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