You better wok

We tend to think of drag queens in nightclubs and other exotic locales, not in the kitchen. Sure, drag queens know their cocktails, and they know how to hide the franks and beans. There's even a restaurant in New York staffed entirely by drag queen waitresses. Yet somehow, sequins and wigs don't call to mind home cooking. But the campy new cookbook, Cooking Doesn't Have to be a Drag (available online at www.cookingqueens.com,) shows that drag can be domestic too.

After all, a girl's gotta eat.

The brainstorm of Chicago native Stephen Bieniek, Drag would be at home on the kitchen shelf or on the coffee table; the book is both tongue in cheek and mouth watering. It's a natural combination for Bieniek, who's been interested in cooking and performing since he was "stiletto high to a drag queen."

"My goal was to create a fun and entertaining cookbook that included recipes you could make for a BBQ or for a formal affair," says Bieniek. Quipping that you don't want to spend so much time in the kitchen that you don't have time to put your face on, he focused on recipes that were east yet tasty. "Concentrating on fairly simple, practical recipes that have minimal ingredients, but so flavorful!"

Bieniek mustered a colorful array of contributors: 21 showgirls are represented, including some big names like Jackie Beat, Sherry Vine, and the comedian Ant, who wrote the forward to the book. How did Bieniek get so much talent together?

"As mother said, it never hurts to ask!" he replies. It also doesn't hurt that the book is a fundraiser for the AIDS Foundation of Chicago. It's not clear yet how much the book has raised ("We're still counting," he says coyly) but it's been selling like, well, hotcakes. In fact, Bieniek is already planning a second volume that will focus on holiday cooking. Since a girl likes to stand out, he plans to focus on more obscure holidays.

"Just think of [drag queen] Hot Chocolate celebrating National Whip Cream Day," he laughs, "or Pandora Boxx saluting National Meat Week!"

In the meantime, volume one has plenty of recipes to tide you over, including classics like a simple Szechuan chicken, caprese salad, and breakfast bites. For those watching their carbs, there is a chapter on "panty-friendly pasta." Of course there are plenty of cocktail recipes, as well as sound advice on wine pairing.

It's the more creative recipes that really stand out, though. For the gal on the go, comedian Jackie Beat invented a simple recipe for taco salad, (Hint: it involves a big bowl and a trip to Taco Bell. If company's coming, serve with individual salsa packets.) and Misty Eyez has a new take on shepherd's pie made with ketchup and pork rinds.

If those ideas make your tummy churn instead of rumble, there are also some truly intriguing innovations like a spinach and strawberry salad and "lemonade fried chicken." Bieniek's drag alter ego, Kris Coe, contributes a low-rent version of trifle that sounds delicious: bits of cake layered with Cool Whip and instant pudding, drizzled with Kahlua, and sprinkled with crushed up Heath Bars.

A good cook understands the importance of presentation, and Drag is sprinkled with funny hostess advice ("Don't forget to toss your guest's salad!") and gorgeous photography. Unlike most cookbooks, the photography focuses on the chefs and not the food. What self-respecting queen would let herself be upstaged by a pork chop? Instead the reader is treated to some hilarious tableaux including Friday Lay enjoying her third bottle of champagne, Veronica Fake shopping a farmer's market in full drag, and Sherry Vines pigging out in a restaurant.

Vines recently appeared on an episode of Project Runway, and Bieniek thinks Bravo should run with that idea. "To have my girls on Top Chef would be hilarious!" he enthuses. "There is no doubt it would be the highest-rated show around."

Sounds delicious.