…and the award for best Oscar Party menu goes to Me!

Tomorrow night is my 3rd annual Oscar party.  And for the third year in a row, I have created a menu that reflects each of the best picture nominees.  

When creating this menu, I kept three things in mind:

1. How well do the foods relate to the movies?

2. How well will the foods relate to my guests?

3. How well will the foods relate to each other?

It is fun to choose the perfect food to go with a movie, but you also want your guests to be happy.  I’ve found that at Oscar parties, my guests prefer to nibble throughout the night vs. hunkering down with a full meal.  So no only should the dishes be one-bite, they should also have the staying power to hang out with you and your girls all night.

Here it is: 

Moneyball: Ballpark food, such as popcorn, peanuts, and hot dogs (piggies in a blanket).

The Artist: Secret Kiss Cookies: They’re black and white, romantic and sweet, just like the movie. 

War Horse: Devils on Horseback.  

The Descendants: Hawaiian fruit platter.

The Help: (beside That Pie) Pecan pie-glazed pecans.

Midnight in Paris: French Martini

Hugo: Mini chocolate croissants & (decaf) coffee

The Tree of Life: tortilla chips & salsa-the official state snack of Texas (who knew?)

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close: Pretzels with various mustards for dipping-the quintessential New York food that are incredibly loud to eat (I know…bad joke!).

These cookies were made by my 9-year-old daughter.  By herself.  That’s how easy they are.  But they do take a bit of time so make them earlier in the day:

Ingredients:

1 c. butter, softened

1/2 c. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour

1 pkg. milk chocolate kisses

Directions:

Cream butter, sugar and vanilla in large mixing bowl. 

Gradually add flour; chill dough about 1 hour or until firm enough to handle.

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Mold approximately 1 tablespoon dough around a chocolate kiss, making sure it is completely sealed inside of it.

 Bake for 15 minutes or until edges are slightly golden brown.

These are so easy and so impressive and make your house smell so good.

Ingredients:

Fresh figs 

Blue Cheese

Proscutto, cut into strips that are approx. 10 cm long and 3 cm wide

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400

Cut figs in half and place about a tsp of blue cheese on the cut side.

Wrap with the prosciutto so that it overlaps itself around the fig and cheese

Place on a baking sheet and bake for about 5-10 minutes, or until prosciutto is a bit crispy.

While these pecans may not scream “The Help” as much as That Pie, they are delicious and a great cocktail party nibble.  

Ingredients:

2 cups pecan halves

½ cups brown sugar

6 tbsp corn syrup

Pinch each of cinnamon & cayenne pepper

Directions:

Preheat over to 350

Mix all of the ingredients together in a large bowl. Don’t worry if it looks too chunky and dry at this point.

Spread onto parchment-paper covered baking sheet.

Bake for 16 min, stirring every 4 minutes.  Glaze should be bubbly and thicken.

Let cool completely before serving.  

1 1/2 oz vodka

1/4 oz Chambord® raspberry liqueur

1/4 oz  pineapple juice

1 twist lemon peel

Shake first 3 ingredients with ice and then pour into a martini glass.  Top with lemon peel.