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.
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 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.
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