2026 Oscar Party - Recipes

And the Best Oscar Entree goes to...YOU! Come and accept your award-winning chow and pass it around to your party guests so everyone has a taste of Oscar. Sit back and watch the Best Picture Oscar-nominated movie trailers below, paired with my Best Oscar Entrees, which are a feast for your eyes.

Click on any Best Oscar Entree nominee names to be directed to the original blog post for all the award-winning recipe prose and cinematic culinary imagery.

Do try any of my Oscar Party Entrees - you're sure to get a Standing O. So have your acceptance speech ready because the golden statuette for Best Entree at an Oscar Party belongs to you, the host with the most.

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For the First Best Entrée Oscar nominee, one must ask the question: "Do we need another Frankenstein movie?" If it's done by visionary Mexican director Guillermo del Toro, it's worth a look-see. Check out the trailer below to see if it's worth resurrecting this horror classic.

1. Turkey "Frankenstein" Carnitas - Use any turkey body parts for this spin on typical fatty pork Carnitas. My succulent recipe is lighter with lean turkey and sweeter with the addition of Mexican Coca-Cola. Any dormant taste buds will rise again after the first bite!

The second Best Oscar Entrée is a sweet stir-fried recipe that pairs with the movie plot involving kidnapping,  bees, and an alien! This dark comedy called "Bugonia" is directed by the always unpredictable Greek filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos. Watch the trailer below.

2. "Bugonia" Sauteed Tofu and Veggie Stir Fry - has a dollop of honey to make the Tofu go down easy.

The next Best Oscar Entrée nominee flick is about a flamboyant, sharp-dressed, Ping Pong hustler/champion known as "Marty Supreme" from New York City, and is based on a real person. I loved playing Ping Pong in my high school days and could slam that ball past my opponents. Trailer is below.

3. Cream Cheese "Marty Supreme"  Spread with Chopped Boiled Egg -  When I visit NYC, the first thing I get is a Bagel, and the big decision is what Spread to get....Hmmm, I think a chopped Hard-Boiled Egg with Cream Cheese would pair with this fast-paced picture.

The fourth Best Entrée Oscar nominee is a visual feast called "Train Dreams", which takes place in eary 20th Century, and is about the life of a Great Northwest logger.

 

4. Lox "Train Dreams" - Salmon is king in Washington state, and I like my Salmon raw in Sushi, or Cold-Cured like my version of Lox, below.

The fifth Best Entrée Oscar nominee is a Falafel Pita Sandwich. "F1" means Formula 1 auto racing. It looks like a typical hot rod flick, and a bit formulaic. The exciting finale takes place at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, in the Middle East. The high-speed trailer is below.

5. "F1" Falafel -  My crunchy Falafel with a Cucumber Yogurt Sauce will bring down the red checkered flag. 

The next Best Entrée Oscar nominee is a  Sausage Po' Boy for the movie "Sinners".  A mindbending mélange combining blues musicians, Jim Crow South racism, and vampires...whew.

 

6. "Sinners" Sausage Po' Boy - My spicy Southern sandwich is made by the Swamp Chef, and you can't get more low down than his recipe. 

The seventh Best Oscar Entrée nominee takes place during Carnival in tumultious 1970's Brazil. Check out the trailer for "The Secret Agent" below.

7. "The Secret Agent" Moqueca  - is a Brazilian fish stew, made with coconut milk, lime juice, and a medley of veggies.

Get out the hankerchiefs for my next Best Entrée Oscar nominee. The movie "Hamnet" follows the family of Shakespeare in turmoil, creating art from tragedy. Trailer is below.

8. Hamnet "Beanie Weenies" - To eat, or not to eat whistle-berries, that is the question.  Not sure if Shakespeare had  Baked Beans in his day, but they are now served on your typical British breakfast plate.  

Revolution is on the big screen with my next Best Entrée Oscar nominee. The lauded director, Paul Thomas Anderson, or PTA, to us cinema insiders, lobs all manner of visual ordinance at the screen with this pitch-black dramedy. Check out the unhinged trailer for "One Battle After Another" below.

9. "One Battle After Another" Pineapple Salsa" - Hand grenades were called "Pineapples" in WWII. And revolutionaries on the Mexican border would take a battle break to try my cool Pineapple Salsa...get out the tortilla chips and hot sauce!

This combustible family drama of father vs daughter gets high marks from the critics, just like my Mom's Best Entrée  Oscar nominee recipe. Check out the trailer below for "Sentimental Value" to see the fireworks.

10. "Sentimental Value" Gumbo - Every family has its drama, and my Mom's Gumbo heats the pot to a boil when her daughter starts telling her how to cook!

I'll leave you with a video I made a while ago when the Academy of Motion Pictures had an exhibit with a podium on which a real Oscar stood. All you had to do was stand in line and take a picture with it -- well, you can be sure I showed up for that! Just check out the video below:

May the Best Entree win!!

The Loxaco, a Jewish Taco - Video Recipe

Wolfgang Puck built his food empire off his signature Italian/Jewish pizza made with Lox and cream cheese. And now The 99 Cent Chef has the chutzpah to come up with his own dish worthy of inclusion into the Entrees Hall of Fame - a Jewish/Mexican culinary mashup called the Loxaco!

 Los Angeles is known for fusion food (the collision of disparate ethnic cuisines), epitomized by Roy Choi's Kogi Truck taco, which features Korean spiced short ribs and sour slaw on a corn tortilla (click here to see my video documentary) -- so good! So why not a new taco twist featuring typical ingredients from your local Jewish deli?

I first had a Jewish breakfast sandwich that featured a bagel, cream cheese, and Lox, on a film commercial shoot, and have been addicted ever since. Usually laid out by craft services on a folding table, it seems an unusual first meal, especially with garnishes of sliced tomato and red onion -- Oy Vey! But, mild cured salmon and sweet cream cheese smooth out the pungent raw crunchy red onion.

With all my Los Angeles edible influences, it was only a matter of time before the Chintzy Chef came up with his latest outre entree.

And a lot of the credit goes to a Latino neighborhood (Boyle Heights) bookstore, Libros Schmibros. Thanks to my wife, whose bread and butter is earned through journalism, I've had the pleasure to meet many scribblers, including David Kipen, the proprietor of this lending library/used Bibliotheque in East L.A.

When we were invited there to a book launch party for the travelogue "Waiting For Foreign", edited by Veronique de Turenne and J. Michael Walker, I wanted to come up with a unique dish to commemorate the occasion, thus the Loxaco was born - my version of a Jewish Taco.

In my video, you can spot some noshing local literati in attendance, including Pulitzer Prize-winning food writer Jonathan Gold with wife Laurie Ochoa (co-editor of Slake), Kevin Roderick (LA Observed), and noir scribe Gary Phillips -- who gives my homemade lox a rave review, on camera!

Cold-cured salmon, or lox, is so simple to make that it seems like gouging to charge $2 an ounce (that's $32 per pound!) by your local deli and supermarket. All it takes is a coating of cheap salt and sugar, followed by a two-day wait for curing in the refrigerator. Cured salmon does lose half of its water weight, so maybe that's why it's worth so much gelt?

I bought a $5 salmon steak on sale for $7.99 per pound and cut it into 3 pieces for my video shoot: two for curing and one piece was kept raw. For one, two-ounce fillet, I went over my 99 cent price point, but not by much; and anyway, I am saving you mucho dinero! And my other Loxaco ingredients, red onion, tomato, cream cheese, and taco shells (or corn tortillas), are always a bargain. Plus all the ingredients are Kosher, including taco shells.

Lox makes for a versatile party canape for your next Bat Mitzvah or Quinceanera. I schlepped a package of tortilla chips to Libros Schmibros to stretch my homemade Lox. Stacking my Loxaco recipe on some chips, I was surprised how quickly they disappeared. A cured four-ounce piece of salmon will easily make a few dozen appetizers, depending on how thin you can slice it. And if you want to keep the party theme Jewish, just use bagel chips.

So pull up a chair and watch the haimisher mensch Chef show you how easy it is to make homemade Lox. And as a bonus, I take you to Boyle Heights to visit a great neighborhood bookstore, Libros Schmibros.  

*Ess Gezunterhait!

The Loxaco  - Video

Play it here. The video runs 7 minutes, 42 seconds. 

To watch or embed from YouTube, just click here.

Ingredients for Lox (about 8 Loxacos, or a few dozen canapes)

• 4 ounces of fresh Salmon
• 1/4 cup of Salt
• 1/4 cup of Sugar
• A pinch of dried or fresh Herbs makes a tasty flavor addition, including dill, parsley, oregano, etc.
• If you want a smoked flavor, then lightly brush on a teaspoon of Liquid Smoke before sugar/salting.

Taco Ingredients

• 8 Taco Shells - okay to use heated soft Corn Tortillas. Hey, go crazy and wrap Loxaco ingredients in a Flour Tortilla for a Jewish burrito!
• 1/2 onion - typically Red Onion, sliced.
• 1 large Tomato - or a couple of small, sliced.
• A small tub or block of Cream Cheese.
• A few sprigs of Cilantro - optional.

Directions
I removed the skin from the salmon fillet (also remove any bones). Mix 1/4 cup of salt and sugar and pour onto a small plate. Coat all sides of the salmon with salt and sugar. 

Wrap salmon in plastic and store on a plate, or small bowl, in the refrigerator for 2 days. If you leave the skin on you may need an extra day of curing.

Every 12 hours or so, open plastic-wrapped salmon and drain off the liquid. I re-coated salmon with leftover salt and sugar after one day. 

The salmon fillet will shrink and turn a deeper orange as it cold cures. It is done when firm to the touch and the center is no longer raw.

After 2 days (very thick fillets may need an extra day or two) rinse off lox with water to remove the extra salty taste. After the rinsing, you can also soak lox for five minutes in a bowl of water to dissolve away even more salt. Pat dry with a paper towel when done. 

Slice lox thinly. Store any leftover lox (highly unlikely) in the refrigerator in a Ziplock bag or airtight container.

To assemble Loxaco, smear taco shell (or soft warm corn tortilla) with cream cheese; add a slice of tomato, onion, and lox, finally topping with a few sprigs of cilantro.

My Loxaco is easily turned into canapes for a party food tray. Just assemble the same way with your favorite chips, including tortilla chips, bagel chips, and fried pork skins -- obviously, the last chip is not Kosher!

Libros Schmibros hours are noon - 6pm. Thursday - Sunday
103 N. Boyle Avenue (new location)
Los Angeles, CA 90033
phone: (323) 604-9991
website: https://www.librosschmibros.org

99 thanks to Bob McGinness for his tasty kitchen camerawork.
Extra thanks to David Kipen of Libros Schmibros, plus all the customers and the volunteers.
*Click on orange type for links to Mexican or Yiddish phrase translations.
To embed, or to just link the video from YouTube, click here.