True Blood: Eats, Drinks, and Bites from Bon Temps Cookbook (via @vs4as)
HBO enlisted chef Marcella Bienvenu to create the new “True Blood” themed cookbook. The book titled, “True Blood: Eats, Drinks, and Bites from Bon Temps” will be availabe for sale on September 5, 2012.
Chef Marcelle Bienvenu explained to Access how she crafted the scrumptuous Bon Temps-inspired recipes in the book, including the cake on the cover, which she’s already indulged in several times.
AccessHollywood.com: When you got the call to contribute to a ‘True Blood’ cookbook, what went through your head?
Chef Marcelle Bienvenu: I don’t get HBO. I was kind of wondering about it because I knew it was set in Louisiana, and of course, I teach culinary at a university and the students knew about it, so they were just wild! And of course, when they sent me all the series to look at, I went ‘Woah!’ (laughs). But it was interesting and there is so much mention of South Louisiana food in the show that it was really kind of a big challenge to be able to pick up the dishes that they mentioned and work on them.
Access: What were some of the dishes that you had to try and figure out how to make?
Chef Marcelle: The first ones we did — and it was really fun — [were] the drinks that they served at the Fangtasia bar. So it was like Tequila Moonrise instead of Tequila Sunrise. We had a Vamp-Aid instead of Kool-Aid. We had Lovin’ in the Coven, we had a Dead on the Beach drink, so it was kind of fun trying to find drinks that would be something that you could drink, that would tie in with the series. The dishes were pretty easy. We had a shrimp cocktail, we had an oyster po boy, we had red beans and rice and an okra gumbo, crawfish boil, chicken fried steak, chess pie, fried apple pie — so it was very southern, very Louisiana, so it was not that hard to come up with real recipes.
Access: It’s still before breakfast here, but just hearing you read those titles, yum!
Chef Marcelle: Working on it, I gained about 8 pounds, because not only do I teach culinary [at Nicholls State University], I had to test all these, and of course, I had some of the students help me because they were just so excited about it, but eating all of the food I have to eat in class, plus this, really put on some weight.
Access: Were any recipes easier to come up with than others?
Chef Marcelle: I think probably the easier ones were like the shrimp cocktail or a gumbo. They wanted me to do a [vegetarian] burger which I went, ‘Nahhhh!’ but we finally came up with something that was pretty good. And they wanted to do several things with crawfish… Instead of a sweet donut, we made like a little savory puff, and that took a little while to kind of come up with something that would work. Also they wanted to do things like fiery chicken wings, with a dipping sauce. We, of course, ran into a lot of things that had red in color. We [made] a white cake, but it had to have a berry sauce dripping over it, so it looked like blood, but it looks very good. I made four of those!
Access: How many did you consume yourself?
Chef Marcelle: I became very popular on campus, all the faculty were coming over to the kitchen where we were testing things, so they had a good treat.
Access: What did you think of the show? And are you watching now?
Chef Marcelle: I’m definitely hooked, and at school, we watch it on Monday nights because there’s several of us who have been following it, so now I’m hooked. I have to admit it.
Access: Do you have a favorite vampire?
Chef Marcelle: Bill. I like Bill. I’ll stick with Bill.
Access: Stephen Moyer is British, how do you think his accent is?
Chef Marcelle: He does remarkably well! I mean, I was afraid they’d make it to Georgia southern, I was afraid they’d make it too Cajun-y, but they do pretty well. I’m very pleased with it… Plus, he’s darn fine good looking too.
Access: And how about that Alcide, the wolf?
Chef Marcelle: Um… I kind of like him (laughs). All the guys love Sook!
Here is one of the recipes from the book: “Sookie Stackhouse’s Fried Chicken”
1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Lard or vegetable oil… for deep frying
Two 3-3 1/2 pound broiler-fryer chickens cut into serving pieces
Combine the flour, salt, paprika, black pepper, and cayenne in a large plastic or paper bag. Shake to mix.
Heat about 2 inches of lard until it registers 360 degrees F on a deep-fry thermometer in a large, heavy pot. Put four chicken pieces in the bag, and shake well. Add the chicken to the hot fat and deep-fry until golden brown and cooked through, 12 to 15 minutes.
Drain the chicken on paper towels.
Repeat the process with the remaining chicken.
Serve hot or warm.
via True Blood: Eats, Drinks, and Bites from Bon Temps Cookbook.
A Memorial Day Tribute (via @QueenFaeMab)
Let’s start with the town of Bon Temps. There are many descendants of Civil War veterans and members of the historical society “Descendants of the Glorious Dead.” Even the mayor’s great-grandfather lived during the Civil War.
Then there’s William T. Compton. In 1860, he went off to serve as First Lieutenant in the 28th Louisiana Infantry for the Civil War.
And we also have Terry Bellefleur. He is Gulf War veteran who served in Iraq, in particular Fallujah. During his tour of duty, he has claimed to have shot and killed 20 Iraqis. Like many veterans, he has psychological and emotional issues from what he witnessed and did while serving in the war.
Happy Memorial Day and thank you to all who have served to protect this country.
Where the hell is Wally’s garage? (via @JBDuRoneTB)
I speak as an authority on this matter; any small, Southern town would have a Wally’s Garage or some variant thereof. (You know, Gomer worked there)
It’s populated by grimy, but honest shade tree mechanics. They are friendly, know everyone and eek out a living by charging the bare minimum. However, when an outsider (especially Yankees) come to town, they pay full boat and take the longest to repair. I like those folks!
But where is Wally’s in Bon Temp? Surely Gran needed her car worked on before; somebody is holding Tara’s POS together. Jason must have bought tires for his truck there. Sam’s classic will take constant work (I know, I have that curse too).
My dream job; relocate to Bon Temp and start a garage. Sell cold Cokes (not pop or soda; although it means the same thing), have chairs for regulars to hang out and pray for the day some damned Yankee breaks down.
We’ll be eating high off the hog that day, boy!
Random Thoughts regarding the True Blood world (via @JBDuRoneTB)
What happens to the makeup female shifters wear? Or their nail polish? Or their hairdoo?
I can’t help but picture Debbie Pelt in wolf form, complete with pink nails, pink lipstick, base, rogue and mascara. Or Luna as a pretty mare with a powdered nose. I seem to remember Daphne shift from a deer into a perfectly made up, coiffed suitor for Sam. Must all be part of the magic…
Along the same lines, when Sam shifts into a pretty bunny, where does his hair gel go?
Another random thought; Bon Temps is an entrepreneurial gold mine! I would try my hand at a few different things to see what would make a go of it;
– All night bank with trust services, catering to wealthy Vamp clients
– All night shoe cobbler; moving at Vamp-speed has to be hell on soles.
– Discreet clothes delivery and taxi service for shifters caught naked and far from home
– Rapid clean up and repair service for supe activity cover up
– Waitress Temp Agency for the perpetually understaffed Merlotte’s
At least one of those should work!
Final random thought; if Andy Bellefleur came in the woods and no one was around to hear it, could he still get a fae pregnant? (I’m hoping Queen Mab weighs in on this one)
Thank you and have a pleasant evening.
Worst Place to Live (via @QueenFaeMab)
Since I moved to Bon Temps a few years ago, I have heard many things about one town in particular….Hot Shot. Let’s start with the name. I imagine it is hot like any town in Louisiana and I’m almost positive folks have been shot there. It’s residents lack overall hygiene and teeth are optional. Being that they all seem to turn into big kitty cats, the preferred snack is a dead animal of some kind, probably rodent. The education system is non-existent and the only stuff they cook up there is meth. Now I have heard that family values are important, but when your daddy is your uncle, plus your brother too, then that’s just wrong! Plus the things they did to Jason Stackhouse would have surely made the front cover of The Enquirer. If you ask me, this is the worst place in Louisiana to reside. I can promise you, there won’t be any faeries poofing to Hot Shot anytime soon.
(This is a humorous blog based on only the show True Blood, not on the books and isn’t directed at any RPers.)
Day 8 #fangathon2012 Southern Vampire Mysteries vs The Mortal Instruments (via @SassyJessOB)
Day 8 and I’m starting to have a fangover, I’m running out of ideas for my posts and I wish I had Sookie Stackhouse’s number on speed dial so I could ask her what’s happening in Bon Temps, but sadly I don’t, I also don’t have Charlaine Harris’s number for any questions on what I could write so i have come up with this….
Sookie Stackhouse vs Clary Fray
This new blog updating is to warn you I’m a big fan of both and will be comparing the differences between two fantastic series. And how the southern vampire mysteries will top any book I have yet to see beat them.
Sookie Stackhouse, she’s part Fairy and has luscious blonde hair, she’s twenty eight and after the last book Deadlocked we see Sookie officially own one third of Merlottes (but I’m not telling you how). As the books develop we see Sookie become such a strong character.
Sookie lives in a small town of Louisiana, she’s a cocktail waitress, she doesn’t go out much… Not because she’s not pretty but because she isn’t a big fan of her disability or as what we know her telepathic ability.
Sookie stands out with her telepathic ability and it’s something Clary doesn’t have, we also see how Sookie befriends vampires, wear wolves and other wear animals and also shifters where as clary most of the time is fighting the supernatural world including also her own kin the shadow hunters.
The one thing Sookie and Clary have in common is that they both have a supernatural best friend, Sookie has her boss and best friend Sam who is a shifter and Clary has her best friend/newly turned vampire Simon.
However why does Southern Vampire Mysteries triumph over The Mortal Instruments?
I’ll tell you why, as The Mortal Instruments is based on a 15 year old perspective however like twilight, Clary’s best friend Simon is known as a ‘daylighter’ so yeah…. The vampire can walk in the sun and it’s not like the Vampire diaries where they have to wear a special ring, I’m mean genuinely this guy named Simon can walk in the sun without burned and lives on animal blood.
Clary fray is an ordinary Brooklyn teenager till she meets the half angel half human person named Jace, who turns out to be a shadow hunter, when clary finds out her mother jocelyn has been abducted she desperately hopes Jace will be able to help. Clary too realises she’s got the powers of a shadow hunter as well but can she harness them in time to save her mother?
So as making that major point even though the mortal instruments my second favourite series nothing beats traditional vampires, I like the thought of vampires coming out in the evening and being awake through the night, vampires are not able to walk in the sun.
Alan ball then bought it all in to perspective with the first series of True Blood which I adore and it all took off.
Sookie’s world is supernatural and chilling in some moments but with it being in adult perspective we see the complications of relationships when were adults that we can all relate to, we see some kick ass action scenes and some full on mind blowing sex scenes.
So from reading both books and all of them from the series, the southern vampire mysteries will top my book shelf and be number 1 any day. I adore Sookie and would love to have her as a best friend.
And on my shelves currently the southern vampire mysteries is the first thing I’ll reach for in the mood of a good read. I can read them any day and never get bored!
via Day 8 #fangathon2012 Southern Vampire Mysteries vs The Mortal Instruments.
If I were a shifter like Sam…. (via @JBDuRoneTB)
I’d spend a large amount of time as an American buffalo!
Surprised you there, huh? Did you think lions,tigers or hares? Well, I’ve never been accused of being conventional or boring. Here’s just another example. I’d strut around Bon Temps as the resident Bayou Buffalo
Those beasts impressed the hell out of me on a trip I took last year to Yellowstone. Not only are they friggin’ huge, they look ferocious, intimidating and lethal. Unless you’re dumb enough to annoy one, they consider humans to be insignificant and beneath their consideration. In fact, MOST things in their environment are insignificant and beneath their consideration.Buffaloes don’t walk, they lift their hooves and the world moves under them.
I once watched one stride into a geyser pool where the temperature was reported to be over 180F. It entered to a depth over its hooves. He/she/it reached the other side and wallowed in acidic mud. After rising it looked over at our group, turned around and farted in our general direction. Those things are badass!
We haven’t had much in the way of badass were creatures on TB yet. The Weres seem mostly good at snarling and getting their butts kicked by Vamps. Felton, the were-panther, was taken out by Tarzan/Jason; they can’t be that bad ass.
A were-buffalo would tidy things up in Bon Temps pretty well. Bar fight in Merlottes? Buffalo Bouncer would end it before it started. Maenad wonder through town again? A buffalo could take her out before she did her first shaky-epileptic thing. Talbot having a hissy fit? Puh-lease…
And when the job is done? Buffalo gals can’t you come out tonight….
Day 5 #Fangathon2012 – My favourite book. (via @SassyJessOB)
For #Fangathon day 5……
This subject has actually been difficult for me to decide as its taken me a while to adjust who is my favourite character as well in this book but I cannot choose….
I’m a big fan of the books as well as True Blood as I have stated in my previous blog entries and I have a terrible time of repeating myself too (haha!) but if I had to pick out any book mostly for the Southern Vampire Mysteries it would be Definitely Dead – book number 6!
What’s it about? Well I shall tell you…..
As a person with so few living relatives, Louisiana cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse really hated to lose one. But she never guessed that it would be her cousin Hadley—a consort of the Vampire Queen Sophie-Anne of New Orleans. After all, technically speaking, Hadley was already dead. And now, as unexpected heir to Hadley’s estate, Sookie discovers the inheritance definitely comes with a risk.
Someone doesn’t want Sookie looking too deeply into Hadley’s past—or for that matter, Hadley’s possessions. And they’re prepared to do anything in their power to stop her. But who? The range of suspects runs from the Rogue Weres who reject Sookie as a friend of the Pack to the Vampire Queen herself, who could be working through a particularly vulnerable subject—Sookie’s first love, Bill.
This book was so intense and I love a good intense book. We get to see the development of Queen Sophie-Anne and her vulnerable teenage side but we also discover more about Sookie’s family and I love the whole relationship Sookie forms with Quinn, it gave me the chills when I read this book and I’m most definitely wish the rest of the books were like this.
My favourite part about the book is that it’s set away from Bon Temps, the scenes are beautifully described about New Orleans and other places where the vampires are based.
I love all the characters in this book and the plots.
I won’t ruin it for people who haven’t read it yet….
So that would be my favourite book.
Night Four: My Only “Nails on the Chalkboard” Moments (via @CindyLouLouBear)
Just about the only Pet Peeve I have with some fans and RPers of True Blood/SVM is that they spell Bon Temps , Bon Temp. Or spell Herveaux wrong.
Darlings, if you are going to say you Live in this town, or that you are playing Alcide or know him, Those things are just SO SIMPLE!
Bon Temps Needs Moms (via @JBDuRoneTB)
Happy Mother’s Day to everyone! As I consider the Bon Temps landscape in the greater Sookieverse, I’m struck by the abscence of moms among our characters. I made my rounds first thing this morning of moms to make contact with; friends, family, neighbors – the process took just shy of an hour. How long does this take in Bon Temps; maybe 10 minutes? Obviously just a few phone calls.
I’m going to run down the moms that come to the top of my head (strickly from TB);
- Gran – consummate matriach, community leader and outstanding role model for Sookie. Status – killed off in first season (yet made a “Hell Yeah!” comeback to sort out the S4 Big Bad)
- Lettie Mae – Bat arsed crazy, radical moods swings and random critical thinking. You can bet Tara isn’t buying her a Mother’s Day card or taking her out to lunch. Status – bat arsed crazy, radical mood swings and random critical thinking
- Arlene – prolific producer of gingerheads. Her parenting skills reminds me of a mother sea turtle informing her kids genetically to “run like hell for the surf before the seagulls get you. Good luck, kid.” Someone tie this woman’s tubes! Status – still popping them out
- Melinda (Ma) Mickens – Gold digger, welfare leech and prime example of codependency issues. Has yet to discover using bleach in the white laundry. Tommy probably felt a strong connection with Joe Dirt, yet loves his mom unconditionally. Well, except for the ONE condition… Status – condemned to enterity, trapped in the lyrics of the song “Polk Salad Annie”
- Caroline Bellefluer – Matriarch of the Bellefluer kids (and maker of one kick ass chocolate cake). The jury’s still out on this one. I like her so far, and have a soft place for Terry and Andy. Portia on the other hand… Back to Caroline; she needs to “launch” Andy and Portia, using her time to spread the love around Bon Temps through chocolate cakes. Status – wearing an apron that covers too many peeps; return it for a smaller size.
- Maxine Fortenberry (forgot about her) – wow. Just… wow! Domineering, critical, pea sized brain running a softball sized mouth. Who didn’t foresee Hoyt kicking her to the curb? Status – empty nester; missing one dress, one pair of shoes and has utility equipment littering her yard.
That’s about it as far a moms go. There’s obviously more (yet minor) characters that could be covered; Jessica’s mom, Bill Compton’s wife, etc. If there’s a more major character I’ve over looked, please let me know.
Edit – I forgot where I was going with this. ; )
I think what Bon Temps needs is a few good moms. Who doesn’t think Gran could have sorted Maryanne out in a fraction of the time it took the entire citizenry of Bon Temps? And Gran certainly would never have left the house in such a state of disrepair as Sookie did. Bon Temps is certainly a colder place without some good moms steering the ship
Happy Mother’s Day to all you Trubies out there!
via Bon Temps Needs Moms.
It’s All About Attraction (via @lynntulloch)
Day Two It’s All About Attraction I mentioned in my previous blog about what attracts me to the Southern Vampire Mysteries and True Blood. How can Charlaine Harris and Alan Ball create such an appetising place to stay even though there is a town near by that produces drugs and everyone is related, loads of people get killed, possessed and can’t remember a thing on nearly a daily basis? Realistically we should consider Bon Temp to be something close to hell. It could be the huge, massive and incredibly vast amount of eye candy on offer for us to lust after. Yes I know that I’m starting with a really shallow thing, but come on you aren’t going to be interested in even finding out more unless the packaging convinces you that you really NEED to open it. And open it up you do….. Oh yeah! The fact that there are copious scenes featuring sex and nudity does make me feel a shade uncomfortable, however, that is purely cause I’m still emotionally scarred from my grandma talking in public about sex with my grandad so I avoid sex scenes when ANYONE else is present. Which brings me, in a rather disturbing way to an article I read in ‘Psychology Today’ written by Susan L Smalley PhD called ‘True Blood and True Life’. It was suggested that all the characters are ‘a metaphor for the diversity of life itself and our meandering through it’. At this point I felt really shallow and uneducated for merely stating that the whole Sookie Stackhouse thing grabbed my attention because the main characters were aesthetically pleasing and I liked the story lines. So, I read on. Apparently, Sookie is a role model because she has no hidden agenda, she does the right thing all the time. Ok, yeah that is true, but it’s the same with Dorothy in ‘The Wizard of Oz’ and even though there is nothing more annoying than someone who is a squeaky clean, do-gooder, I don’t actually hate Sookie (or Dorothy for that matter). Bon Temp and world where True Blood is set shows us that things can be an illusion, the ‘monsters’ aren’t always ‘monsters’ sometimes it’s the humans. I wholeheartedly agree, there are many case when humans do things that are much more awful than than the witches, werewolves, shapeshifters or vampires. There are even cases where Bill Compton is so sweet and lovely it makes me want to barf my load. The article goes on to suggest that hatred is fuelled by ignorance. People tend to do harm when they are greedy, angry, too proud etc or they use religion to judge others. Wow, that’s a bit of an understatement. Judging others is a very crappy thing that happens everyday, making sweeping generalisations and not finding out the truth leads to a whole big box of trouble, plus it makes you feel like a total arse when it goes wrong. True Blood shows us we tend to question who we are, we try to work out fact from fiction, illusion from truth. It’s only by challenging our belief systems that we can progress in life. Sometimes in life the abnormal and strange becomes the norm in your life. It tends to creep in subtly so that we don’t notice. Then it’s the normal everyday things that are most precious. Anyway, after I read the full article, I had a coffee and pondered over what I had read. Could there really be all that in a tv program about a telepathic waitress who prefers to shag dead people rather than alive ones? Apparently so, I actually found that I agreed with the article. The more I thought about it, the more I thought that this lady does have a point. Maybe we can learn from True Blood. So, yeah, True Blood does have all of that and really hot actors and actresses too.
Vampires, Werewolves, Witches and Faes…oh my! (via @lynntulloch)
For the next 30 days, along with my regular blogs, I shall be blogging about one of the great loves of my life.
This is the series of books known as ‘The Southern Vampire Mysteries’ written by Charlaine Harris these are also known as the Sookie Stackhouse books or the True Blood books. I know that you will probably have heard of at least one of these, but in case you haven’t been lucky enough to fall in love with Bon Temp yet, Ill give you a little introduction about Sookie’s world on paper and on TV, because they are actually different in some ways.Now that we have that bit out of the way, Ill start with a quick introduction to Bon Temp.
fangathon.wordpress.com 