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.

Rachel and Nick's NOLA Date Beignets [The Bachelor(ette)]

June 5, 2017 Elyse Roth

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!

#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!).

Kimmy's Candy For Dinner Wine Gummy Bears [Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt]

May 15, 2017 Elyse Roth

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.

Cassidy's Revival Blood (Orange Lemonade) [Preacher]

May 1, 2017 Elyse Roth

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.

#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 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.

Awards Show Eats: The Grammys / The Chanels' Better Than Cotton Balls Rice Krispies [Scream Queens]

February 13, 2017 Elyse Roth

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).