The Short List of Things to Do

She played cool mom Lorelai Gilmore to critical acclaim on Gilmore Girls. On NBC's new series Parenthood (which debuts March 2), she's a mother of two moving back in with her parents. In her spare time, Graham dreams of the beach and listens to Blue all the way through.

Kitchen confidential
I am obsessed with the recipes in the Momofuku cookbook, which shares secrets from one of my favorite restaurants in New York City. Maybe I will cook my way through and blog about it and someone will turn it into a movie. Nah, that could never happen.

Family history
I've become hooked on Kathy Ebel's blog Fatherland (kathyebel.wordpress.com). It's a memoir in progress about her application for "restored" German citizenship through a program for Holocaust survivors and their descendants. With heart and humor, she looks at how the forces of history shape the intimate emotional terrain of our families.

Beach retreats
I love paintings by artist Isca Greenfield-Sanders, particularly her depictions of the beach, which make me nostalgic for summers on Long Island. And I'd love to own one of Massimo Vitali's large-scale beach photographs. Why so much beach on the brain? Maybe it's time for a vacation.

Long-playing records
In this age of buying music a song at a time, I appreciate albums that hold up from beginning to end. Two in this category: Joni Mitchell's Blue and Sufjan Stevens' Illinois. Enjoy on your next road trip.

Film king
I recently purchased the Criterion Collection's Five Films by John Cassavetes. I've seen most of them already, but I plan to geek out on the DVD extras, which include interviews with actors Peter Falk and Gena Rowlands. I love Cassavetes' raw style. My favorite actors are those whose acting doesn't feel like acting, which for an actor is a puzzling concept.