So far, the winners from last year are the most recent presenters announced: Meryl Streep, Jean DuJardin, Octavia Spencer and Christopher Plummer. Now, you can download recipes from the governor’s ball for your Oscar night. But in case you might want to have some movie themed recipes, here are a few suggestions.
Lincoln’s second inaugural ball menu has been posted online, with such items as oyster stew, terrapin, quail and pheasant.
You could go middle eastern with hummus Zero Dark Thirty style.
For Les Mis, well, let them eat cake! (I know, wrong war) maybe french onion soup?
For Life of Pi you could eat raw fish or you could make a traditional curry.
For Argo, chicken tacos.
For Silver Linings Playbook crabbycakes and homemades.
For Beasts of the Southern Wild try crawfish boil.
Amour – cooked pigeon. Well?
Django Unchained – why, white cake of course.
The Oscars recipes can be found here.
Just to give you an idea, here was our menu last year, where our main room had a “1920s Paris” theme, complete with bunting, pictures of/by famous artists, a lot of other frippery, and photos of characters from Hugo/The Artist:
War Hors d’oeuvres
The Invention of Hugo Cabernet
Midnight in Parisian Brie
The Artistic Canapes
…plus, in the other room…
The Descendants’ Luau
The Tree of Lomi Lomi
Moneyballpark Hot Dogs and Nachos
Extremely Loud and Incredible Cake
…and…
A “Terrible Awful” Chocolate Pie – “Help” Yourself!
Our second room had a big old tree of life decoration (basically, a wall-size tree) hanging over the big Hawaiian luau that I laid out there – found the only place in San Francisco that imports fresh poi from Hawaii, among other things. Served blue hawaiians (the drink) next to eight photos of Clooney in different blue shirts (all from the movie). Had a friend in a Oakland A’s jacket walking around serving hot dogs. Etc etc.
THIS YEAR…
The evite announces a return…to the 19th century! The main room is getting decorated with a lot of folk art prints (from cheap calendars) and pictures of young slaves on black posterboard next to the fireplace…I’ll be handing out little red-white-and-blue circles to pin to your breast so everyone can look like Les Miserables… guests don’t know about any of this. What they do know is that the menu is:
Calvin Candie’s Polynesian Pearl Divers (beverage)
Jean Valjean’s Stolen Bread
Abe Lincoln’s Civil War rations (wouldn’t you like to know?)
And in the other room:
A Persian-Afghani feast spread from A(rgo) to Z(ero Dark 30)
Shrimp and Hushpuppies of the Southern Wild
A basket of Amour
Life of Pie
…and a cake that I’m not going to reveal here
But as a special to AwardsDaily, I’ll tell you the cake: a Silver Linings Playbook! Which looks like a coaches playbook, with silver borders and the words “PLAY BOOK” rendered sorta artistically in football-like Xs and Os on the front. Doesn’t mean I love SLP cause I don’t but it makes a good cake. Worth the $100 (red velvet, cause that’s my wife’s favorite).
I thought about crawdaddies but those are a pain to serve/eat. Much easier to just go to Costco, get the bags of cocktail shrimp, and everyone is happy. Have to go overboard on buying hushpuppies from local Louisiana restaurant, cause THERE WAS A HUSHPUPPY. This weekend I experimented with 3 different ways of re-heating them – oven-baking wins. God I love fried corn meal.
Joey!
I like the idea of S’Amours and I’m almost ready to change. Or go with cooked pigeon? But nah, I’ll just go to CVS a few days after Valentine’s Day and buy out all their heart-shaped candy and chocolate stuff, and put it in a basket draped by a double-sided photo of Trinigant and Riva.
I almost went with Fish Pie, but Fish Pie doesn’t really look like pie. Nah, I’ve got an awesome decoration to put on the top of any nice pie: a little boat with a little tiger and a little Indian boy (all roughly Playmobil size). That’s perfect, no need to do more…since I own the book, maybe I’ll mount it behind the pie with a little post-it “e” after the title.
I’m actually most excited, not about the Persian-Afghani spread per se (from a local Iranian and local Afghani restaurant – hey I live in Berkeley) but about the decoration taking up the wall behind it:
OFFICIAL-LOOKING CIA CORKBOARD
With plastered 8 1/2by11 charts, lists, but mostly photos of Ben Affleck, Jessica Chastain, Claire Danes, Damien Lewis, and – best of all – most of my regular guests who come every year. That’s the piece de resistance all right.
Love these! We also do our own thing over here. Will post menu today if I get around to it.
Chris –
Joey-
You’re really doing these? Awesome!
And yes Kevin – unlike Sasha, I’m not gonna forget the hushpuppies. 🙂
Here is my menu for my Oscar party:
S’Amours martini
Ar-goat cheese and strawberry bruschetta
Beasts of the Southern Wild – Hushpuppies. Duh. But! I am serving my hushpuppies out of a miniature bathtub ($1 at Target, people!)
Django Unchained – spaghetti western (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Dads-Spaghetti-Western/Detail.aspx)
Les Miserables – Brie served with baguette that Jean Valjean stole
Lincoln Cheese Log
Life of Pi – Indian Potato Pie OR Life of Pineapple Boat (complete with tiger)
Silver Lined “Lost Your Marbles” marble cupcakes topped with Philadelphia (Eagle) cream cheese frosting and garnished with Tic Tacs to look like medication
Zero Dark Chocolate boot tracks (http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/boot_tracks.html)
No “Beasts of the Southern Wild” Hushpuppies? For SHAME!
I’ve done a cocktail for each Best Picture nominee for the past 10 years or so. The last few years have been particularly sloppy after the change to 10 nominees. This year I’ve created a food menu to match the cocktails. I’ll post the drink and food recipes for my Oscar party below:
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FOR “DJANGO UNCHAINED”
Cocktail
The “Polynesian Pearl Diver”
1 1/2 oz Puerto Rican Rum (Don Q)
1/2 oz Lemon Hart Demerara Rum
1/2 oz lime juice
1/2 oz OJ
Don’s Gardenia Mix (see recipe below)
1 dash Angostura
4 oz crushed ice
blend for 20 seconds
strain into tall glass or hollowed coconut
(Don’s Gardenia Mix is 2 tablespoons melted butter, 1 oz honey, 1 teaspoon cinnamon syrup, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla syrup, 1/2 teaspoon allspice dram)
Food
White Cake
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FOR “BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD”
Cocktail
The “Auroch” (variation on famous New Orleans drink the “Hurricane”)
2 oz light rum
2 oz dark rum
2 oz passion fruit juice
1 oz orange juice
half a lime squeezed for juice
1 tablespoon simple syrup
1/2 tablespoon grenadine
Dash of orange bitters
Food
Hushpuppies (buying these pre-made)
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FOR “ARGO”
Cocktail
The “Argofuckyourself”
3/4 oz brandy
3/4 oz Jamaican rum
3/4 oz Cointreau
1/2 oz lime juice
dash Angostura bitters
Mix in shaker with ice and strain into martini glass
garnish with lime wedge
Food
Fried Chicken (cause the one Iranian lady was eating it in the movie. Also buying premade)
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FOR “LINCOLN”
Cocktail
Water (Lincoln didn’t drink)
Food
Apple Pie (Abe’s favorite dessert)
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FOR “AMOUR”
Cocktail
The “Grim Reaper”
1 oz Kahlua
1 oz Bacardi 151
1 dash grenadine
Mix Kahlua and 151 in an old fashioned glass. Add ice and pour a dash of grenadine over top to give the ice a red tint.
Food (***SPOILER ALERT***)
No food because they both starve themselves at different points in the film
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FOR “ZERO DARK THIRTY”
Cocktail
The “Bin Laden”
Two shots and a splash of salt water (Woo! America!)
Food
Hummus and Pita bread
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FOR “LIFE OF PI”
Cocktail
The “Richard Parker”
2 oz fresh squeezed pomelo juice
1 oz Hennessy Cognac
1/2 oz ginger liqueur
Serve in an old fashioned glass with ice.
Food
Rogan Josh (lamb curry)
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FOR “SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK”
Cocktail
The “Philadelphia Eagle”
1 oz Tequila
3/4 oz Blue Curacao
1 1/4 oz orange juice
1 oz pineapple juice
1/2 oz lemon juice
Mix in a shaker with ice and strain into martini glass
Food
Crabby Snacks (or “homemades”)
Toasted english muffins topped with crabmeat and cheese, then baked. Recipe below:
Recipe makes 48 bite sized snacks
6 English Muffins split
5 or 6 oz jar cheese spread, room temp
2 tablespoons butter, softened
2 tablespoons mayo
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
dash of hot sauce for taste
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley
6 or 7 oz crabmeat
Scallions for garnish
Preheat oven to 350. Arrange muffins, cut side up, on a baking pan lined with foil. Toast for a few minutes until the muffins start to turn golden around the edges. In a medium bowl, mash the cheese spread with butter, mayo, Worcestershire sauce, onion powder, garlic powder, pepper, parsley and a dash of hot sauce. Stir in the crabmeat. Spread this mixture evenly over the toasted muffins. Return to oven until the topping is hot and bubbly. Cut each muffin into four quarters and serve warm, garnished with scallions if desired.
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FOR “LES MISERABLES”
Cocktail
Wine
Food
French Baguette
Ian — love your menu, especially the Banana Karenina and Helen Bundt Cake!
Loook at our table!! We have been doing this for 22 years now!
Cheers to J. Oliver. This will be my 50th Oscars! If anyone likes the idea of the crawfish boil, there is another southern recipe [S.Carolina and Ga.] called Low Country Boil that is great. It has shrimp, sausage, corn, and potatoes. You set it out on newspaper to serve it.
VES awards winner
http://www.visualeffectssociety.com/11th-Annual-VES-Awards-Winners
I just remembered, this year will be my 60th telecast. My first telecast was 1953 when Gary Cooper and Shirley Booth took home Oscars-boy how time flies, and Sasha you have kept the fires burning.
Sasha thanks so much for creating this site, I have no problems with your opinions, majority of the times I agree with them.
What this site has offered me is to be in touch with people who care about the Oscar race, I’m no longer the nerd who quote Oscar stats.
I’ve been with you since you started the site as Oscar Watch and will continue. You don’t know how many people you have given refuge to.
Thanks
My friends and I come up with this every year. Here are some ideas.
Sausage Lincoln’s
Hitchocktails
Kon-Tika Masala
Banana Karenina
Wreck-it-Ralphredo
“Before My Lime Margaritas,” from Chasing Shaved Ice
War Sandwich
Silver Linings Filetbook
Sally Field Roast
Helen Bundt Cake
The Hummus: An Unexpected Suggestion
My favorite one we ever came up with was Harry Popper and the Deathly Jalapenos.
All drinks provided by Freddie Quell.
For Les Misérables people can eat a loaf of bread, in honor of Jean Valjean!
I know someone having an Oscar party with a DJ named Beats of the Southern Wild.