Oscar Party 2013!

 

Movie buffs Betsy, Laura, Robin and Yours Truely, posing with our golden boy prop!

I love movies...I always have. As a little girl, I was my silver-screen-loving mom's movie sidekick in the days when ushers still showed us to our seats with flashlights at the local RKO theaters. She always let me stay up to watch the Academy Awards...and I don't believe I've missed one since I've been twelve. So Awards Season is like a second Christmas to me. I make it a point to see all of the movies that garner nominations, and I watch every awards telecast from the Golden Globes to the Independent Spirit Awards to the prestigious Academy Awards. For years, I've been throwing a little Oscar Party for a handful of movie-loving friends (this year there were seven of us) who are as interested in every detail of the show as I am.

Each year is a little different. Some years it's all about my detailed Barbie displays (I've been known to do quite impressive movie scenes from the nominated flicks see Oscar Party 2011)...other years it's all about the perfect "Red Carpet" outfits or the most delicious Oscar-worthy cocktail (see Oscar Party 2010), or the most amazing movie posters and party props I can get my hands on. This year it was all about the food...

To honor the nine Oscar-nominated movies, I decided to create a special dish for each one. I swear I had the most fun coming up with the menu!

Here's a side view of our "nosh table" with an original movie poster of 

Bette Davis, a gift from my sister, Ildi

 

For Argo, I chose to serve Humus with Pita Bread...and added some crudites-

Life of Pi's dish was a no-brainer...Sushi of course! Sushi and Shrimp (thanks for bringing the shrimp, Robin!)

To represent Les Miserables, I decided I needed some "stolen" bread, so the perks of my part-time job at the bakery came in handy. Though I didn't actually steal the loaf of bread a la Jean Valjean (I was given the leftover loaf at closing time)  it qualified, since I didn't pay for it. (Giggles...) Naturally, I served it with French cheeses.

Food plays an important role in the charming Beasts of the Southern Wild...they raise chickens, eat crab, catch fish in the movie. So I made a delicious Crab Dip and served Fried Chicken Fingers. The fish pond prop represented the "Bathtub" where Hushpuppy and her father lived. (You're also seeing cream cheese frosting-filled strawberries in the background...delish!)

Perhaps my favorite brain-child was the "Spiced Nuts" to represent Silver Linings Playbook. If you haven't seen the movie, it's about two very likable mental patients, and the Jennifer Lawrence character definitely has her share of spiceyness. LOL! Still laughing about this one...so perfect! (Loved this movie!)

For Quentin Tarantino's D'Jango Unchained, I decided to go with beverages. Whiskey to represent the bar scene where D'Jango is refused service, and German beer to represent Christph Waltz's brilliantly played German bounty hunter.

Lincoln had me stumped for a while...nothing in the movie set off any food-related inspirations. Then I read that one of President Lincoln's many gifts to us was  our favorite national holiday -Thanksgiving! Perfect! Turkey it is! ...In the form of little turkey sandwiches.

If you saw Amour, you understand the significance of the pot of tea (with tea biscuits) surrounded in rose petals and heads of crysanthemums... (Eeery, but effective!)
Last, but certainly not least... Thirty pieces of dark chocolate brownies with zero nuts in them! Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha....delicious and a very funny play on words...my kind of dessert!
So much fun! Robin & Thaw also brought two giant bowls of their scrumptuous chocolate-drizzled kettle corn and we sipped Pomegranite Vodka-Proseco Cocktails. Laura won "Best Dressed" for her cute gold dress and those amazing gold shoes!I also LOVED Elaine's outfit...how glam is that purple boa? (Oh, can you see my Barbies in the curio cabinet next to Elaine? Love them!)
Like the Super Bowl, the preshow is half the fun. Here we're watching the Red Carpet entrances and swooning over all the gorgeous gowns. Who wore your favorite gown? I think Jennifer Lawrence had the best over-all look in her blush Dior...so Oscar-worthy! Though she was neck-'n-neck with Jessica Chastain's slinky gold Armani Prive gown and Halle Berry's Donatella Versacie Bond-Girl masterpiece. So many memorable dresses this year...it was so hard to pick a fave!

Here's the lovely Betsy at the nosh table with glam Elaine.. . Here's a closer shot of Laura, Robin (yes, there were two Robins) and Thaw: Here's the other Robin, watching Robin Roberts interview Halle Berry...(that makes three Robins tee...hee.)Just so you don't think Barbie was left out of the ceremonies all together...this gorgeous Barbie was my gift at the 2006 Barbie Doll Collectors Convention I attended in Hollywood, and the Red Carpet she's standing on was a table centerpiece that I won at the same convention. Love her!!!

Loved everything about the Oscar's this year...Shirley Bassey, Barbara Striesand, Adele, Norah Jones...WOW!!!! What a line-up! I have a serious crush on Seth McFarland...and it was wonderful seeing Magic Mike dance again, even though he kept his shirt on (rats!). Loved all the winners...LOVED my party! (I'll be scrapbooking these pics, soon!) I wish I didn't have to wait 364 days to do it again!

Thanks for sharing my joy! -Enikö