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.
Read more#tbt Ainsley Hayes's Bipartisan Meeting Muffins [The West Wing]
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.
Read more#tbt Ron Swanson's All The Bacon and Eggs Pie [Parks and Recreation]
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.
Read moreMeyerist Reprogramming Green Juice [The Path]
The Path (a Hulu original series) is a weird show by nature. A fictional culty religion and its followers is the kind of premise that implies that. Season two episodes just started to be released, but one of the weirdest things that stuck with me from the first season, though, was the use of a green juice. Part of the "rehab" or "detox" process for members who essentially are in solitary confinement to re-find their connection to the religion is to drink a psychotropic green juice. Something our society has come to revere as the definition of a healthy choice is used in this world as a "reprogramming" device.
Read moreeggos five ways [Stranger Things]
from l to r: pb&j, banana nutella, chicken and waffle, s'more, grilled cheese
I arrived a little late to the Stranger Things party. I knew I couldn’t multi-task while I watched, and I know myself well enough to know I don’t have the self control to watch it an episode at a time. Finally in December, I had a completely free Saturday. I started it immediately when I woke up, and eight hours later was relieved to be rid of the FOMO I had been experiencing for the five months that I hadn’t watched it.
There aren’t a ton of food moments in the show that aren't pre-packaged or semi-homemade. Eleven’s Eggo obsession was intriguing and endearing, so in the absence of a waffle iron, I decided to go semi-homemade myself and turn America’s favorite freezer waffles into the foundation of different kid food, five ways.
Yom Kippur bagel casserole [Transparent]
From the first season out, Transparent has been a constant on the awards circuit. Like House of Cards for Netflix, it put Amazon on the map. Though I can’t relate to a lot of the issues in the show, which is probably why it makes a great watch, I CAN relate to having a modern Jewish family that eats a lot of amazing food on holidays. Season two featured a big Yom Kippur scene complete with the remnants of bagels and lox, so I reinterpreted this mainstay Jewish option with something a little more imaginative.
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