By now my regular creepers followers know that the list of things that bring me joy is long, varied and ongoing. From bare feet to wooden spoons, narwhals to misheard lyrics, it's sort of an ever-evolving archive of Amy-endorsed awesomeness in no particular order. Two things consistently hovering near the top of the list: dinner parties and friends.
To date, one of the best days of my life remains the evening GVL BFF and I live-streamed the making of "The Turducken of Cheese Balls" (Yes, it is a thing. Yes, it is a crazy pain in the ass to make. Yes, it is just as glorious as you could ever possibly imagine.) after stumbling across the recipe on the internets. Roughly a hundred dollars, a couple bottles of wine, a little hysteria and a dozen layers of foodstuffs later, we arrived at this. AND OUR LIVES WERE NEVER THE SAME AGAIN.
My birthday twin, Julia Child, once said, "In cooking you've got to have a what-the-hell attitude.” If you're looking for a way to stoke your what-the-hell fire, Go Cook Yourself is a good place to start. Coincidentally, they just published their first book...and I have assembled ten incredibly compelling reasons you will instantly fall in heart with GCY and should pick up a copy of their book right now.
TEN REASONS TO GO COOK YOURSELF
- Let's cut to the chase. The authors* are British people, so when you read the book in the voice in your mind, you can pretend the recipe calls for “basil” instead of “basil.” And we all know THAT IS WAY MORE ADORABLE. (Also, for some reason, much less bothersome to the American ear than the way the British insist on pronouncing "aluminum.") (Side note: the dictionary claims we all pronounce basil the same way. The dictionary is clearly in denial and I can no longer trust anything it says.)
- (Straight men...skip directly to bullet 3. Gays and girls...come with me.) The “British people” are actually “British twin brothers.” Coincidentally they are also “British handsome.” If commercials have taught us anything, it is that two are better than one. And if you haven’t based your entire understanding of everything that is right and good in the world on the indisputable wisdom of late-80s advertising, you’re no friend of mine.
- Now is your chance to finally get around to learning something about the metric system, which you probably did in fifth grade and again in tenth grade and then promptly forgot because "IT'S NOT LIKE I'M EVER GOING TO USE THIS." Guess what, younger self? You were WRONG. Not only will mastery of the metric system help you win friends and influence people, it will also take you one step closer to becoming a badass like Walter White. Bonus: instead of leading you down a path of sin that ruins your life and destroys your family, GCY will lead you down a path to a delicious pile of something delicious.
- Know who likes bacon? Go Cook Yourself. Know who else likes bacon? Ron Swanson. Know what else Ron Swanson likes? Puppies and dancing. If you don’t buy this book I will assume that means you hate puppies, dancing and bacon, which will leave me with no choice but to write an open letter about you. And we all know how that goes.
- Cooking is sexy…and it knows it.
- Three Reasons, One Photo.
- One word: s’moreos. THIS IS A THING.
- The book is gloriously meatball and meatloaf-free. In every conceivable way.
- The book will challenge you to challenge yourself...by eating "black pudding." After reading up on the matter, I have come to realize that "black pudding" is just a polite British way of saying "SAUSAGE OF DOOM." If you are American and send me a video of you eating (or even attempting to eat) black pudding, I will create a post on this blog and you will become an honorary member of The Hall of WTFame. Note: *I* will never become a member of the Hall of WTFame because NO. Just...no.
- Because I said so. And I would never lie to you.
>>> Buy the book on Amazon or B&N. <<<
Then go follow Go Cook Yourself...
ON TWITTER... @GoCookYourself ON INSTAGRAM... @GoCookYourself ON FACEBOOK... facebook.com/GoCookYourself ON THE INTERWEBS... GoCookYourself.com
*Full disclosure: I am faraway friends with half of the authors, however he neither compensated me for nor encouraged me to write this post. It is also entirely possible he will be completely mortified by it. Hi Dan. Congratulations on the book!