Simple but crowd pleasing Oscar Party Foods

DELICIOUS & EASY OSCAR PARTY FOOD

Every year for the past 10 years or so I have been spending Oscar Night with my fellow Tiff Entourage friends.  We mostly go to restaurants and watch it together and of course we have an Oscar Pool and try and get prizes for the Top 3 Oscar Pool Winners.

This year we were going to try and use one of our Entourage team members condo theatre but that didn't work out so I was able to find a fairly new restaurant that is going to be showing the Academy Awards broadcast so we are going to be checking it out this year.

I had a Pre-Oscar Party warm up today with a my friends who can't make our Oscar Party because they have a young actress in the making to take care of so we had a little fun trying to put together a few things today.

You don't have to break the bank to have a great Oscar Party with friends and family.

It's about the presentation and the taste more than anything.
Make it fun by finding a few props and decorations first before even getting to the food portion set the scene.   Get a Party store award and set up your own version of a red carpet or an Oscar stage and let everyone take a fancy photo with it.  See how Kenzie does it with a simple shawl, a feather boa, some cheap beaded necklaces and of course a pair of fabulous sunglasses.  Party stores have great photo booth props but you can use these types of things that you can easily get in many places and sometimes even dollar stores.

For the food you can go really simple with some flavoured popcorn or you can get a star shaped mini cookie cutter and go as simple as crackers and cheese with the fancy twist of cutter the cheese into stars.   I picked up a box of Ritz Crackers from the cookie outlet and the cheese was on sale so it was a really affordable fast no cook appetizer.

The Academy Awards are very long and even though it's an hour less this year it's still longer than watching a movie so you better have great food to keep you going.

The next dish I made was a Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip.

1/2 package of frozen chopped spinach
2 tablespoons of olive oil or butter
1/2 jar of mini artichokes
1 tbsp flour
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon of grated parmesan
half a cup of grated mozzarella
2/3 of a cup of cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Dried Basil and thyme optional

Directions:  Sautee the spinach in olive oil or butter and add chopped artichoke hearts to the pan and add flour.  Add the seasonings and stir well.  Add the milk and stir for about 5 minutes until it starts to thicken up and then add the cheese until it melts.

Pour the mixture into an oven proof container and sprinkle some parmesan on top and bake at 400F for about 20 minutes or until it is golden brown on top.   Serve with Tortilla chips or crackers.

You can also build a make your own mini pizza station.
I made my own pizza dough.  It takes about an hour and a half to put together and rest but it's worth it.   I mixed 1 package of yeast with half a cup of warm water and added a teaspoon of sugar and mixed until it started to foam and then added it to a stand mixer and added flour slowly until the dough came together and then you can add a tsp of salt.  Salt stops the yeast so I add it last.  Put it in a well oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap and then you can leave it and go and get yourself ready.  Let it sit for at least an hour and then punch it down and then divide it into small balls and set it up for people to grab a ball of dough and make their own pizzas.  Set up the toppings and let them build their own pizza.  Way better than deliver and it's more fun.   Bake the pizzas at 500F for about 15 to 20 min depending on how thick and how many toppings there are.



I wanted to make cupcakes but they would have taken too long to cool and decorate and the same goes for cookies.  I really wanted to make Oscar cookies but I don't have an Oscar cutout and that would have taken a lot more time to decorate so I looked around and decided to make Haystacks and add some Gold Sugar sprinkles on top.  it's not the fanciest but it used chocolate and nuts and cereal that I already had.

In a bowl placed over simmering water i melted dark chocolate and some milk chocolate with about a tablespoon of butter.  It was probably the equivalent of one large Presidents Choice chocolate bar.

I added a splash of vanilla and melted the chocolate and constantly stirring until smooth and shiny.

Then I poured the chocolate over a mixture of Cornflakes, cashews and pistachios.  You can just use cereal or whatever you have.  Mix until well coated and then I used an ice cream scoop to drop it onto baking trays and then I sprinkled Gold sugar sprinkles on top to add sparkle.  I actually took it outside to cool since it's the winter and my fridge was full.  In about 15 minutes they get solid.
I stacked them on an inexpensive dollar store silver tray and surrounded by movie items it takes on a more glam look even though it's chocolate, nuts and cereal.  But it's easy and it's fast and affordable.

You don't have to cook everything either.  I picked up some great Presicent's Choice Shrimp sticks that you bake in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes and they are great.  I used a plum sauce as a dipper instead of the sauce included but you can use all kinds of dipping sauces with shrimp.

I did all of this in 1 day and you can do some things a day ahead like the Haystacks and getting the Spinach Artichoke dip ready to put in the oven and pre cut the cheese and I also cut up some carrot stars too.  It's quick assembly or heat up on the day of then.  You can add more things than cheese to the crackers but Cheese and Crackers are so classically good that it's a safe bet for a crowd.

Don't forget to print out lot's of Oscar Ballots and pick your favourite films and actors and most of all have fun because the Oscars only comes around once a year so make it special.  Roll out the Red Carpet and get ready for the Papparazzi.   

And the Winner is................................

Valentine's Day easy and affordable

Feb 14th

I am no expert since I am single but Valentine's Day is supposed to be all about LOVE.

What is LOVE?  According to Wikipedia this is what it is!

"Love encompasses a variety of strong and positive emotional and mental states, ranging from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest interpersonal affection and to the simplest pleasure."

It doesn't say anything about it being between a man and a woman so who says you can only show people you love them if you are a couple?

Why not look at it as a day to show the people in your life that you love them or even if you are alone do something special for yourself to give yourself a bit of loving care for a change.

You don't have to be rich to show someone you care about them.  I have put together a few ideas for things that you can do that can be helped with a few grocery and dollar store items.  You don't have to make reservations at the fanciest restaurant or be a culinary whiz.  With a little bit of thought and effort you can create a meal that's full of heart while still staying on a reasonable budget.  Don't limit this to only 1 day a year.  You can do these things anytime of year.

First:  You can pick up some interesting things at your local dollar store.  I picked up a can of Hearts of Palm at my local dollar store for about $2.00.  This is an overlooked vegetable so it's great for something light and quick to make.  Just slice it and add a vinaigrette even if it's a bottled Italian dressing or just oil and lemon juice and salt and pepper that's fine.  I added a pop of red with chili flakes but you can add some crushed pink peppercorns or even some pomegranate seeds for color and sweetness.  This will easily serve 2 people.


Second:  You can always serve Pizza but make it Heart shaped.  I made this heart shaped pizza from scratch and added jarred artichoke hearts and cut out red peppers with a heart shaped cookie cutter and topped it with red onions and goat cheese for a bit of tang.  This is the fancy "I made it myself" version but you can take a step down and buy some frozen pizza dough and a jar of tomato sauce and some cheese and whatever other toppings you like but make sure you shape it into a heart before you bake it.  Still think you have no time or can't do this much then you can order a heart shaped pizza but it doesn't really show someone that you went out of your way for them but it's still cute.

Third:  Don't forget dessert of course.  Dark chocolate is great for boosting the feel good part of your brain so unless they don't like chocolate this is usually a good choice.

I have 3 choices for you for dessert.  You can take a few pantry ingredients and a little time and effort and make some shortbread cookies and decorate them with sprinkles with little hearts as I did above.  You can take something like homemade or store bought brownies and cut them into heart shapes.  Pick up some heart shaped chocolates and don't forget a cute little card. 

Of course you can pick up a little gift and put it in a cute heart shaped tin or box.  Add some balloons if you like because they always add a sense of occasion.  Depending on the time of day you can enjoy some wine or just take some cranberry juice and you can add some blood orange slices or some carbonated drink to it to add some bubbles.

Make it look as nice as you can even if the items aren't fancy.  You can even pick up little heart shaped cakes from the dollar store and see below where I just put some of the cookie sprinkles on top.  Put a caramel, chocolate or strawberry sauce on the plate to make it even fancier.  I didn't have any or I would have for this photo.

 

 You can add things like these pink meringues that I made last year or pink popcorn or even something like pop rocks.   Find a nice plate,  you can even find this at the dollar store and the placemat above is a felt placemat from the dollar store.  You can even find chocolate covered heart shaped cakes at the dollar store if the rest of these things are too much for you.

Take your time and make it as nice as you can.  What counts is the theme, the thought, the effort and the love you put into it that matters.

If you are single you can have your BFF over for dinner or if you have a little girl or boy in your life you can make some of these things with them.  You can have a Galentine's Dinner and make it a potluck with your gal pals and have them bring something with the red, pink or white theme.

An of course if you are SOLO and everyone else has fancy plans elsewhere you can still do all of this for yourself and watch a great movie and enjoy your time to yourself.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY  

XOXO..... Linda

Suresh Doss 6 week series of Food Talks at the Hot Docs Cinema

CURIOUS MINDS - HEIRLOOM: The Food Traditions of Toronto's Cultural Mosaic

Suresh Doss - Food Writer (Editor of Foodism & Escapism and CBC host)

Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema

Saturdays, 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM 
Jan 26, Feb 9, Feb 23, Mar 9, Mar 23, Apr 6

Six-week course: $63 (Members: $54, $42, Free) |
Single class: $21 (Members: $17, $14, Free)

I have known about Suresh Doss for a while now as he is well respected in the Food Industry and has really filled a niche market for himself by finding all the little gem food places to eat that are off the beating path and generally do not get write ups,  viral instagram feeds or media attention at all.  He likes them because they make "Traditional" food from their home countries or their family influences.  The food isn't always instagrammable but it's always full of flavour and passion.

Suresh's passion for food is been demonstrated in a series of 6 -2 hour talks being held on Saturday mornings at the Hot Docs Cinema in Toronto.

I got up this chilly winter morning when I would normally be home probably watching Food Network while cleaning up, cooking or blogging and I went down to the Bloor Cinema thanks to some last minute tickets from Eatable Films.  Thank you Eatable.

Today was the first in the series and it was all Suresh who talked about restaurants that he has travelled to around the world and in the GTA or the "Burbs" as he calls it.  This is his specialty.  He goes to the places only locals that live around the area usually know about.

Suresh has been a food writer for years and writes for many food publications as well as editing his own magazines.  He also has a CBC show that showcases the people who run these little mom and pop type of restaurants in the "Burbs".  

The one thing that he talked about that he really wanted to hit home was the fact that a lot of these places may just disappear because the parents aren't passing down the traditions to their kids because they usually want their kids to have a better life with more stability and less physical and mental stress.   "Running a restaurant in Toronto is hard" Suresh notes.  

Yes it is because of City councils many bylaws and the high cost of rent and increased labour costs.  They aren't always accessible these days either with the many condos in the city and the endless commuting time there isn't as much time to get around the city to go for dinner.  The cost of dining out because of the rents and labour costs are high in the downtown core as well.   The suburbs sometimes provides a more reasonable experience with parking available most of the time and the rents being lower affords the food costs to be lower as well.

Here is the thing that I have noticed over the years also pointed out by Suresh is the fact that we are losing a lot of restaurants that have had their original recipes being passed down for generations and they have honed in on specializing in what they do making the food that much better.

I have have also noticed that with the takeover of huge Condos comes predictable chain foods that are sometimes mediocre,  sometimes good but hardly ever great.   I have noticed in my area where I work and live and there is the highest density in Toronto there is also a slow takeover of restaurants that come from Asia who provide cheap and relatively fast food.  How many Sushi places do you need within a 1 block radius?  They can't all be good?  How many Subways, Freshii's, McDonalds, Tim Horton's do you really need everywhere?  The same food in every food court and every major intersection.  I really miss the days when I would drive around to all kinds of places,   I miss driving a lot too because I could find those little places along the way that you miss when you spend 2 hours a day from underground subway station to station with the same old things around when you surface.

I go out less than I used to and find that a lot of the time I am disappointed in the food.  I picked up some food from a new food hall on Bloor today and didn't even finish it.  Low quality and not that great.  The families that own and run their little places for generations aren't looking to make a quick buck and get out, they are looking to build a community and leave a legacy.

That's what's really needed in the city is for Toronto City Hall to provide easier ways for these people to get started and keep their restaurants running for more than a year or so to build up their communities.  

Suresh was asked about the Food truck scene and I have discussed this in many blog posts that a lot of small indie people find the rules and costs to be too high so the ones still standing are the burgers and fries kind of trucks because it is a lot harder to build an audience when the food isn't as familiar.

There is a bit of hope coming in the form of a whole shipping container community that will sit at Front and Bathurst for a year.  Unfortunately that's not really long enough for a lot of people to get an opportunity to start small and build their business but if it's successful maybe that will feed more of the same.

What can you do?   Find the little gem places.  Suresh has a map on facebook of places you can check out.  Wander around your neighbourhood and try something that isn't a take out chain and tell your friends if it's good.

This is Suresh's next session, don't miss it.

February 9: A Taste of Persia with B.B. CafeWe begin our survey of the city's best family cooks and family-run restaurants with the mother-daughter team behind B.B. Cafe in North York, renowned across the GTA for its elegant and mouthwatering Persian pastries. Saffron ice cream and rose-water scented desserts? Yes, please!

Follow Suresh on Twitter @suresh  Instagram @suresh

Foodism - @foodismto

Website:  http://sureshdoss.com/

Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJot1iEs_MwdERsM0gfh43g