Oscar menu inspiration
As you know, my family likes to go all out when it comes to celebrating the Academy Awards (here's last year's post, if you missed it the first time). We dress up (it used to be in old prom/homecoming/bridesmaid dresses, but now we all dress as nominees or characters in nominated movies), roll out the red carpet, cast our ballots and eat Oscar-inspired fare. Here are some ideas for the big night.
For "Birdman," a New York-style pizza could be nice. We are actually going to have a build your own pizza bar. I personally think a beet crust is perfect for the red carpet, like one of my all-time favorite pizza recipes, Brendan Brazier's Sunflower Seed Beet Pizza from his book, "The Thrive Diet."
"Boyhood" makes me think of French fries (I'm all about the baked sweet potato fries), mac and cheese (if you are looking for a good raw option, I like Matthew Kenney's " 'Baked' Macaroni and Cheese" from his book "Everyday Raw"), and other kid-friendly options.
For "The Imitation Game," it's fun to do a play on the word "imitation" and the star's name (Cumberbatch makes me think "cucumber"-batch). May I suggest my Blackberry "Caviar" on Cucumber Rounds. It's just that simple. Break apart some blackberries, separating them from their centers. Serve those little berry bubbles on top of a sliced cucumber round and sprinkle the top with some sea salt.
"Whiplash" is about a drummer, so drumsticks, breadsticks or something whipped like the title of the film (it's also a song in it) would be a great addition to the menu. I'll probably serve some chocolate-dipped strawberries (or more of the cookies I made the other day; they look like chocolate-dipped strawberries) with some whipped coconut cream. My Pink Pastels would also be nice.
My sweet tooth is taking over now, as I get to "The Theory of Everything." Yes, I could go for some everything bagels, but right now I'm leaning toward some No-Bake Everything But The Kitchen Sink Cookies. Pick your favorite baked or no-bake cookie recipe and load it up with whatever you want (chocolate chips, cacoa nibs, nuts, seeds, dried fruit, etc.). Yum!
Some other sites have suggested serving a particular beer to represent the film, "American Sniper," but I don't drink. My recommendation would be this rootbeer kombucha.
When it comes to "The Grand Budapest Hotel," I immediately thought of the desserts the bellhop's girlfriend made. They would need to be the right size to hide a file in when shipped to the prison. I think my Gluten-free Raw Neapolitan Brownie/Blondies would do the trick.
Last, but certainly not least, is "Selma." I haven't had the opportunity to see this one yet, so I wasn't sure what would be the best representation. I read somewhere that pecan pie would be a good dish and not a bad way to end the evening. I wish Coraco Confections was still make the one they sold around Thanksgiving. Since they're not, these raw turtles would be yummy for tomorrow evening instead.
Does anyone else do something special for the Oscars? What will you be making?
