to make little balls with his palm, using his thumbs to flatten them, creating small dumpling pockets. Filling them with the canned vegetables, hot sauce and soy sauce he brushes them with butter leaving it to toast for about 3 minutes.
P’s Prison Sangria
After you gathered a good amount of fruits, the rapper suggests putting it in a sealable bag, ‘mashing it together until it looks f***ing disgusting.’ Afterwards let it sit in a bowl of microwaved hot water, then wrap the bag in a t-shirt and find a place to stash it.
“After a few days, the bag should start blowing up, which means gas is in there and it’s becoming liquor. Open the bag a little and add some ketchup and a ton of sugar.”
‘P’s Prison Surprise’
“A lot of people f**k with Prison Surprise”, Prodigy writes. “I’m not one of those people but if you wanna be stupid enough to try it, I have the recipe for you.”
This recipe being Prodigy’s least favorite was ironically a favorite for many of the inmates; ramen noodles, doritos nacho cheese chips, and canned mackerel. After boiling the noodles, crush the Doritos chips to create a cheese sauce and then rinse of the mackerel and place it on top. It’s no surprise why P was not feeling this particular recipe. Yuck!
