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Pass on the Popcorn – 5 Food and Drink Pairings for Your Next Netflix or Prime Binge

Is anyone else guilty of preparing snacks and drinks for a night in front of the TV, only to devour them while mulling/arguing over your viewing options for 40 minutes?

The token bowl of popcorn is now just salty kernels, the crisps are merely a memory and you’re left snack-less, thirsty and sad as you settle in to watching some random show you’ll tire of after episode 1.

The solution? Make a proper night of it with 5 great things to watch and themed food and drink pairings to boot. Overcome the indecision with the below picks, sit back, relax with a drink in hand and delicious, themed snacks laid out before you.

The Bold Type

If you’re looking for a new series to get engrossed in, The Bold Type is the perfect way to get lost in four seasons of all things NYC glamour and strong female characters – The Office’s Melora Hardin as Editor in Chief is boss goals. Granted, it is as sugary as Scarlet’s Unicorn Dreamtini in parts, but it is overall an uplifting, easy and definitely binge-worthy watch.

While I immediately thought of a Manhattan as the perfect tipple to accompany the New Yorkers’ tales, the trio of young leading ladies always rush to celebrate each other by popping open the bubbly for wins big and small, and in between are swiping flutes from passing trays at glam parties.

I couldn’t resist the scene where Sutton gambles her back up hundred dollar bill on a bottle of Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label. She raises a toast to “crazy dreams”, with a fitting nod to trail-blazing Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin, the Veuve Clicquot who built the now iconic brand from the ground up in the 1800s.

Veuve Clicquot

Because Netflix and chilled Champagne is definitely the upgrade we all need in our lives right now and there is nothing better than a crisp glass of Veuve, let’s follow in Sutton’s fancy footsteps for our drink choice.

For the perfect food pairing, let’s go with something that allows the Veuve to be the leading lady, but accessorises her perfectly. Chips and Champagne is, perhaps surprisingly, the most utterly divine pairing, as salty, crunchy fries are a match made in heaven with Champagne’s acidity.

Homemade frites work perfectly, and are as simple as finely chopping peeled potatoes into skinny batons and tossing them in enough oil to coat and seasoning. Lay in a single layer on a baking tray and bake until golden and crisp in a 180C oven for 45 minutes, flipping and shaking up after 30.

Palm Springs

Hands up who would give anything to be in Palm Springs right now? I think we’d all agree that Groundhog Day in the balmy Californian sunshine would beat curling up on the couch with Amazon Prime, but for now, Andy Samberg’s latest comedy is as good a watch as any, made even better with the right pairing.

Throughout, Samberg’s character Nyles is rarely seen without a can of “Akubera”, a fictional beer created for the movie as a reference to the mind-bending metaphysical theme, with Sanskrit and Hindi interpretations such as “unlimited” and “immeasurable”.

While we can’t drink Akubera like Nyles, he also whips up blender margaritas on one particularly frustrating morning, and in the spirit of “unlimited”, may I suggest you go batch?

This will ensure you don’t have to get up from the couch every time you need one, and this margarita recipe by Gaby Guedez is perfect to make ahead, ready to press play.

All I do differently to embrace my inner Nyles is fill my blender with ice and whizz up the potent potion to get a slushie consistency. If you prefer a strawberry margarita, swap out some ice for a handful of frozen strawberries. Sure to bring immeasurable joy.

Cheat's Margherita Pizza Recipe

As each day begins with Nyles floating around a pool on a pizza slice inflatable, it seems right to match our margs with a slice or several. This Cheat’s Margherita Pizza Recipe, which takes just minutes to whip up with a handy naan bread base. Be sure to top yours with pepperoni slices and mentally float away on the buzz of margs, pizza and laughs.

Schitt’s Creek

One of the best things to ever grace Netflix, I have yet to meet someone who could resist the charms of the Rose family drama in Schitt’s Creek. It is the perfect series to dip in and out of, and guaranteed to put a smile on your face.

The pour? Moira’s ad for Herb Ertlinger’s Fruit Wine in season one is arguably one of her most rib-tickling moments. We could go with Rosé as an homage to the family name, specifically Rock Angel as a tribute to Moira’s edgy and hilarious fashion choices. But, taking it a step further, a real fruit wine elixir, except actually a delicious Irish one in this case, it has to be Móinéir Strawberry Wine.

On the food front, let’s swerve the often grim creations of Café Tropical for inspiration and go straight for the good stuff. Both of our “fruit wines” will pair perfectly with a Cheese Board, which *must* include a raw milk cheese like Corleggy (see Johnny’s ill-fated foray into the illegal raw milk trade). Add any artisan cheese or jarred delight you might find stocked in David’s frankly amazing looking Rose Apothecary and you are all set for six seasons of hilarity.

Bridgerton

The racy period drama that is Bridgerton has been renewed for 3 more seasons, what could be better than some mini afternoon tea treats and teacup cocktails to rewatch Season 1 and celebrate?

Break out your fanciest cake stand and whip up some crustless finger sandwiches: ever so traditional cucumber (peeled, finely sliced and salted) on white bread with good butter, smoked salmon and lemon dill spiked cream cheese on rye, egg mayonnaise and watercress or ham and mustard on white.

Sweet Scones Recipe

For something sweet to nibble on, try this perfect Scones Recipe by Rachel Allen and pair it with jam and, non-negotiable clotted cream or these gorgeous Chocolate Orange Viennese Whirls by Imelda Rose.

Finally, you could of course accompany this with a nice brew, or a glass of bubbles but why not serve up Earl Grey G&Tea cocktails in your best teacups? Start early by brewing a pot of Earl Grey tea and forgetting you did/chilling it in the fridge.

When ready to settle in for your Bridgerton binge, add 2 shots of the chilled tea, 1 shot of gin (Tanqueray or another a London Dry Gin would be very on theme, but use whatever you like), a squeeze of lemon juice and 1/2 a tsp of sugar (or more, to taste) into your teacup and stir. Serve with a slice of lemon and ice.

If you happen to have a nice china teapot, you could multiply the recipe x6 for a batch of splendid G&Teas to sip elegantly as you embrace your inner Duchess or Duke of Hastings.

Wild Mountain Thyme

For our final watch, if Twitter commentary and Irish outrage is anything to go by, you will be in for a torturously awkward treat. Wild Mountain Thyme has just been released in Ireland on Amazon Prime, swerving a cinema premiere, so why not make night of it at home?

For our drink, and we will need more than one, Guinness, surely? Then again… an Irish Old Fashioned is anything but traditional, but the perfect nod to the fact that the producers clearly think we all live in mid 1900s time warp. Plus, you’ll definitely need something strong to get through the 1hr 42 minutes.

To make yours, stir to dissolve a scant 1/2 teaspoon of brown sugar with 3 dashes of Angostura Bitters and a dash of water, then add 2oz Jameson (I like Black Barrel) into your mixing glass along with ice and stir to mix and cool. Pour into whiskey tumblers and serve with a twist of orange peel.

For our snack, Irish Cheesy Nachos by Keogh’s Farm is the only thing to help you scoff your way through this. While nachos may not be a classic Irish dish, great quality crisps are certainly close to all our hearts, and these “nachos” are as delicious as this film is a riotous misrepresentation of Ireland. This is the perfect cheesy accompaniment, and must be made with the national treasure of a flavour: cheese and onion.

WRITTEN BY DARINA COFFEY

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