I’ve never been one for picking favorites. When friends sit around and list their favorite movies, actors, books, and more, I’m typically at a loss. I love so many of those things, how do you choo-choo-choose just one?
My exception to this is The Simpsons. When someone asks me what my favorite TV show of all time is, I quickly answer “The Simpsons,” with the caveat “specifically, seasons 3 through 8.” I’ve loved these episodes since they first aired and I watched them with the volume on low without my parents’ permission. When I want something quick to watch and I can’t decide what, those DVDs are the first place I turn. The episodes are so wonderfully written and performed and pretty much perfect and it boggles my mind.
With my profession of love out of the way, I think it’s high time I combine my passion for cooking and food writing with my passion for this beloved cartoon. I don’t know if you’ve ever noticed, but The Simpsons has some pretty great food references peppered throughout (Flaming Moe, anyone?). For your viewing and eating pleasure, I am gathering the best Simpsons food stuffs in one place and making them myself.
The goal of this series is simple: recreate dishes from classic Simpsons episodes. I’ll be as true to the original as possible, and will provide an original recipe based upon my efforts. In some instances, this will yield assuredly gross results (i.e. most of Homer’s creations). In those cases, I’ll also provide a non-gross but true-to-theme recipe inspired by the Simpsons dish.
For the inaugural article, I decided to pull from one of my favorite episodes and a true Lisa tour-de-force, Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington. It’s the second episode of Season 3, and centers around a patriotic essay contest that takes Lisa and family to Washington, DC, where she makes real governmental change with her last-minute essay titled “Cesspool on the Potomac.” Some of my favorite moments in the episode happen early on, though, when Homer mistakenly thinks he won a million dollars in the mail, but instead won a subscription to Readers’ Digest. Much to everyone’s surprise, Homer becomes an avid Digest reader, and discovers the essay contest in the magazine at dinner one night. Marge has prepared something special from the very pages of Readers’ Digest: Little Meatloaf Men. And Bart and the rest of the family are loving it.
