TikTok’s favorite grandmother Babs Costello blew up on social media providing users with tips, tricks, and recipes as if she were passing them on to her own family. Costello joined Cheddar News to recount her arrival on TikTok, talk about writing her new book "Celebrate With Babs," and make a cocktail with Cheddar's own Baker Machado. "I think what made the biggest impression was, here is this older lady, a mom, a grandma, doing normal everyday things and making life seem normal," she said about the impact her account made during the pandemic.

Between Bells

TikTok Grandma and Cookbook Author Babs Costello on 'Making Life Seem Normal'

Okay, mm hmm. That's it. I guess what you are a Usa today bestselling author. Um, what an amazing moment that scrolling through Tiktok, you might have seen that video of our next guest, officially dubbed Tiktok's adopted grandma. She posts videos all the time with goals of helping out viewers with simple tips, tricks and recipes. One would only get from their parents or their grandma. You don't have a Tiktok while she's got Chicago and she's got a new book out called, celebrate with babs, holiday recipes and family traditions. So we're very excited that the author and Tiktoker herself babs, Costello joining us in studio babs. Such a pleasure to have you here of course for our viewers. By the way, you see all this stuff, we're gonna be making something very exciting here soon. These calves were very excited for babs, the people that may not have grandparents or that person to go to. For a lot of these easy tips out there. How did you expect that your Tiktok would blow up the way it has so far. Well, it was a surprise to me, I have to say. And it was during Covid, um, during the quarantine, I was helping my daughter with my two grandsons, she was expecting number three and one afternoon when the boys were napping, she said, mom, I think you should try Tiktok and I said, absolutely not. I knew Tiktok because I have granddaughters and they dance. So I've seen Tiktok videos and I love to dance, but I would never dance on Tiktok. So I said, that's not gonna happen. So of course she said, no, no, no, mom Tiktok's gonna be bigger than that. Um, you're gonna be teaching people, you can teach people how to cook. So I was like, okay, we'll do one. So I did one simple video and it was like, my grandmother would make this like chicken and potato marinated thing and it was delicious and it was like a one sheet pan meal before they became popular. And so the comments after we posted that were like, first of all, I never thought I could do anything in a minute because it has to be in a minute. So that was a whole new world too. But anyway, long story short. Um the comments were so heartfelt, People were, had time at that time to make me try cooking that they didn't have time before because they were at the office or working or whatever and plus they were separated from family and I think that made the biggest impression was that here was this older lady, a mom, a grandma doing normal everyday things and making life seem so true. Now, this book in particular, we have a copy of it right over here, which is so exciting. Has this been something that maybe you would always thought I want to do, but I just don't know how to do it. Have you always wanted to write a book that was never on my bucket list that I was going to write a cookbook first of all, just like it was never on my bucket list to be on Tiktok. I was actually not on any social media two years ago. So I didn't have facebook, I didn't have instagram. I had nothing and nothing with millions of followers. It's like, it's a little, it's so like heartwarming and also overwhelming because it's like, oh my gosh, I can't believe all these people are out there who are following me because I'm just little old me. But obviously there's something in me and I think it is that mother grandmother connection. So, so the book was basically, I was contacted by um, by publishing DK penguin and said we'd like you to write a book and I said thank you. But no, thank you. My life's not that interesting because I thought they wanted like an autobiography. So then they're like, no, it's a cookbook. So I'm like, oh well if it's a cookbook, then I thought it has to be something different. It can't be like appetizers, salads. Every cookbook is like that and this is from your mother, it's from your grandmother and they're gonna, they want you to pass down tradition, they want you to pass down special recipes that you serve for the holidays when the whole family is together. Right. So that's where, how this book is different. It goes from all the holidays that we celebrate as a family from New Year's Day to christmas and everything in between like even summer like this chapter now coming up um with our season change is um summer recipes because that runs the gamut from Memorial Day to Labor Day and you know fourth of Giant all the picnics. So there's fabulous recipes in every chapter and there's wonderful marinated barbecued recipes in that. So um so that's why this book I think is different. It's very special. I want to I want to go into one of these items that's on our table that is in the cookbook, which is so actually the Prosecco vodka grapes are not in the cooking, so they're not in the cookbook because it's not something that we serve usually at holidays you can serve this tonight. Yes, of course. It's so hot this weekend. Yes, I mean you can, this is this is great for valentine's day, so let's make it together. So essentially this is like basically grapes marinated in, you know in a liquor which got some sugar into it. So it's sort of like this nice sort of cool refreshing thing to have, right? So these are basically let's go through the steps and how to make something. So you would take a pound of lovely ripe green green grapes. Alright. And so to the pound of grapes you're gonna add, can I do this? I want you to do this? I want to watch you do this babs, you're watching the master work, I'll measure okay, so to your pound of grapes, you're gonna take two cups and pour that right over those grapes. Alright. Which I feel like it's gonna be like this great christmas that you're gonna get on this. Well once they marinate, how long do you typically let these marinate? You should let this marinate overnight. Just cover it with saran and let it go. But to the Prosecco, you want two ounces of vodka, which is the best part, which is like your, your quarter cup. And how did you get this recipe? You know past? I don't know where we found it, but we've been making this, we have bacon this now for a long time really? And it's so simple and it's so refreshing and it's it's different. Yes, exactly. I've never had something like this ever. So you're going to like stir that up a little bit and then um saran. Okay, another refrigerator and you could forget about it, set it and forget about it and you add the sugar afterwards. No, then after these come out of the refrigerator, huh? You're gonna you are going to drain the liquid. I've got so many funny like comments on Tiktok, they're like drain that liquid. What do you mean drink the good stuff? You turn that into a martini Prosecco and vodka. Oh yeah, I'm not sure. But anyway, you might, you might wanna, you might want to drain it. But uh but anyways then you're going to take some sugar, like maybe on a cookie sheet or in your pan here or whatever bowl and then you're gonna take your marinated grapes. Okay, so these are the ones that have already been marinated marinated now, mine would be a little, these are wet. This is good. Okay, then you're gonna just take them and you're going to roll them in the sugar. Oh yeah, is that? And get them all coated and then you're gonna skewer them on a little decorative toothpick. Oh, nice. And you know what, it's like a kebab, almost like a little kebab and you can serve them with cheddar. Yes, Yes, exactly. This would be like the perfect thing next to the pool with everybody on a hot day in like july, hold on, I'm gonna get in here and try one of these. One of these cheers. Oh, so I'm gonna bring my co host an adobo, gonna come over here and try this from the club into grapes. Oh my God, this looks amazing by the way, It's so good. It's so refreshing. Oh my God, that's delicious. So delicious and so easy. Super simple. And the recipes in this book are actually easy, super simple. Many from family, many from friends passed down through the years. 50 year old recipes, 40 year old all there. I love it. Okay, our thanks to Tiktok our bags Costello her book, you can bite now celebrate with babs holiday recipes and family traditions available wherever you buy your books.