Oscar Night 2011: Tapas, Sangria and Doily Dresses

Okay, I'm getting old. I admittedly could barely stay up long enough for the post-Oscar show cleanup, let alone write my recap. I'm a day late and several dollars short. Here we go...

This recap will be a quick one on the big night and then I'll focus on the food. My bestie Kristy wrote The Masterpiece Recap on the night as a whole on Facebook and I'll quote her on a couple of things. Oscar Night 2011 was framed in an oddball setting here as it featured a background soundtrack of bizarre rolling thunderstorms. Lightning flashed and indeed the Tivo popped off once, but thankfully there were no long-term blackouts. It was great to be able to share the night with Ronnie again and doubly great that this was the first Oscar get-together that Jeff attended as well. Ronnie uttered some wonderful witticisms for sure but Jeff actually delivered some of the best lines of the night; though many of them are unprintable here. Some of the best lines inevitably accompanied the red carpet parade:

-Let me say this: Melissa Leo, I defended your right to conduct your own campaign and supported your win for Best Supporting Actress. I can't come up with anything supportive to say regarding the metallic doily you wore or the f-bomb you tactlessly dropped. Ronnie likened her outfit to the Gone With The Wind drapes worn by Carol Burnett's Scarlett O'Hara.

-Cate Blanchett is one of my favorite actresses but we couldn't decipher the dress. Kristy said that "it looked like a cameo brooch with the face left off". Ronnie said that it was like a "wreath of barnacles under a very gay boat". As the wreath in question surrounded Cate's chest, Jeff said, "....presenting....my breasts!"

-Mark Ruffalo's wife might have had a beautiful dress on underneath what appeared to be a black Snuggie that seemed to have featured a wing on the back.

Ok, I'm stopping. I could go on for days and frankly, its all in fun. One who sits in raggedy sweats typing about fashion shouldn't throw stones....but then I'm not attending Hollywood's biggest night, am I? Frankly,for the most part, the celebs looked striking. Mila Kunis was gorgeous, young Hailie Steinfeld looked age-appropriately beautiful and Matthew McConaughey's wife is a stunner. A few other observations...

-I'm at a bit of a loss over James Franco and Anne Hathaway as hosts. Anne looked amazing in every dress and is a consummate entertainer. Despite the snafus and discomfort, as far as I'm concerned, Hathaway = heavenly. I had hoped that Franco would add just enough WTF to keep things interesting and the drag moment was well, odd, but as Kristy said, "he looked either stoned, drunk, scared shitless or totally uninterested." I would add that he seemed outright pissed off at times. Bless Anne for at least killing it sartorially and giving it her all.

-God bless Kirk Douglas for being a true survivor but holy cow, did that get uncomfortable...wow. Speaking of uncomfortable, the costume design award went to someone who not only took forever to get to the stage but stumbled through her halted thank-yous. That was grueling...and Kristy texted the best take on that moment....hooked on phonics, anyone?

-I have always strongly disliked the Clap for Most Popular of The Dead Celebs moment or Death Montage. Jeff loves it. Thankfully, they managed to either keep the audience from clapping or turned off the audio. That said, why did they have to get Celine? Your heart needs to go on, sister, right off the stage.

-Go, PS 22! They were a classy and sweet way to conclude the night.

The acting awards went as I had predicted in the last post and that didn't exactly require psychic powers as the big five have been fairly set throughout the awards season. Bummer for Fincher, but that wasn't really a surprise.

We served up tapas and sangria for the watch party last night. Ronnie and Jeff brought an amazing antipasto plate that featured some truly unique and delicious cheeses such as Blueberry Cobbler, Sage and Chili-Lime. We served some Boursin cheese and pickled jalapeno garlic. We made, as mentioned in the last post, Blackberry Wine BBQ meatballs that were very good. Our tapas were Hot and Sweet Deviled Eggs (pictured with cream cheese and jalapeño jam), Sausage and Goat Cheese Crostini and Caper Rice Croquettes. All turned out very well. Ronnie also brought a wonderful layered chocolate cake for Jeff's birthday. The MVP award for the night went to Keith, who could really care less about the whole thing, but was the consummate host throughout the night.

We were all in agreement that Oscar Night 2011 was a night of few surprises. The only scares for me were the wild weather and Ronnie declaring, "Mama's out of Gogo Juice and needs dessert." Yikes! The recipes for the sangria and the deviled eggs follow and count as Cookbook Challenge #29 and #30.

Hot and Sweet Deviled Eggs (Incredibly Easy Tapas)

Ingredients

6 hard-cooked eggs, peeled and cut lengthwise into halves
4 to 5 tablespoons mayo
1/4 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
Dash of paprika
1/4 cup dried cherries or cranberries, finely chopped
1 teaspoon minced fresh chives
Additional fresh chives

Directions

1. Scoop egg yolks into bowl; reserve whites. Mash yolks with mayo until creamy. Stir in curry powder, pepper, salt and apprika; mix well. Stir in cherries and minced chives.

2. Spoon or pipe yolk mixture into egg whites. Garnish with additional chives.

Sangria aka Mama's Oscar Night Gogo Juice (Mexican Cookbook by Jane Milton)

Ingredients

3 cups dry red wine
juice of 2 limes
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1/2 cup brandy
1/4 cup sugar
1 lime, sliced, to decorate

Directions

Fill tall glasses with ice. Combine the wine, lime juice, orange juice and brandy in a large glass pitcher. Stir in sugar until completely dissolved. Pour over ice and garnish with lime.




Comments

  1. Wow, I had to take notes and at least one bathroom break to comment on this post LOL! I know you read my take on the Oscars and so I will refrain from reminding you how we disagree on SOME of the fashion although I laughed out loud at Jeff's quote "presenting...my breasts." I am hella sorry that I did not get to see Kirk Douglas because I understand that it was actually one of the more likable parts of the telecast. Hathaway=heavenly is absolutely correct and I am dismayed that she was paired with the modern day "Spicoli." Although they both have been panned in the post Oscars reviews, Franco literally screwed himself. I will stand by original statement that although the pairing didn't work the writing was worse. I can't believe either of them would choose that drag moment, which, by the way, was ridiculous and meaningless and unfunny. Howevah, my favorite line in this post is from you my dear friend. In speaking of Celine Dion you said "Your heart needs to go on, sister, right off the stage." I found an Oscar post from 2 years ago that I did and it said almost exactly the same thing about her and the Death Montage. And yes, we are in agreement that the Awards themselves were absolutely predictable. We would have batted 1000 had it not been for our heartstrings to the Social Network and our vote for Fincher.

    On to the food. While we spent our time in WV seeding jalapenos after a long day of work so we could stuff them with hot italian sausage and boursin cheese and yummy spices and grill them, you made TAPAS!!! It all sounds delightful. Our stuffed jalapenos were absolutely delicious and I could definitely see me eating 12 of them along with 12 of each of all of your tapas selections. Yeah, I can eat LOL! But then again you know that. The Academy Awards 2011 may have been dull but as opposed to our celebrations in year's past we have emerged victorious. From Taco Bell to Tapas. At least the food was spectacular from beginning to end (except for the next day...you know how jalapenos affect me.)Love you all and here's to a more exciting year in film for 2011.

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  2. Sounds delicious! One of these days you need to bring some of that yummy food to a get together at Jane's, or somewhere else that I can try it.

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  3. Lisa, I would have to have a pre-approved list of what you WON'T eat, O Picky One....but it was delish. Oh, damn, Kristy, did I channel you and steal your line on Celine? I don't even remember her singing with the montage previously...I must have blocked it out. Phone, e-mail, texts, blog comments....I think we've run the gamut on Oscar communication since our smoke signal days.

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  4. Yes indeed we have run the gamut but no you did not plagiarize. I was actually shocked to find that document that I had written two years ago. What it said to me was that for as much as we love film and the Academy Awards they (the Academy Awards)continue to dissapoint. Maybe it's because we are not in 7th grade anymore and none of these shows are going to hold the wonder for us that they once did. The bottom line is that when I look and think back on my years of writing about the Oscars (well before blogs ever existed)there is a definite pattern. As I age it takes more and more to get me really excited about anything (please readers, reserve your laughter LOL)so I guess my expectations are higher at age 46 then they were at age 13. That is neither good nor bad. I still LOVE anticipating and watching the Oscars. It's our thing Greg. We may be old and gray but I think we will still be 13 years old when the Oscars roll around each year and we will still get giddy about it...and competitive. Our tastes may change. Our perspectives may change. They obviously already have since we were 13. But we will still ALWAYS adore the Oscars.

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  5. Great Post,Greg.

    I know how passionate you are about the movies and everything involved with the production, so I'll not share my take..... I enjoy the entertainment of the movies as well, but you're are a far greater man for putting up with the ego's and idiosyncrasies of those narcisstic, pompous debutants on their "special night".....Ooops,looks like I did give my opinion, afterall. I've just started referring to these events and others like them as the, "hand me a trophy awards."

    Alas, the food looked marvelous and sounded even better. The entertainment sounded top-notch as well. Glad you enjoyed your "big night" as well.

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  6. Thank you, Dave, and actually you hit the nail on the head as only you can, lol, and Kristy, so did you. The Oscars used to hold such wonder for me when I was younger. I may talk about it, but it has never been about the "fashion" for me....frankly, I'm bummed if there isn't someone dressed over the top for us to make fun of, but that's about it. The Oscars have ALWAYS been about the films for me. I could skip a lot of the speeches and glad-handing(bless you, Tivo)but I love those moments when excellent, smaller films and truly great performances get rewarded. The Hurt Locker and Slumdog were perfect examples of this. Oscar Night has always been an excuse to get together and have fun and although the egos do indeed get out of control(and let's face it, that can make for great on-camera drama), I am indeed passionate about film and love seeing a truly great film or performance get its due and hopefully improve its bottom line and possibly secure funding for other smaller, independent pictures they might otherwise be passed over by the Hollywood powers that be. Long live great cinema.

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  7. Thanks for the share your personal story I really love this post and i think you are great.

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  8. I am very happy to after read this post. I really like and I hope you will continue with nice and attractive post. Thanks for the sharing.

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  9. I know how passionate you are about the movies and everything involved with the production,

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  10. this Sounds delicious! One of these days you need to bring some of that yummy food to a get together at Jane's, or somewhere else that I can try it.

    ReplyDelete

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