From the first episode, I knew OITNB would use food creatively. They roast a whole pig on her last night before prison! I knew I was definitely not wrong when Piper got a tampon breakfast sandwich on her first day (I think??) in jail. I've been wanting to make something from the show for a while, and have a lot of options, but I'm behind and a friend of mine suggested I make Flamin' Hot Cheetos based on a story arc from the current season. You don't have to worry about spoilers because I need to catch up and only know what I've read for context that the governor sent a goodwill gift that included the spicy snack in a shipment. This is yet another experiment in making store-bought things homemade and I'm not sure if it's worth the effort, but they were tasty and the coating would definitely work as a versatile seasoning for a lot of snacks (it was originally intended for popcorn).
Read moreRachel and Nick's NOLA Date Beignets [The Bachelor(ette)]
The Bachelorette is back! After a spring intermission the Monday night staple has returned, and, to me, it's one of the most conducive snacking shows around. Bachelor/ette watching parties are usually the most entertaining. For once during a TV show talking is welcome and something about the suitors being men makes it especially fun to discuss and yell at the TV. Rachel was always going to seem like a great Bachelorette, and she hasn't disappointed in the first two episodes. I made these beignets in time for the premiere, but since I was traveling, I didn't put the post together in time. Remember when Rachel and Nick went to NOLA and Nick ate beignets for the first time (as pictured below, very aggressively) with Rachel? Well, that was the inspo for this particular post. No worries that they're a little late, enjoy them for tonight or the rest of the season!
Read moreKimmy's Candy For Dinner Wine Gummy Bears [Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt]
The food world of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is a lot more spare than the food world Tina Fey and Robert Carlock created in 30 Rock, but there are still some choice moments. In the first episode when Kimmy is claiming her independence through all the things she can finally do now that she's out of the bunker, she goes to Dylan's Candy Bar and fills up a bag for dinner. I've obviously partaken in candy for dinner more than once, but I wanted to think of a fun way to make Kimmy's meal both homemade and personal. While I was perusing homemade candy options, I came upon these wine gummy bears and it was like a cartoon lightbulb idea moment. What better way to signify adult candy than making it with alcohol? Obviously I dove in head first and made all three types of wine (also obviously I HAD all three types of wine on hand). The result is definitely different—a reconciliation for your mind between what you expect from a gummy bear and how you normally taste wine—but let's just say I'm more than excited that I also have the option to make bear-shaped ice cubes for the rest of time.
Read moreDev's Vegetarian Cabonara [Master of None]
I watched the first season of Master of None in one day because of course I did, and besides being thrilled to have Aziz back on my TV, it was a refreshing and realistic yet funny look at millennial life in New York. Obviously it was also amazing for those who are into food and the restaurant scene and plenty of work was put in by journalists to find where they ate on the show. Of course I loved that focus, but when I had the idea for this blog, I remembered a scene that prompted a "challenge accepted" moment from this show. In "Mornings," when Dev uses his spaghetti maker to make a vegetarian version of carbonara for his girlfriend, Rachel, my mind went into overdrive thinking about how I could make that a reality. Part of carbonara's trademark is the smoky meat used in the sauce, so I did a bunch of research to figure out how to replicate it and combined a few recipes that would help make the absence of meat a little more exciting while still resembling the source material. Now, I'm determined to make the real thing (technically in the show he makes both!).
Read moreCassidy's Revival Blood (Orange Lemonade) [Preacher]
I have a blind faith in anything Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg do. When I heard they were teaming up with Breaking Bad writer and producer Sam Catlin to create a series based on a comic book for AMC, Preacher, I was immediately excited. Around this time last year, the first season premiered and I was instantly hooked. It's an off-center show that's a bit Tarantino, a bit Breaking Bad, a bit This is the End and a peppering of a few more filmmaking styles. It's cinematic, funny, well acted and very gory. The whole season was just added to Hulu, and I found myself super excited for it to return so I started to watch again. In a particularly gory introduction, non-True Blood or Twilight vampire Cassidy abruptly gets into a fight on board a swanky airplane, leaves everyone dead and jumps out of the plane with just a bottle of blood and an umbrella to use as a parachute. Once again, I took on the challenge of turning something decidedly gross into a delicious drink that resembled the real fake thing. It's the perfect fresh pairing for a spring and summer meal.
Read morePeter Gregory's Sesame Hamburger Buns [Silicon Valley]
Silicon Valley is one of those shows that's amazing and you are always reminded as soon as it's back and you can't wait for next week's episode. I love this episode from the first season, where awkwardness and tensions are high and we still don't know the characters and world so well. Eccentricities are common amongst the people in the world, and this scene with Peter Gregory and everything on the menu from Burger King was so memorable, I thought I had to celebrate the return of the new season of the show with the real subject of that scene. They seem kind of random on their own, but who doesn't keep a few buns on reserve in the freezer for burger night or one of those nights that you just have to go with a frozen veggie burger. I already had all the ingredients for these, so on one of those days, why not go with something homemade?
Read moreSelina's Stomach Flu-Free Froyo [Veep]
While we're on a political roll, I'm celebrating the premiere of Veep with an early episode that I will always associate with the show's antics, plus it's even CALLED Frozen Yogurt. Selina was set to have a froyo tasting at a local DC shop where they even named a flavor after her. Selina gets a taste of the presidency in this episode, and between the staff and her dismissal of her VP tasks once she's briefly called to be president, this episode is always one I like to revisit. Although she went thinking she was going to try the flavor named after her, Selina Strawberry, she only got melty vanilla. I wanted to go the fruit route though since I already made vanilla ice cream, and I had frozen blueberries on hand. If you want to make vanilla, I considered using this recipe (via Greatist) before settling on blueberry. I guess we can call this...Biden Blueberry?
Read moreGus Fring's Los Pollos Hermanos Fried Chicken [Better Call Saul/Breaking Bad]
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.
Read moreLiv's Spicy "Brain" (Shrimp) Flatbread [iZombie]
When iZombie was premiering, I was so excited Rob Thomas was coming out with a new show. I had recently binged Veronica Mars, very late to the game, and his new comic book adaptation sounded like a fun new take on his mid aughts high school detective show. It ended up being as catchy and endearing as its predecessor, with a zombie twist. Our protagonist, Liv, needs to eat brains to survive, and the show does a really fun take on this trope. Each episode dedicates some time to show how Live prepares her brains du jour, always with a clever new "recipe." Before I had the idea for this blog, this is something I wanted to replicate. Even though it's pretty gross when you think too hard about it, I appreciate that the writers/prop team takes the time to and creativity to highlight this trait in our zombie lead. The show returns this week for a new season, and I jazzed up a brain pizza she made in the first season, of course subbing brain for shrimp, the closest food I could come up with to take its place. I also made sure it had some spice because that's a fun palate detail of iZombie's undead. For all the "brain food" we see on the show, someone from the website Cactus Pop documented every dish.
Read moreJessica Jones's Revenge Chinese Takeout [Jessica Jones]
We all have those days where all you can do for dinner is park it on the couch and order your favorite Chinese feast, knowing full well it's way more than you can eat and likely all fried. It's delicious at the time, but 20 minutes later, your insides feel a little greased and it takes Herculean effort just to get up to put the lefties in the fridge. A friend of mine sent this recipe for sheet pan fried rice to me, and I knew I had to try it. I don't typically dabble in order-in staples, but this is a much healthier version of a delivery go-to, plus it's super quick, it almost seems too good to be true. When I thought about shows I've watched, a lot of them have good Chinese takeout moments, but I thought I'd assign this one to one of my favorite characters in recent memory. At the end of the first season of Jessica Jones (on Netflix), she tricks the season's villain, Kilgrave, into eating drugged Chinese food so she can take over her situation. It's such a badass move, and since Women's History Month is coming to a close, I thought it was appropriate to dedicate a dish to her.
Read moreKevin and Sophie's Diner Lava Fries [This Is Us]
This Is Us ends its first heart-wrenching season tomorrow, and it will no doubt be an event that requires comfort food. I knew the second the episode where Kevin [SPOILER] starts to try to get Sophie back that I would need to explore this concept of lava fries, especially ones that have the power to make an ex-wife take a seat instead of walking out in the MORNING. My first thought was that Kevin for sure does not eat fries, but creative license. My first FOOD thought was that they are probably chili fries, but that is pretty played out and the concept of them kind of grosses me out. I thought that they needed a little spice and maybe even a bit of a makeover, so I baked the fries for hot oil-avoidance and explored the best complementing flavors possible. Also I meant to add parmesan cheese before the pics and forgot but just know it is MUCH SUGGESTED.
Read morePhil's Not-Quite-Pool-Sized Margarita [The Last Man on Earth]
I'm behind on The Last Man On Earth, but going all the way back to the very first episodes, the show always had a fun look at food. Imagine, having access to perceivably all the food in the world to yourself! Well, we get a glimpse of that when we see the mess Phil has made, and his margarita pool is half disgusting, half fantasy. It's pretty gross to see him reclining in the oversized cocktail while he drinks from a comically long straw, but I have to admit on more occasions than one, after a particularly trying day at work, I wish I could order that size of cocktail directly to my couch. Since the show returned last night, and I've never done a drink on here, I thought it was fitting to make the first a margarita Monday.
Read moreRebecca Bunch's Group Hang Nachos [Crazy Ex-Girlfriend]
In the first season of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Rebecca was not thrilled when her dinner hang with Josh became a group hang with a delicious looking pile of nachos (and a lot of other food). The show employs food very thoughtfully, and in the song "Group Hang," I had a lot to choose from. Not only do the nachos appear in the scene and get a call out, when I saw the scene, I got an instant craving for a delicious pile of nachos with the works. I engineered my perfect combination of homemade layers for my own Oscar watching group hang, and then fantasized about them until they were ready to go. Let's just say, they disappeared before the ceremony started.
Read moreChicago-Style Deep Dish Pizza [The Good Wife/The Good Fight]
Okay, so this is kind of cheating, BUT it's deep dish pizza so it's an automatic pass, right? Last year (in my old apartment with questionable lighting), I made this to watch the season finale of The Good Wife so we could celebrate with some Chicago fare to say goodbye to a Chicago-based show. Now that the blog is up and running and the spinoff, The Good Fight is up and running, I thought it was a great time to post this instant favorite. Although it's a huge oversight that (to my recollection) we never see them eat deep dish in the show, it can be inferred, right? I live in New York surrounded by amazing pizza, but there are times when deep dish pizza is the only answer. I was really nervous to try this out, considering when you go to the original Uno in Chicago, you order about an hour in advance, I thought the process invited more than one way to completely mess up. Turns out, it's time consuming, but I didn't have much to worry about and I was treated to leftover deep dish for days (it's just as good re-heated).
Read moreAwards Show Eats: The Grammys / The Chanels' Better Than Cotton Balls Rice Krispies [Scream Queens]
So, this is a stretch, but hear me out. I "needed" a way to tie in TV with the Grammys so I took a few steps. Ariana Grande was nominated, and she was on Scream Queens season 1. There are a lot of actual gross food moments on that show, given it's a campy horror show that lives up to that description. But as a former sorority member myself, one of my favorite parts of the show is the usually inaccurate but fun to watch stereotypes of the sorority, like when the Chanels eat only cotton balls for lunch. Although this is a rumor that circulates more in the ballet world, the imagery of the girls at the table with cotton ball lunches was pretty funny (if it weren't pretty wrong and sad, too).
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 moreAwards Show Eats: SAG Awards / Freddy's BBQ cauliflower [House of Cards]
I know House of Cards is an old name on the awards circuit, and it wasn't a favorite to win at the SAG awards, but how damn good do those ribs look every time Francis goes to his former favorite spot?! Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright were both nominated, so I thought a veggie version of the politician's favorite DC eats would be a good way to enjoy my favorite awards show. Food from a political show felt right on this particular night, anyway.
Read moreOlivia Pope's every meal popcorn [Scandal]
Olivia Pope has a lot things about her life "handled" (or, she did until things went CRAZY a couple seasons ago), but her diet was never one of those things. For someone so in command of insane situations, we pretty much only ever see her eating popcorn with red wine out of her signature Crate & Barrel wine glasses. Even though she's an established woman with more than enough means to at least get delivery, she makes the sad choice to eat several servings of popcorn on her own. But at least she has it together enough to always put it in a chic glass bowl. That way you know this questionable nutritional choice is deliberate.
Read moreI've created a muenster (mini) burger [Bob's Burgers]
I've been watching "adult cartoons" ever since I was probably too young and my brother had control of the remote, and when Bob's Burgers came along, I assumed it was one and the same with The Simpsons and Family Guys of the world—dysfunctional American family with lovable functional qualities. And though that's the idea, Bob's has a special, even more lovable punniness to it, both in the illustration and writing and it is always fun and fresh. One of its trademark features is its daily punny specials written on the chalkboard behind the counter. Some genius already made a blog and a cookbook from it, so I used it as source material to tackle all the delicious sounding burgers in the show. The Belchers don't have a ton going for them, but their burgers always sound pretty amazing.
Read moreAwards Show Eats [Golden Globes 2017]
I have spent nearly every awards show Sunday camped on the couch for five hours since I was in sixth grade, when E! Started airing Live from the Red Carpet. I had a strict silence rule and typically ended up watching by myself while my parents checked in on me periodically and my brother made unsuccessful pleas to watch football during commercials. Now, I’ve replaced that silence with overwhelming amounts of food, and I’m game for couch commentary. I took this year’s awards as my opportunity to launch this project with a bang by cooking food based on three of this year’s nominated shows.
honey cakes [Game of Thrones]
Game of Thrones is one of my all-time favorite shows, but I can’t say their cuisine sounds like it’s made up of dishes that entice me. Although the last season was a kickass one for Sansa, and her favorite lemon cakes would be an obvious choice, I wanted to go a different direction. The show might not have taken home any Globes, but at least these were a winner.
I took the recipe from one of the authorities, Inn at the Crossroads (I made the modern ones), and chose to add the lavender icing they suggest. Details here.
bagel casserole [Transparent]
Admittedly, I have only seen snippets of this show, and it’s been coming up on my to-watch list for a while now, but I know there is a big Yom Kippur scene where there are bagels, like any good break fast. I found an alternative to the normal bagels and lox spread you might find at any big breakfast, especially a Jewish one and it’s definitely a great option to sub in if you want to be a little more hands-on about it. I missed what has seemed to become a reserved spot for Jeffrey Tambor's speech at these events, but making this recipe made me want to move up my start date for the show.
I adapted it from the recipe I found. Details here.
eggos five ways [Stranger Things]
Like any good millennial, I watched the entire season of Stranger Things in one day, and the obvious food moment was Eleven’s obsession with Eggos. I can’t blame her—I don’t let myself buy them because as a child I could eat upwards of 12 at a time for breakfast and as an adult I should probably not do that to myself. But I gave myself an exception so I could dress up her favorite snack five kid-friendly ways that served as an appetizer OR dessert while it sat out through the ceremony. I was surprised this didn't win anything but the kids were all so cute, they stole the red carpet anyway.
Recipes came from the mom blogs of the internet. Details here.