Menu for the 2012 Oscar Party - Dishes for this Years Academy Award Show

In years past as the Oscars approached I would start to fret about what to serve at my party.  I have a bit of a tradition of making a dish based on or inspired by each of the best picture nominees.  Coming up with 5-10 dishes every year is actually harder than it sounds.  Some years your are blessed with movies like The Kings Speech (The King's Peach Cobbler) or The Blind Side (Blind Sliders) and the dishes basically make themselves.  But some years there are difficult films like The Reader (I made "fReaders" a play on potato fritters) or The Fighter (We finally came up with Punch, which was actually a real hit).  What I would have done for ideas from some post on-line to at least give me a hint of an inkling of what to do.  So, here is my post for those looking for menu items for this years nominees (I like to call them "Nom-Noms".  The dishes, not the movies).

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Oscar Party 2011 (Menu and Recipes for the Academy Awards)



Mural of the 10 Best Picture Nominees

The last few years I have thrown an Oscar Party.  Who knew that if you got tasty food, cocktails, and (ahem) some friendly wagering all in one place you could get even the most hardened anti-award-show types to have a great time?  I will eventually go back and post recipes and some pics from previous parties, but lets begin with the most recent.

The main components to the shin-dig are threefold: A dish for each of the movies nominated for Best Picture, fun decorations including the free hand Mural in the 100 Mile Hallway, and the Oscar ballot game where everyone guesses who wins for prizes at the end of the night.  Throw in some top flight movies, some over priced fashion, and some mediocre comedy and you gotta party baby!  Let's roll out the red carpet and take a look at the nominees...

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Blackberry Flan (known as "Black Flan" for the 2011 Oscar Party)

I have a love-hate relationship with flan.  It never sounds good.  It is not something I would order after dinner.  And there is something about it that just looks... odd.  But every time I do venture out and give it a shot I'm always surprised just how tasty it is.  I mean off-the-charts-good.  I sit there with a look of confusion as to why I don't eat flan every day.  I should have by this point of my life realized that, despite all of my thoughts to the contrary, I like flan.

I think many other people have a similar reaction.  Hesitation at first, followed by bewilderment, and finished with cravings for more.  The problem is getting people to try the first bite.  Which can by quite an obstacle.  This is why serving flan at a party is a bold move, especially if you are straying from the deliciously traditional caramel custard. 

Black Swan section from the 100 Mile Hallway Mural

But when this years Oscar nominees were announced, I had a sinking feeling once I realized I had to do it: I had to make "Black Flan".  Not only was I going to try making a dish I wasn't sure I even liked, I was going to be making a dish I had never made before, and with a twist that could ruin the whole thing...  Gulp.  But that feeling seemed to fit right in line with the scary, uneasy, psychedelic nature of Natalie Portman's Oscar winning portrayal in Black Swan.  And much like the dancer in Black Swan, the dish had to straddle both traditional beauty and technique, with avant-garde danger and risk.  Ok, that's a bit dramatic, adding blackberries to custard ain't exactly a Warhol painting, but just go with the metaphor here will ya?

So after some practice and trying out a couple different recipes it came down to 3 basic steps:

1. Making Blackberry Simple Syrup
2. Making the Flan Custard
3. Baking and Serving

Really that's it.  There are a few steps in between, and a couple little tweaks for fun, but that is just about it.  So let's get going...

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The Big Lebowski Party

A while back I was shocked to find that my friend had never seen The Big Lebowski.  It wasn't because I'm some nut who thinks that "Everyone should see The Big Lebowski!", but because the movie is exactly her sense of humor, it is filled with some of her favorite actors, and she loves the Coen brothers.  Plus, I'm the kind of nut who thinks that everyone should see The Big Lebowski. 

It is, in my opinion, the funniest movie of all time.  But the best part about it is that it gets funnier every time you see it.  The humor is so subtle and complex that many of the best jokes are missed upon a first, second, and even third viewing.  (But I digress, this is a party idea not a movie review.) 

Imagine my concern over the next few weeks when I found out that 2 different buddies girlfriends, my cousin's girlfriend, and another buddy's sister had never seen the movie!  "That's it!"  I'd thrown my fist down on the table, "...We're having a viewing party!"  And just like that, we were planning the next free night we all had to get together and watch The Big Lebowski.

The Big Lebowski is not so much a movie, as it is a lifestyle (just ask these people).  I would be remiss to have people over for a viewing and not go all out.  So here's how it went down: people came over (in costume of their favorite Lebowski character if they liked) for Caucasians early in the evening, a full menu of Lebowski themed nosh, and we started the movie around 8pm.  Party achievied!  Check out the menu below and I hope to have it linked to full recipes soon.  Give it a shot and let me know what you think (just like the movie, you might have to try this more than once)...

The Dude's Caucasian
Oat Sodas
Sarsaparilla

Quintana's Nachos
The Stranger's Sarsaparilla Pulled Pork Sammies
Bunny's Garden:
     Corvette Corn on the Cob
     Grilled Asparagus
     Oven Roasted Tomatoes
Lingonberry Quinoa Salad
Maude's Artisan Roasted Chicken
Pigsh'n Blankshitz
Walter's Coffee Cake (Store bought I have to admit)

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