During one of my husband's trips last year, I found myself bored and in need of a project. My youngest sister, who is my default source of entertainment when I'm bored (and by "source of entertainment" I mean that I stalk her on Facebook, text relentlessly, chat, call, and otherwise bother her while she's trying to work), suggested I watch my Gilmore Girls DVDs. I generally don't need encouragement to watch Gilmore Girls, but I knew simply watching Gilmore Girls wasn't going to cut it. No, I needed something to do. However, while watching Gilmore Girls, I noticed how many food references were made and how much time was devoted to eating in each episode. Thus, the Gilmore Girls Cookbook was born.
How I did it: I watched every single episode of Gilmore Girls with a pen and paper or my laptop in front of me. I waited for food references, and then wrote down the quote, noting the season and episode. After I compiled an extensive selection of quotes, I re-read them and looked for funny sayings that I could turn into recipe names, and then searched my favorite food websites for recipes. I looked for recipes that were both appropriate for the created name and fairly simple since I was planning to give this cookbook to my sister who is a novice cook.
Here's an example:
Lorelai: Ooh, meringue.
Sookie: Yeah, I thought I'd do a variation on a Baked Alaska for dessert tonight.
Lorelai: What kind of variation?
Sookie: Yeah, I hadn't thought of that yet.
~ Season 1, Episode 12: Double Date
I entitled this recipe "Variation on a Baked Alaska" and included this recipe from the Food Network magazine. When I printed the cookbook, I used a booklet format so that the quote is on the left side, and the recipe is on the right-hand page, and I had the booklet spiral bound with the cover made of card stock with a plastic cover so it would be durable.
I ended up with 30 recipes, including such gems as:
- Yale Special
- Emily's Burning Loin
- Sleeping with the Zucchini
- Devil's Starchy Fingers
- Coffee, Coffee, Coffee
I think this is a great gift for any television addict and amateur foodie. I chose Gilmore Girls because it is a show that my sister and I both love, but any television show or movie could work. It's also practical - she asked for recipes and cookbooks for Christmas and I intentionally chose recipes that I thought were easy to make and sounded delicious. It's also the kind of homemade gift that I think most people appreciate - inexpensive, but thoughtful and very personal.
Do you have any ideas like this? Please share!
I can definitely verify that this was the perfect gift! Although I don't really cook that much right now, I will, and I love the book!
ReplyDeleteLet's not forget the awesome homemade "Stapler in Jell-o" from The Office!
ReplyDeleteThe stapler in jello is coming...
ReplyDeleteI think this is such a cool idea!!!! Such a personal and fun gift...really creative!!
ReplyDelete