Carlson Kristi - Eat like a Gilmore: the unofficial cookbook for fans of Gilmore Girls

Copyright 2016 by Kristi Carlson

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Names: Carlson, Kristi, author. | Matthews, Bonnie, 1963- photographer (expression)

Title: Eat like a Gilmore : the unofficial cookbook for fans of Gilmore girls / by Kristi Carlson ; photography by Bonnie Matthews.

Description: New York : Skyhorse Publishing, [2016]

Identifiers: LCCN 2016038186| ISBN 9781510717343 (hardback) | ISBN 9781510717350 (eBook)

Subjects: LCSH: Cooking. | Food in popular culture. | Food on television. | Gilmore girls (Television program) | BISAC: COOKING / Entertaining. | LCGFT: Cookbooks.

Classification: LCC TX714 .C37336 2016 | DDC 641.5--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016038186

Cover design by Brian Anderson

Cover photos by Bonnie Matthews, except author photo by Jay Andrino, Lightzone Photography

All recipe photos by Bonnie Matthews, except by iStockphoto/ALLEKO

ISBN: 978-1-5107-1734-3

eBook ISBN: 978-1-5107-1735-0

Printed in the United States of America

This book is unofficial and unauthorized. It is not authorized, approved, licensed, or endorsed by Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc. Trademarks used in this book are property of their respective owners and are used for informational purposes only.

Dedication

To my grandmother, Lottie, with love and gratitude, for her patient, gentle guidance, both in and out of the kitchen.

To Amy Sherman-Palladino, with respect and gratitude, for introducing me to unique, confident, female role-models.

K RISTI C ARLSON

As a Gilmore Girls fan since the original Tuesday night airing of Season 1 back in 2000, Ive taken a lot of ribbing over the years. Back before it became cool to watch and love Gilmore Girls , it was kind of the nerdy, cat lady thing to watch. I didnt care. The Donna Reed episode was the first one I watched, and I was hooked. About the time the Chilton bake sale came along, I was on full food alert, too, wanting to try everything. Since thenseriously, for fifteen yearsIve been patiently waiting for a cookbook so I could try all of the Gilmore foods. Summer 2015 is when my patience finally gave way. I decided to just figure them out myself. That one thought lead to this cookbook.

This project combines two of my great loves: cooking and Gilmore Girls . Its given me the opportunity to meet so many positive, fun fellow fanspeople who speak the special Gilmore language. I mean, Ive been able to sign off my emails with YA-YA! or HUZZAH! and have people write back talking about Anaglypta wallpaper. To feel understood like thatits been soul-soothing.

One thing I really didnt expect from this project is how many of the contributors would be from my home state of Michigan. Michigan is the home of my childhood, where I spent summers visiting my grandparents, and its the place where my grandma first taught me to cook and bake. The sounds and smells, foods, seasons, and traditions of Michigan make up much of who I am. After living in Southern California for more than thirty years, Michigan often feels very far away. So this opportunity to work with several of my fellow stateswomen has brought the Michigan girl buried somewhere in me back out. Thats a good thing. Shes a much sweeter version of me.

Not to say that I dont love living in CaliforniaI do! I live in Burbank with my boyfriend, Tim, about three blocks from the Warner Brothers main lot where Gilmore Girls is filmed. Were one block from the Warner Ranch, where the Dragonfly Inn is located. During the original series, my proximity to the studios provided some pretty incredible opportunities. For example, I once got invited to visit the set. I went, of course. I sat in one of those folding directors chairs next to the line producer, only one person away from Scott Patterson. We were seated on the edge of Lukes Diner, watching Lauren Graham as she was being filmed. I dont remember much about that experience, other than I managed not to geek out on any of the cast membersa major success.

Here I am, more than a decade later, more of a fan than ever. Im happy I finally found both a way to turn my fanaticism into something tangible and something that would connect me with other fans. Boy, has it! After a few months of noodling around in the kitchen, testing the feasibility of this cookbook, I embarked on a simple Kickstarter campaign hoping to find a few like-minded fans of both the show and the food. Literally, overnight, the campaign turned into a whirlwind of press and pledges, which helped me raise far more money than I originally needed. In addition to money, I was getting so many notes from people: people eager for me to include their favorite recipe, thrilled to be able to order a Gilmore Girls cookbook, and grateful to me for taking this on. It has all felt surreal and has filled my heart with a ton of love. Ive found my people!

Along the way, I had the good fortune to be approached by Skyhorse Publishingby two fellow Gilmore Girls fans from their cookbook team. They wanted to get involved. I was thrilled to have the support of a fast-growing, small publisher. They have everything I dont: the experience of publishing a slew of great cookbooks, access to the best book printers and binders, and talented sales and PR teams. The moment Skyhorse and I struck a deal, this book became ten times better. Our partnership allowed for more recipes, higher quality photographs, better paper and bindingbasically more and better everything!

Of course, writing about this process in a couple of paragraphs makes it seem far quicker and easier than it was. Just like Lorelai and Sookie opening the Dragonfly, I experienced many sugarfoot! moments. The only way Ive gotten through many of them is with the help (and sanity) of others. So while it may be just my name and Bonnies on the cover, thereve been many, many people behind the scenes helping out. In particular, Id like to thank one personTim Kellyfor being script supervisor, tote board updater, head taster, head dishwasher, grocery store runner, photo model, photo assistant, prop master, driver, launderer, cheerleader, and psychotherapist. He was also the person who originally gave me the idea to make this book. Tim has lived in the midst of all the chaos and stuff that has taken over our home, and he hasnt complained even one time. Hes my Luke. My Richard. My Jackson. My penguin.

If it werent for his help and support, this cookbook would not exist. Period.

Now that you know how the book was made, lets talk about the book itself. The first thing I had to do was make several decisions, like which recipes to include, how to attribute each recipe to the character who originally made it, and how to organize the recipes into a usable format.