Hagrid's 11th Birthday Cake for Harry [Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (book)]

July 31, 2017 Elyse Roth

Okay so I know that Harry Potter is a lot of things, but it's not a TV show. I WILL say that it might as well be because if any of the movies are on TV, I will watch it. Not to mention that I OWN all eight movies. I love it so much, and in my head it spans genres, so I couldn't not commemorate the 20th anniversary of the first book release on Harry's birthday (don't worry, I will also commemorate the 20th anniversary of the US release). There are a lot of food moments to choose from, but this one felt super special because it's the same time he finds out he's a wizard. The best birthday present ever! I read this shortly before I turned 11, and I spent my whole time leading up to my birthday hoping the book was semi-nonfiction and that I would have a certain letter waiting for me that day. It was nice to finally see someone recognizing Harry in the respectful way he deserved and to give him something...anything, especially this life changing news that gets him away from the Dursleys.

Those familiar with the movie might notice that the cake does not look like the one in the movie. They switched out the chocolate glaze and icing for strawberry and spelled happy wrong, my guess is because it shows up better on screen and to drive Hagrid's character home. In the book, the cake was a large, sticky chocolate cake with "Happy Birthday Harry" written on it in green icing.

My cousin and fellow superfan (and former midnight movie goer) got me the Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook, and I've been so excited to make something from it. It was hard to choose, but this just felt right. I have to say, I bake a lot and this cake recipe was so soft and fudgy, I think it was the best I've ever had cake turn out. Plus it was my first layer cake! It was a process in my hot apartment waiting for the cakes to cool and the icing to harden, but it was a lot of fun and the end result was super nostalgic.

#tbt Emily's Gift Scone Mix Scones [Gilmore Girls]

June 8, 2017 Elyse Roth

I made these scones for an Easter brunch I was invited to last year, my first Easter brunch ever. As a leap of faith, I decided to bring a brunch-appropriate baked good that I had never attempted before. For my first go, I went with a plainer, neutral flavor and spent the whole time they were in the oven sufficiently anxious. I don't have that intimate a knowledge of scones to be confident when they were or were not done, so it was a long process of feeling them when they had been baked a while, relying on my not very reliable gut and adding 5 more minutes to the oven timer. In the end, you kind of just *know* when they're ready, and they were a big hit! The whole time I was making them, I couldn't stop thinking about the scone mix Emily gives Lorelai in the first episode of season three, and what a fuss Lorelai makes about never making them. It's a semi annoying, semi comical moment. On the one hand, Emily HAS to know Lorelai never goes near her kitchen for cooking, but on the other it's like Lorelai shut up and just take the gift and give it to Sookie or whatever. I felt pretty Lorelai-ish throughout the process and at times wished I had a mix to go off of, but I was so happy with the end result, I can't wait to try different flavors in the future.

#tbt Jerry's World Peace Black and White Cookies [Seinfeld]

May 18, 2017 Elyse Roth

As a non-native New Yorker (yes, I admit it), black and whites have never been my favorite type of cookie, but as an almost 5-year New York resident, I've eaten my fair share and as a person who loves to bake, they were going to need to come out of my kitchen eventually. The cookie is famous in its own right, but I wanted to attribute it to a particularly New York-y show and moment, so Seinfeld was the perfect fit. In a perfectly Seinfeld-y scene we get both an obsession with the cookie itself AND a great view of the cookie. There's not much more to be said except sorry in advance for making you wanting to watch that episode since you know you can't just stop at one (that can apply to the cookie AND the show, see what I did there!).

#tbt Bluth Frozen Bananas [Arrested Development]

May 11, 2017 Elyse Roth

Now that it's finally getting warmer and summer aka the season of just re-watching everything I've already watched is upon us, I think of warm weather treats and what shows are on the agenda. This Bluth Boardwalk staple came to mind. Not only is it the center of so many funny moments on the show, it's also the most obvious Arrested Development-related food. Actually, it has been on the list of things to make since before the blog even existed, but there's a time and a place for everything and this one is here now. It doesn't take a genius to freeze a banana and coat it in chocolate, but through some research, I got more ideas. The good thing about this treat is that you can use whatever toppings you like once you know the general process. Mine included milk chocolate, caramel, peanut butter, coconut chips and nuts, but there's plenty more months of warm weather to experiment with more combinations. The bad thing about it is that no matter what it will always be awkward to eat and photograph. But when all is said and done, there's always money in the banana stand.

#tbt Ross's 'I'm Fine' Chilaquiles [Friends]

May 4, 2017 Elyse Roth

This part of the Friends plot is decidedly not my favorite, but I've always loved this episode. Ross is at his Ross-iest and the less than compelling plot point of some of the friends switching significant others does make for some great comic elements. I also just love the idea of going to a Friend's (literally!) place and having a full on Mexican meal with fajitas and margs. It just seems so fun! I've seen this episode more times than I can count, and the line "That is going to HURT tomorrow!" is both delivered perfectly forever burned into my brain. I feel his too-many-margs pain when he wakes up on the couch the next morning, it's just a great fun and new-feeling way to get a majority of the group together in a scene. When my friend Sam suggested we make these veggie chilaquiles, I saw the skillet and Ross holding a hot pan with his bare hands instantly came to mind, so I fudged it a bit because it's a dish that can be either chilaquiles OR fajitas.

#tbt Peggy's Upgraded Sad Desk Sandwich [Mad Men]

April 27, 2017 Elyse Roth

This is not a post connected to The Handmaid's Tale, or not really, but I'm SO EXCITED that it's finally here. Not only was the book amazing and I actually have faith in Hulu to adapt it faithfully, but the cast is also amazing. In the lead up to the premiere, I've been seeing a lot of Elisabeth Moss, and since I finished The West Wing and Mad Men is long over, I realized I really miss seeing her on screen in something new. I decided to culinarily revisit her in the form of early Mad Men, when Peggy was a lowly secretary living at home and brought a sad desk lunch of a sandwich and bruised banana to work. Since there's nothing appetizing about that, I took the liberty to give it an upgrade and left the banana behind.

When I was in high school, my best friend, Julia, invented this amazing sandwich. She takes after her mom in the sense that she's very good at "shopping in her fridge," assessing what ingredients she has and assembling them into something delicious (whereas, I almost always need a recipe as a guide just like my mom). What my friends now call a "Julia Sandwich" is simple and full of fresh and complementary ingredients. It's the perfect thing to look forward to for lunch at work and it's always reliable for a Saturday Netflix marathon lunch break with a friend or few. Just set up all the ingredients and let your guests make their own.

#tbt Liz Lemon's Christmas Half Sleeve of Oreos [30 Rock]

April 22, 2017 Elyse Roth

The first time I was made aware of Tracey Wigfield was when she was on stage with Tina Fey to accept an Emmy for co-writing and episode of 30 Rock. It prompted me to do a deep dive into her background, and shortly after I was made aware through Mindy Kaling's Instagram that she had been recruited to be a part of her writing staff when 30 Rock was coming to an end. I then followed their friendship and her eventual sale of her very own Tina Fey-produced comedy and its making on her own Instagram. I find her hilarious, and some of her 30 Rock episodes are the funniest of the series, so I'm optimistic about her new show, Great News, which premieres next week. To celebrate, I decided to make a familiar favorite from one of the episodes of 30 Rock that she wrote.

Oreos are one of my all time favorite foods, and I've been wanting to make homemade ones for a long time. These were so much easier than recipes I've found in the past, and they were a big hit with all 6 people who finished them in about 24 hours. It's not hard to identify with Liz finishing the half sleeve of Oreos she was bringing to Jack's house for Christmas in the cab on the way.

#tbt Ainsley Hayes's Bipartisan Meeting Muffins [The West Wing]

April 13, 2017 Elyse Roth

Just a warning that this might turn into a love letter to The West Wing. I just finished the almost 20-year-old show last week, and I'm in major withdrawal. I started it a year ago once I had finished my foray into fast talking with Gilmore Girls because Joshua Malina (who ended up being on the show) and Hrishi Hirway started a podcast to discuss each episode. Like I had been doing with Gilmore Girls/Gilmore Guys, I wanted to follow along. I had to give it up for a while because Aaron Sorkin's writing demanded my full attention, but around the inauguration this year, I found myself craving the humanity of President Bartlet and his loyal staff. From there, I attempted to savor it in the beginning, but eventually devoured each season pushing far ahead of the podcast and unfortunately to the end. I could sing so many praises about the show, but we're here for the food, so let's get to it.

At the beginning of season 2, we meet Ainsley Hayes, a conservative lawyer who challenges our main staff of democrats. In one of her first episodes, we are introduced to her love of baked goods through her telling off a panel of White House opponents and then asking to take a muffin from the meeting. We don't get a great look at the muffin, but I imagined a selection of untouched assorted bakery style muffins on a tray in the middle of the table, so I went with my obvious choice, chocolate chip.

Gus Fring's Los Pollos Hermanos Fried Chicken [Better Call Saul/Breaking Bad]

April 10, 2017 Elyse Roth

Breaking Bad had people wishing Los Pollos Hermanos was as pervasive as McDonald's, and Gus Fring was an amazing stoic villain. We're getting more of him on Better Call Saul, and there's lots of publicity to go with it (it's even coming to life!). Although that restaurant seemed more like a bone-in chicken type of joint, I was in the mood to eat some tenders. I'm not shy about my dislike for cooking with hot oil, so I dove yet again into oven frying. I found this great easy recipe that's practically fast food (minus marinading time), and they taste just as good as anything you'd get off a restaurant menu.

#tbt George Costanza's Stolen Twix Cake [Seinfeld]

April 1, 2017 Elyse Roth

I'll start out by admitting, like I did on Instagram, that only 2 out of the 3 elements of this cake turned out successfully. I'm not really sure what went wrong because everything went as it was supposed to, but my quest to cook sugar successfully every time (and without mild fear) will continue. But let's focus on the good parts. I was so excited to make this because it seemed like a fun challenge and I've never baked something FOR someone's birthday. My friend was hosting a birthday party and she loves Twix, so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to try this out. She also happens to love Seinfeld and there's a hilarious Twix moment in that show, and I had my pairing. Sure, this is a little bit of a cheat by interpreting the real thing, but for a birthday, the rules are bendable. Plus, I made the rules, so...

#tbt Michael Scott's Dunder Mifflin Infinity Gift Basket Chocolate Turtles [The Office]

March 16, 2017 Elyse Roth

I'm so obsessed with 30 Rock and Parks and Rec, it's surprising to find out I didn't watch The Office for the first time until a couple of years ago, and obviously I instantly loved it. I've only re-watched one more time sequentially, and I decided to revisit it again recently, which was an excellent decision. Unsurprisingly, food is used intentionally and thoughtfully in the show, featuring specifics for peak comedy moments. This episode, Dunder Mifflin Infinity, was no different. Michael Scott is trying to win back clients with elaborate gift baskets that include all the cliché fixings. I LOVE chocolate turtles and have since I was really young, so when Andy Bernard reached for them and was shut down by Michael, I felt his excitement and disappointment. The turtles recur as a plot point later when Michael throws a fit when he goes to get a basket back in true Michael Scott form and sees they ate the turtles already. I can't blame him, they're delicious. I needed something sweet to bring to a reunion of coworkers and when I chose this, I didn't make the connection that I was bringing something from The Office to former coworkers, and it made me love the choice even more. I wanted to up the flavor with some homemade caramel and I definitely think it elevated these from an above average day at work to Pretzel Day.

#tbt Ron Swanson's All The Bacon and Eggs Pie [Parks and Recreation]

March 9, 2017 Elyse Roth

A few things went into the making of this post. First, I had an immediate reaction to seeing this post on Tasty and knew I had to make this recipe ASAP. Because of that, I didn't even really attempt to change anything to it, so I'm just laying that out there. Another thing is that one of these days, I will make pie crust from scratch, but this was one of those times where I needed to know it was going to operate as planned, so I went store-bought. And the last and most fun thing is that I've been going over and over what recipe I could make for the "all the bacon and eggs you have" moment in Parks and Rec. It's from one of my favorite strings of episodes in the show, and it's just so memorable in the delivery and specificity and Ron-ness of it all. When I saw this recipe and was so excited about it in general, my immediate thought was that it's the perfect thing to make for this wonderful Ron moment. I was also trying to think of clever ways to prep for Pi Day because I'm a huge nerd, and this was just the very timely answer I was looking for.

#tbt Serena van der Woodsen's Not-On-The-Menu Truffle Grilled Cheese [Gossip Girl]

March 2, 2017 Elyse Roth

My love for the first two seasons of Gossip Girl runs super deep. I watched the pilot live when I was starting my senior year of high school, and I remember this "grilled cheese with truffle oil" moment because I was largely unaware of what truffles were at the time (ha!). Of course, I knew it was fancy because it was Chuck and Serena and they were in The Palace, but then Chuck tried to use off-the-menu fancy grilled cheese as currency for sex and things were turned up to 100 immediately. After the pilot, they changed a bunch of things (like Chuck taking a limo everywhere instead of THE BUS (?!?!?!)), namely that he stopped being a sexual predator because...problems. Soon after the episode aired, the restaurant The Palace started offering truffle grilled cheese as a menu item for something like 15 dollars (or 30 for a soup pairing). I've always wanted to make one of my own, but the pressure honestly made me nervous. Grilled cheese is pretty basic, but this had stakes and I wanted it to taste extra special. Plus I have a bad habit of completely burning bread when I make grilled cheese. I added some extra flavors like crispy onions, used four cheeses and did A LOT of research on how to not completely burn the bread when melting the cheese. This came out delicious, flavorful, crunchy and cheesy on the first try. I may have teared up. xoxo....

#tbt + Awards Show Eats: The Icehouse Shrimp Burger [Dawson's Creek]

February 24, 2017 Elyse Roth

For this #tbt show on a Friday, we're taking it back to 1998. Nearly 20 years ago, a Clinton was president but The Parents Television council found the show too sexual and many groups would protest it being on the air. It was this time when 2017 Oscar nominee Michelle Williams would come on the scene as the show's resident "rebellious girl" banished to Capeside all the way from the big city. Food doesn't play a huge part on the show, but since Joey's family and The Icehouse are synonymous until SPOILER it burns down at the end of season 2, it's what I went to when I thought to honor Williams's nominated performance in another role that takes place by a seaside town in Massachusetts.

#tbt Ann Perkins-approved NutriYum bars [Parks and Recreation]

February 16, 2017 Elyse Roth

Technically Galentine's Day has passed, but I'm celebrating Saturday so it still feels like this week is Parks and Rec domain. Instead of going full Leslie Knope and having dessert for every meal, or just straight sugar for the week, I decided to make something a little healthier, if not just as delicious. If I was going to follow the actual NutriYum recipe, it would really be just sugar because according to Ann, it is a block of sugar. I decided to not go that route, but that doesn't mean they aren't tasty and filling. With just six ingredients, these bars are super easy and make a great snack or breakfast on the go. Despite the fact that there is no added sugar (besides the peanut butter if you use sugary peanut butter), I still think Leslie would eat a case of them and be really hyper if she was doing an all night fundraiser.

#tbt Betty's Can't Stop at One Ice Cream Sundaes [Mad Men]

February 9, 2017 Elyse Roth

Betty's fat suit era was a fun one for the lifer viewers of Mad Men. Especially when she indulged her larger side and, oh I don't know, ate two sundaes in one sitting when Sally abandoned hers. The idea of this scene feels like an American fantasy—a mother and daughter sharing an American treat in their American home in the 60s. I wanted to recreate it for myself. Except my mom lives states away and it's 2017. So basically I will be sharing this with myself and will soon look like I have some padding just like January Jones did.

#tbt Rachel's "go long" soft pretzels (and cheesy dip) [Friends]

February 2, 2017 Elyse Roth

The Super Bowl is Sunday, which is the best night, not for football, but for food, obviously. Not everyone likes football or commercials that are now released ahead of time, but sports food is universal. The perfect example of this comes from The One With The Football episode of Friends. Rachel gets bored of the intense game of football the group plays to win the Geller Cup and "went really long" to get a soft pretzel instead.

#tbt Bluth Cornballer baked hushpuppies [Arrested Development]

January 26, 2017 Elyse Roth

The Bluths are a very enterprising family and one of their ill-fated ventures cam in the form of the Cornballer, a mysterious deep frier-type appliance that burned whoever tried to use it. Use at your own risk aside, I was always curious exactly what cornballs exactly were. We never got a great look, despite the infomercials and its availability in Mexico only. While the Bluths should stick with frozen bananas (and trust me, I'll get there), I took cornballing into my own hands, and I didn't get burned once. That's maybe because I do almost anything I can to avoid frying things so I don't get burned or burn down my apartment.

#tbt Gavin Volure's not-potpourri veggie chips [30 Rock]

January 19, 2017 Elyse Roth

If Tina Fey is the female and comedy icon we all aspire to be, then Liz Lemon is the food icon we all recognize in ourselves. 30 Rock's episodes are dense with both jokes and food references, and the fictional food is used perfectly in the show. Liz Lemon falls at about Lorelai Gilmore levels of healthy when it comes to her diet, but that doesn't mean healthy food can't be extracted from moments in the show.

When Liz accompanies Jack to rich, house-arrested businessman Gavin Volure's fancy house, she puts on a dress in place of her usual jeans and flannel, but that doesn't give her appetite a makeover. She reaches for a bowl of dried something at the table instead of engaging Jack in conversation, but it turns out to be potpourri or "these are not chips." Here, I offer the alternative outcome.

#tbt Sookie's not-for-kids mac and cheese [Gilmore Girls]

January 12, 2017 Elyse Roth

I started to watch Gilmore Girls almost a year ago. I didn't really like it when it was on originally, so I wasn’t really expecting to like it when I decided to give it a try during a winter laundry day last January. But I fell hard, and proceeded to watch nothing but Gilmore for the next 6 weeks. Now, although I’ve already watched it about four times through since my initial watch, I still associate it with a cozy, cold weather vibe. Winter also comes with one of the show's main features, the Gilmore Fantasy diet that comes with each episode. Some say gross, I say jealous. I digress. As soon as I read that there was going to be an unofficial Gilmore Girls cookbook in the middle of last year, my obsession was fresh and I was already in the planning stages of this blog, so I knew I had to have it. I backed the kickstarter and anxiously awaited my book, which came in the fall.