So here I am reviewing a cookbook.
Confession... I don't really cook very well. I'm still alive, so I must be at least mediocre, but I'm not someone who can just whip something up or take a pinch of this and a bit of that and come out with something fantastic. I have a friend who can do that (hi, Semra!) but I just don't have that skill! But I can at least follow a recipe.
A couple of weeks ago I went to the Gilmore Girls Fan Festival in Kent, CT. I could blather on for days about how wonderful it was, from the organizers to the cast and crew members to the town of Kent throwing its doors and arms open to a bunch of crazy (mostly) women yelling things like "Oy with the poodles already!" The cast and crew of Gilmore Girls is a set of creative geniuses who all have talent in spades in many areas. They not only had meet and greets and were happy to pose for selfies and sign whatever we asked them to, they also led workshops and showcased their side projects. I bought a few books written by GG crew members, and one was a gorgeous hand-made cookbook.
Valerie Campbell is a costumer for films and TV shows, including Gilmore Girls and A Star is Born. She shared behind-the-scenes stories and trivia about what it was like to work in Stars Hollow while she led us all in a session of hand-churning ice cream. She's gotten so good at creating her own recipes that she wrote and illustrated a book of 48 recipes that you will find nowhere else. I bought the book because she was so cool and it was so beautiful and it was affiliated with this show, but by the end of the session I'd found an ice cream maker on Facebook's Marketplace in my town and arranged to pick it up the next day.
Somehow, the first batch I made (Spiced Apple Cider Sorbet) actually came out. It actually became what it was supposed to become! Then last night I made my second batch (Key Lime Pie, endorsed by Keiko Agena and her husband) and it's heaven on a spoon. It has bits of pie crust, real key lime juice, and hand-made whipped cream swirled together.
I want to give you an idea of how beautiful this book is, because it's a piece of art. I didn't want to give away Valerie's recipes, so I got a little help from some friends from Stars Hollow. Every page has a story on the left side about how the recipe came to be or about the person who inspired it. On the right is an illustrated guide to making the ice cream from start to finish.
And the flavors are ones you'll find nowhere else. Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Swirl, Peanut Butter Chipotle, Lavender Lemon, Cheddar Cheese, Santa Rosa Plum Blush Swirl... I can't wait.
One tip on using this book: Read the recipe all the way through before you start. There is no list of ingredients so you have to read it from start to finish to write down everything you need. Some call for certain tools (like a zester or a candy thermometer) that you'll have to have ready before you begin. Some have you stop in the middle and refrigerate your work overnight, then come back to it the next day. Read it carefully before you start so you don't think you'll have ice cream in 30 minutes when really you need to wait overnight!
The recipes I've tried so far aren't simple. They all require a lot of steps and attention to detail. I felt a little like a scientist taking readings from the thermometer to make sure my milk in the double boiler got to just the right temperature! However, they do work if you follow the directions and they're so worth it!
You can buy the book by clicking the link at the top of this review, either through mail-order or finding Valerie using the calendar of events she has posted. :) Also, she has always responded to me via Instagram DM when I have a question about what to do. I totally feel like we're friends now, because that's how it works, right? ;)
