“Crabbies & Homemades”: An Oscar Viewing Party

For my favorite menu of the year, there is a bit of a process. First, there are the nominations and then the viewing of all of the films (thank you screeners!!). The best part is the brainstorming: a course for each Best Picture nominee. If nothing else, this party is pure bragging rights, a show-off moment for imaginative food. However, this year, I cannot take all of the credit. In fact, the two most creative courses were inspired by friends’ suggestions. So thank you Van for suggesting something ‘aged’ for Amour (French cheeses, of course). And Ahna inspired my very favorite: ‘north vs south’ for Lincoln; Greg made it a fair battle by picking ‘clam chowder vs shrimp gumbo’. Amy’s film poster food cards brought each course together and make the night all the more festive. Even though she impresses me with the decor every year, this got my vote for best (anemones are a new favorite). Dessert is usually the highlight of this party: a little kid dessert bar for Toy Story 3 and last year’s black and white extravaganza for The Artist set the bar pretty high. Lucky for me, Life of Pi was a sweet inspiration and Djagno Unchained screamed for a coconut white cake.