Admit it: you love binge watching shows on Netflix. Who doesn’t love using the excuse of “needing to catch up on a show” to spend the day in 
their pajamas and not leave the room?
This weekend, if you want to spend some time with your beau – but you don’t really feel like going out – consider putting a twist on your favorite guilty pleasure. Binge watch your favorite Netflix shows while serving themed food and drinks. Here are a few examples:
Mad Men
If you’ve never seen Mad Men or you just want to rewatch it, consider binge watching the seven seasons of the show on Netflix. Jon Hamm stars in this masterful drama set in the 1960s about ruthless businessmen working in the advertising industry. The show has won many awards and received praise for its historical accuracy, which includes the show’s food and drinks.
To create your own take, try serving up classic 1960s cocktails. You’ll see a lot of martinis featured in Mad Men, so choose between either vodka or gin and add a splash of vermouth to make this classic. You can garnish your drink with an olive or a lemon peel, and add a cute martini stirrer for looks.
Additionally, if you’ve never experienced cheese fondue, this is a good excuse to try it. The 1960s craze works by melting cheese in a pot and keeping it over heat. Then, you and your partner can dip pieces of bread into the pot using long-stemmed forks.
The Office
This popular comedy stars Steve Carell as Michael Scott, the bumbling regional manager of a paper company based in Scranton. Scott’s lack of social awareness leads to funny and awkward moments with co-workers. The everyday lives of these office workers are presented in mockumentary style.
At one of the office Christmas parties, Carell’s character “invents” a drink by mixing orange juice and vodka, which he names the “orange vod-juice-ka.” Use Scott as an excuse to serve up some orange vod-juice-kas yourself (otherwise known as screwdrivers). Garnish your drink with an orange slice and add a pinch of salt to cancel out the juice’s acidity.
Orange is the New Black
This popular show is the most-watched Netflix Original Series. If you haven’t seen it, the series follows the life of Piper Chapman, played by Taylor Schilling, a privileged New Yorker who ends up in a women’s prison.
Much of the show’s drama centers around the Litchfield Penitentiary’s kitchen, where plot twists and power struggles often take place. So serve up some prison food for your partner in honor of this show! Just kidding. But you can still create prison-inspired recipes straight out of Orange is the New Black: The Cookbook, which features recipes like Red’s Chicken Kiev and Miss Claudette’s Coconut Cake.
Other ideas include watching Scandal and drinking red wine, Olivia Pope’s signature drink. Be sure to serve it with a side of popcorn. Or, binge on Grey’s Anatomy and treat yourself to some tequila like Meredith Grey.
All it takes is a favorite show and a good imagination, and you’ve got yourself a fun stay-at-home date. No dress code required!
Featured Image by Angela Natividad on Flickr
Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0)
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