ft. ‘Cocktails and Tall Tails With Ina Garten and Melissa McCarthy’ & Shrimp Burrito Bowls

March 26, 2021 by Sydney Grant

Welcome to the (almost) weekend, everybody! It’s been a wild week. Chrissy Teigen got out of her toxic relationship with Twitter, Miley Cryus reflected on her relationship with Hannah Montana, and one man ruined Cinnamon Toast Crunch‘s relationship with shellfish forever. Happy Passover, happy weekend, and happy Shrimpgate. Just another day in 2021, folks!

However you’re planning on spending your weekend, enjoy these quarantivities!

Quarant-streams

‘Cocktails and Tall Tails With Ina Garten and Melissa McCarthy‘

Watch this if you love a good crossover episode:

It’s not the collab we asked for, but it’s the collab we needed. And the only reason why we didn’t ask for it is that, even in our wildest dreams, never would we have thought up an Ina Garten and Melissa McCarthy crossover. However, if this past year has taught me anything, it’s to embrace the unexpected and so here I am, anxiously awaiting the moment Discovery+ drops this special so I can watch these two icons virtually sit down and have a drink (or several) together. Cocktails and Tall Tails With Ina Garten and Melissa McCarthy is exactly how it sounds — the Barefoot Contessa aka founder and CEO of the official Quarantini aka Ina Garten will be Zooming with Emmy-award winning actress Melissa McCarthy, giving us common folk the chance to listen in on their convo and learn a new cocktail recipe in the process.

I thought I was excited about the Oprah and Meghan confessional, but if we’re talking unlikely duos, this (barefoot) confessional might take the cake. There may not be as much tea spilled, but perhaps something stronger and although Prince Harry won’t be joining in on the fun, Garten and McCarthy’s own husbands, Jeffrey Garten and Ben Falcone, will be. Grab an Ina-sized glass of whatever it is you drink on Friday nights and tune in because this is one double-date you are not going to want to miss! (As opposed to going to overpriced drinks with your friend, his girlfriend, and her friend she met at work that she “knows is just perfect for you!!”)

Stream it via Discovery +.

‘Arrested Development’

Watch this if you know that there’s always money in the banana stand:

The award-winning actress Jessica Walter passed away this week at age 80, and to honor her legacy, I’m suggesting one of the best TV shows of all time: Arrested Development. I’m aware that I watch altogether far too much television and have used that phrase before, but this show is truly one of the greats, partially due to Walter’s hilariously awful character, Lucille Buth. If you’re unfamiliar with the glory that is Arrested Development, it follows Michael Buth (Jason Bateman) as he attempts to pick up the pieces following his father’s arrest. Forced to run the family business while attempting to deal with his morally misguided family, Michael may seem like the main character but it was always Lucille who held each character together.

From an irrational fear of being nude so always having to don denim cut-offs, to hopelessly being in love with a cousin, every character’s storyline in this show is hilarious. However, every LINE of Lucille Buth’s is gold. Lucille Buth walked, so Moira Rose could run. Pay homage to Jessica Walter’s iconic role this weekend by watching this gem, whether it be for your first, second, or tenth time through. And then while you’re at it, revisit some of her other works as well — you just might be at it for a while. She has a whopping 161 credits on IMDB.

Stream it via Netflix.

Quarant-reads

‘The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race‘

Read this if you ever got tested for coronavirus:

What better book to suggest during Women’s History Month than one highlighting one of the most influential women of the modern era? In his latest, Walter Isaacson, best-selling author of Leonardo da Vinci and Steve Jobs, dives into the life of Jennifer Doudna, the biochemist who helped invent the revolutionary gene-editing tool CRISPR. From her father leaving her his copy of James Watson’s The Double Helix on her bed to earning the 2020 Nobel Prize, the biography takes readers on a riveting journey through Doudna’s life. And what better time than now to learn about her, when this very tool has helped in testing against COVID-19? The subject matter may seem daunting, but Code Breaker wasn’t written for scientists — its storytelling mirrors that of the detective novels Doudna grew up loving and is a page-turner from start to finish. Learn about the woman who revolutionized modern science, then impress the pharmacist who gives you your coronavirus vaccine with some fun facts about DNA! Science rules!

Purchase via Amazon.

Quarant-eats

Shrimp Burrito Bowl via Broccyourbody:

Make this if you can’t stop thinking about Shrimpgate:

Best-Ever Macaroons via Delish:

Bake these bc they’re kosher for Passover!:

Cha Yen (Thai Iced Tea) via NYT Cooking:

Make this bc it’s Thai Iced Tea SZN:

INGREDIENTS

4 tablespoons loose red rooibos tea leaves (or the contents of 10 rooibos tea bags)
3 tablespoons loose black tea leaves (or the contents of 7 black tea bags)
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
10 star anise pods, broken into pieces or roughly chopped
10 whole cloves
½ cup half-and-half
½ cup sweetened condensed milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Ice, for serving

PREPARATION

Add 4 cups water to a medium saucepan. Cover with a lid and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat. Add rooibos tea, black tea, sugar, star anise and cloves; cover and let steep, 10 minutes. Strain tea, pressing on tea leaves and spices to extract as much liquid as possible, then discarding solids. Refrigerate tea until chilled, at least 1 hour.
In a measuring glass, stir together the half-and-half, condensed milk and vanilla extract.
Fill a pint glass with ice. Add 3/4 cup tea mixture and top with about 2½ tablespoons condensed milk mixture. Serve immediately.