It’s been over a year and a half since we read Grub Street’s exposé of the menu at Google headquarters, but we haven’t been able to get it out of our mind. That is a benefits plan: fresh, gourmet, intelligent fare, available 24/7, completely free? Sign us up!
Unfortunately, we are skilled in neither software development, large-number theory, nor ad sales. Basically all we have to offer the world is our totally uninformed opinion on everything, plus set of moderate home-cooking skills.
Enter the Google cookbook. This slim little volume was put in our hands the other day, and we feel a little bit like we’ve been handed the holy grail of the intersection of food- and internet-nerdery. It’s 76 spiral-bound pages, and it’s not available in stores, on eBay, anywhere — unless, of course, you are a 6-year user of GoogleAds, in which case you get it in the mail along with a spiffy black Google-branded apron.
A quick google search of the google cookbook turns up surprisingly little: various corners of the internet, but nothing epic, nothing quite at the level that we, in our little nerdy heart, feel this deserves.
So we’re doing this the right way: THERE IS A GOOGLE COOKBOOK! AND WE HAVE IT! IN OUR HANDS RIGHT NOW! AND WE ARE SHARING IT WITH YOU! RIGHT NOW! AFTER THE JUMP! (also: foie gras-stuffed falafel!)
First, gigantically, the cover:
Besides the title (fun fact: there is not actually an AdWords ad that comes up in response to keyword: delicious!) we would like to call your attention to the little green frills at the top left of the cover. You know what those are. Those are garlic scapes, in silhouette. Classic Google: whimsical, design-y, yet demonstrating deep intelligence for their subject matter.
The book is divided into four seasonal sections, starting with spring and moving through to winter. Each season is separated by a handy little tab, and each gets its own circular logo. The recipes in each season’s TOC are divided into categories: Appetizer, Soup, Salad, Entree, Vegetable, Starch, Dessert. It’s great. It’s so earnest.
We’re utterly charmed. We deeply, deeply love the variety of these dishes — Wood-Roasted Lobster with Garlic Crisps and Blood Orange-Cilantro Vinaigrette! Sweet Potato, Spinach, and Shiitake Mushroom Gratin that calls for an entire gallon of heavy cream! Motherfreaking Foie Gras-Stuffed Falafel that is categorized under salad!! Can we just point out that in a cookbook of only forty-three recipes, two call for foie gras?
If you, like us, are now harboring very complexly detailed fantasies about working for Google, allow us to present to you Chef Wade Tamura’s Fried Chicken, recommended for fall:
Make it, and then while you’re eating it, close your eyes and think about Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Mmm. Delicious.
[Photo: Google cookie, via billypalooza’s Flickr]
