Footnotes to the TV series
We learn that Richard’s mother is named Lorelai, so in fact it is a family name which has been passed down to Rory by her mother, and not the Demerol-inspired feminist statement which we were told about in the last two episodes.
Richard speaks about his mother as if she is dead, but she turns up alive and well later in the season.
Here begins the running gag that Emily Gilmore cannot retain staff for any extended period of time. We learn that the elder Gilmores have been through at least five cooks in the past few months, that Richard cannot tell the difference between a male and female cook (getting Anton and Sophia muddled), and Emily doesn’t know their names, addressing Sarah as Mira even after being corrected.
RICHARD: Dinner was lovely, Emily.
EMILY: Mira does make a perfect cassoulet.
Cassoulet is a rich slow-cooked casserole originating from the Languedoc in the South of France made with white beans, duck or goose, pork sauages, and sometimes other meats such as pork or mutton. It is named after the cassole it is cooked in – a deep round cooking pot.
In America, cassoulet is often used to mean any hearty bean-based meat casserole. It is unclear which type the Gilmores are eating, but I’d like to think the cosmopolitan Richard and Emily would insist upon an authentic cassoulet on their table.
The Annotated Gilmore Girls 