2023 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.

And 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.

The first Best Oscar Entree nominee is a deep-fried food favorite of "The King."  Check out the trailer for "Elvis."

1. "Elvis" Chicken Fried Steak - This biopic follows Elvis's career from bottom to top and down again. There's a whole lotta frying going on for the Elvis Chicken Fried Steak recipe nominee provided by Banquet Frozen Foods. The ground beef (not chicken) patty is a steak in disguise.

The second Best Oscar Entree is a big salute to our naval air jockeys starring Tom Cruise reprising his blockbuster film role from Top Gun. 

2. "Top Gun Maverick" Turkey Carnitas - Come fly with me and deep dive into luscious Turkey Carnitas. Typical Carnitas are made with fatty pork, well that won't fly if you have to squeeze into an F-14 Tomcat fighter jet. This recipe is a lighter version made with Turkey and it's battle-tested in my kitchen.

The third Best Oscar Entree is a Jewish deli classic sandwich called the Rachel. The Fableman's is Steven Spielberg's autobiographical take on his formative filmmaking years. 

3. "The Fabelman's" Rachel Sandwich - Michelle Williams plays Steven Spielberg's mother and it's said she stole the show.  My Rachel is made with pastrami, Russian dressing, coleslaw, and Swiss cheese on rye bread and is a powerhouse of a sandwich.

The fourth Best Oscar Entree actors Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson spar in this tragicomedy set on a remote island off Ireland. 

4. "The Banshees of Inisherin" Corned Beef and Cabbage - Opposites do attract and my Corned Beef and Cabbage recipe has the yin and yang dance of a dangerously delicious friendship.

The fifth Best Oscar Entree stars Cate Blanchett in a deranged role as a world-renowned Berlin Philharmonic symphony composer-conductor would not be out of place if it happened at the Hollywood Bowl.

5. "Tár" Dude Dog - Is a bombastic wiener conducted by Pinks Hot Dogs of Los Angeles. 

The sixth Best Oscar Entree is the bomb! Your tastebuds will experience a minefield of explosive flavors of this German street food. 

6. "All Quiet on the Western Front" Currywurst - Like WW! trench warfare portrayed in the movie based on the anti-war novel of the same name, pork is put through the meat grinder to form sausages that are then sliced and drenched in bloody red curry-flavored ketchup. It tastes better than it looks.

The final Best Oscar Entree is a sandwich embodying the multiverse served on an Everything Bagel, a key movie plot point. 

7. "Everything Everywhere All at Once" Bagel Sandwich - Michelle Yeoh fights her way through time and space to save the planet. My Bagel with Tomato, Onion, and Creamcheese is a slice of heaven on Earth.

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.

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!!

2022 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 and my Best Oscar Entrees which are a feast for your eyes.

And 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.

The first Best Oscar Entree nominee was inspired by Aussie director Jane Champion's revisionist tale of the Old West. Check out the trailer for Power of the Dog.

1. Power of the Hot Dog - Greasy chili and sweet pickle relish clash but realize they really belong together in the end.

The second Best Oscar Entree nominee goes with the noirish Nightmare Alley. It is a dark and disturbing tale by macabre master Mexican director  Guillermo del Toro.

2. NIghtmare Alley Tacos - Come accompany this Chef of the Night as he goes deep into the smokey neon-lit alleyways of Los Angeles. There lurk unlicensed vendors dispensing mind-bending street tacos!

The third Best Oscar Entree nominee is by way of Licorice Pizza from auteur director Paul Thomas Anderson. The flick is about an ambitious teen boy and his crush on an older 20something lady and takes place in the San Fernando Valley in the 1970s. 

3. Licorice Pizza with Egg - Valley girls and boys revel in sweltering summers so hot the sidewalks could fry an...

The fourth Best Oscar Entree nominee is based on Oscar-nominated King Richard with powerful leading actor Will Smith at the helm. I happen to live right down the street from the high school tennis courts Venus and Serena Williams trained on.

4. King Cake Richard - From their infancy, a father strives to shape his 2 talented daughters into heroic and historic tennis players.

The fifth Best Oscar Entree nominee is a filling riff on Belfast. This Oscar contender is by theater actor and director Kenneth Branagh. The film is an autobiographical slice of Irish life during the battles between Catholics and Protestants in the 1960s. 

5. Belfast Shepherd's Pie - The story of a family in tumultuous Belfast, Ireland that's also as heartwarming as a serving of mashed potatoes, beef, gravy, and peas.

The sixth Best Oscar Entree nominee is based on the movie Dune. This sci-fi literary classic adaptation is a hero's journey on a desert planet full of sandstorms and fury.

6. The Dune Lollipop - This Cheap$kate Space Cadet ingests a Scorpion Lollipop, trips out, and hitches a ride on a spaceship!

The seventh Best Oscar Entree nominee is based on CODA. This Oscar contender has a chorus of accolades and tells of a deaf fisherman family with a hearing daughter. Should she stay home to help or should she go? 

7. CODA Fried Fish - This fish-out-of-water story of a working-class gal finding her passion in music. Does she stay to help her family's fishing business or leave to pursue her music dreams?

The eighth Best Oscar Entree nominee is a 2fer based on West Side Story by Steven Spielberg. Two NYC gangs battle with a tragic outcome. Its creatively choreographed dance and classic show tunes retain the power of the original 1960s movie. 

8. West Sides Story - Plantains & Yuca are sides that will dance your tastebuds.

Yuca & Mojo Sauce

Fried Plantains

The ninth Best Oscar Entree nominee is a big ball of deliciousness based on Don't Look Up. A meteor is on course to crash into Earth in this satirical doomsday flick.

Don't Look Up Meatball - Look up in the sky, is it a meteor or just a food-borne hallucination?

The final Best Oscar Entree nominee is my homage to Drive My Car. Originating from a short story by renowned Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami, the movie cruises down memory, love, and loss to acceptance.

Drive My Car Daiquiri - You may need to pick up a drive-thru Daiquiri to take on this gabfest of a movie.

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.

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!!

2020 Oscar Party Recipes

And the Best Picture 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 and my Oscar Entrees that are a feast for your eyes.

And click on any 2020 Best Picture Oscar Entree nominee name to be directed to the original blog post for all the award-winning recipe prose and cinematic culinary imagery.

My first Best Picture Oscar Entree nominee for 2020 is for "The Irishman" Corned Beef and Cabbage. I am a big fan of Martin Scorsese's gangster movies, but this one was torturous in length and I felt like I had been given a Mickey Finn by the time the end credits rolled. 

For a groaning buffet table of a movie, you'll at least enjoy watching Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and Al Pacino chew the scenery! And load up your plate on Oscar day with my appetite-crushing Irish classic Corned Beef and Cabbage.

Corned Beef and Cabbage

My next Oscar-nominated entree, "Little Women" Blueberry Pancakes, is named for a budding group of young ladies flowering into adulthood. The lively March sisters return to the big screen in this raucous retelling and direction by Greta Gerwig of the classic novel by Louisa May Alcott.

Start your Oscar Party day with blushing blueberries sprinkled in an old school breakfast of toasty griddlecakes.

Blueberry Pancakes

The satirical WWII flick JoJo Rabbit may be the most out-there Best Picture Entree nominee of the group. Even for this Outre Chef, a child obsessed with Hitler is a bridge too far.

However, I would give the flick a shot if the movie theater concession stand serves "JoJo Rabbit" Hot Dogs with Sauerkraut and a stein of beer!  

Hot Dogs with Sauerkraut

Hey did you hear the one about the orange-faced comb-over clown? Oh, wait, not the one in the White House, I mean the grimacing white-faced and green-haired Joker on the big screen. Hey, can't you take a joke? Well, that's the problem for Joker, society doesn't get him and he makes everyone suffer for it. 

My toothsome Oscar Entree Nominee, "Joker" Green Split Pea Soup with Ham, is no laughing matter! 

Green Split Pea Soup with Ham

Parasite by Korean director Bong Joon-ho is giving America a societal wakeup call. I saw it and recommend you do too, on the big screen or small. In this timely story, the have-nots move in on the haves and turn the tables. 

With such pungent storytelling, you need an intense Oscar Entree and my "Parasite" Korean BBQ Chicken marinated in garlic, ginger and brown sugar will have your Oscar Party guests eating out of your hands!

 Korean BBQ Chicken

Best Oscar Entree nominee "Marriage Story" California Roll, is a poignant and gripping drama of a marriage on the rocks. With just 6 nominations it's the one to beat.

The movie takes place in NYC and Los Angeles. So my West Coast rolled sushi entree is as deliciously layered as the filmmaking. Showy cucumber, scene-stealing avocado, and understudy krab with rice are wrapped in a layer of umami-rich seaweed.

California Roll

All is not quiet on the Western Front in my next Best Oscar Entree nominee, "1917" Shepherd's Pie. The WWI war movie follows two British soldiers on a sprint across enemy lines delivering a message to save hundreds of fellow doughboys. 

These soldiers deserve a Victoria Cross but I bet they would gladly settle for a meal that only Mum can make, a hearty ground beef stew topped with whipped mashed potatoes!

Shepherd's Pie

Pulp culture auteur Quentin Tarantino is back in my Best Oscar Entree race with "Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood" Turkey Leg Carnitas. 

Tarantino has his cake and eats it too in this fruitcake blending of fact and fiction taking place in 1969 Hollywood. He hits all the hot spots big and small, from plush red booths at the Musso Frank Grill on Hollywood Boulevard to table 5 at Casa Vega on Ventura Boulevard. I'm not sure if Turkey Leg Carnitas are on the menu at Mexican restaurant Casa Vega, but they should be!

Turkey Leg Carnitas  

And roaring through the fish line is the Oscar Entree nominee "Ford v Ferrari" Spaghetti alla Carbonara with Bacon Bits. This race track rivalry between carmakers American Ford and Italian Ferrari is built for speed.

If you can't make it to the movie screen for this action-packed tour de force drag race then take a pit stop in your own TV room and slurp up yolk-coated strands of pasta studded with bacon bits -- on a checked table cloth covering your dinner tray of course!

Spaghetti alla Carbonara with Bacon Bits

Do try out 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.

And I'll leave you with a video I made a while ago, when the Academy of Motion Pictures had an Oscar exhibit, along with a podium with a real Oscar. 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!!

2018 Oscar Party Recipes

And the Best Oscar Entree goes to...YOU! Come and accept your award-winning chow and pass it around to your Oscar party guests.

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

Let's start things off with a bang, it's the Oscar Entree nominated, "Dunkirk" Beanie Weenies!

Dunkirk - Movie Trailer

This rousing flick, directed by genre-hopping Christoper Nolan, is about WWII British soldiers stranded on the beaches of Dunkirk as the Nazis close in for the kill.

But don't worry. The British love their whistle-berries, so It's Baked Beans with Wieners to the rescue!

"Dunkirk" Beanie Weenies - Recipe

Rising from the murky depths, my next Oscar Entree Nominee, "The Shape of Water"Alligator Po'boy Sandwich, may give you the creeps.  

 After one crunchy bite, your head will swim with pungent Cajun spices and exotic reptile tastes. Alligator is very similar in texture and flavor to a pork chop, but with an extra seafood tang. An Alligator Po'boy Sandwich is typically dressed in lettuce and tomato on a slice of French bread slathered with mayo.

The Shape of Water - Movie Trailer

Is the main creature character, in this imaginative movie creation by Director Guillermo del Toro, fish or reptile - may be a combination of both? 

While the alligator flavor may leave you scratching your head, this recipe is ready for it's close-up taste test. So after viewing the recipe below, go ahead and give my Best Oscar Entree a big webbed green thumbs up!

"The Shape of Water"Alligator Po'boy Sandwich - VIDEO

My next Oscar-Nominated Entree is "Phantom Thread" Shepherd's Pie. Film director Paul Thomas Anderson weaves a quixotic yarn of a story, that is a part art-house movie and British costume drama.

And the director teams with actor Daniel Day-Lewis once again, who plays a proper gown couturier, set in 1950's London, England. His character falls for a young waitress, and soon enough the sequins fly. 

The most English of entrees is a Shepherd's Pie, which commoners and royalty enjoy. It's simple pub food composed of ground beef or lamb, peas, and carrots cooked in a beef and tomato sauce, finally crowned with mashed potatoes. Click here to see how this Scrooge Yoeman does it.

Phantom Thread - Movie Trailer

My Oscar Entree, "Lady Bird" Curried White Chicken Deli Salad, is based on a Trader Joe's deli favorite that struggling students, like the movie's main character Lady Bird, would surely dine on. 

This chick flick is one that guys can get into. I saw it and totally got it. The mom and daughter dynamic starring Saoirse Ronan and Laurie Metcalf, directed by Greta Gerwig, is indeed Oscar-worthy.

Lady Bird - Movie Trailer

If you don't know about our local Trader Joe's markets, they stock food that is cheap, but high quality. They carry specialized frozen and fresh packaged foods, locally baked bread, organic veggies and fruit, hormone-free meat, chicken, and fish, along with a huge selection of exotic beer, wine, and spirits.

My cheapSkate version of Curried White Chicken Deli Salad is so yummy even Academy voters used to glitzy dining, would cast their vote for this Best Oscar Entree. 

Twilight Zone influenced, Oscar-nominated Get Out is a black man's paranoiac nightmare come true when he visits his white girlfriend's family. This is not your "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner" kinda movie, where everyone becomes enlightened about race relations.

Get Out - Movie Trailer

I can't give away too much about this flick - no spoilers here. But I can give you all the details for my Oscar Entree: "Get Out" Black Beans with White Rice. 

My recipe's combination of the sweet and sour Cuban-style  Black Beans, with boring White Rice, is a miscegenation of flavors. 

So let's all get along and agree that this Best Oscar Entree is horrifically delicious.

"Get Out" Black Beans with White Rice - VIDEO

To misquote Sir  Winston Churchhill: "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, sweat, and cheap$kate ingredients."

And the Oscar-Nominated Entree, "Darkest Hour" Fish and Chips," delivers on all the above.

This stirring biopic of Sir Winston Churchill's leadership as Hitler swept through Europe is a rousing viewing experience. And lead actor Gary Oldman is the Best Actor to beat.

Darkest Hour - Movie Trailer

For the fish I use cheap pollack fish that is beer batter coated and deep-fried. For proper chips or fries, I use a double frying method on russet potatoes, to get extra crunchy fries.

So belly up to the bar and order Churchill's favorite drink, Scotch whiskey, along with the pub grub favorite Fish and Chips. Watch my recipe video below to see how this Cheap$kate Corker does it. My entree will lighten any dark day.

"Darkest Hour" Fish & Chips - Video

Do try out 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.

And I'll leave you with a video I made a while ago, where the Academy of Motion Pictures had an Oscar exhibit, along with a podium with a real Oscar. 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: