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 20-something 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 taste buds.

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!!

2019 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 Oscar party guests. So 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 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-nominated Entree is for the movie A Star Is Born, and it's a delicious Zankou Chicken Meal sure to tickle the ivories in your mouth! This 21st-century musical is a feast for the ears, so check out the movie trailer below.

 I've been to the Los Angeles landmark Hollywood Bowl for many music concerts, and this A Star Is Born Zankou Chicken Meal is fitting for a live music setting.

Zankou Chicken at the Hollywood Bowl video

My next Oscar Entree nominee is Vice Billionaire Omelet. The movie Vice deals with the most powerful Vice President in recent history, Dick Cheney. 

You could call Dick Cheney a double-dipper, as he later became the CEO of Halliburton, a Fortune 500 defense contracting corporation.

Billionaires Crab Omelet recipe

The Green Book is a concert pianist tour taking place in the South, so a cool The Green Book Daiquari Drive Thru is a welcome stop from the dusty road.

You are in the backseat for my The Green Book Daiquari Drive Thru in the video below, so tie one on with The 99 Cent Chef!

The Green Book Daiquiri Drive Thru video

The Favourite Fish & Chips is a Best Oscar Entree that should be served with a silver spoon, or make that a fork. The nominated historical costume drama takes place in a castle and is full of palace intrigue involving 18th-century Queen Anne.



My crown jewel of a recipe is worth a knighthood for scrumptiousness. So check out my The Favourite Fish & Chips recipe from behind the red velvet rope.

The Favourite Fish & Chips recipe video

My next Best Oscar Entree is one you can really sink your teeth into, Black Panther Plantains. The latest Marvel Comics superhero movie is a great change of pace from the usual whitewashed special effects blockbuster.



Black Panther Plantains are fried and an extra-sweet side dish. You might as well serve it with my Cuban Black Beans and White Rice -- this is a great one-two vegetarian punch!

Black Panther Plantains recipe

The rock group Queen is profiled in my next Best Picture-nominated recipe. And my colorful pastry, Bohemian Rhapsody Sprinkles Cupcakes, will have you stomping along to the sports arena anthem "We Will Rock You!"



My  Bohemian Rhapsody Sprinkles Cupcakes recipe was originally created when gay marriage was legalized for the first in Los Angeles. I am proud to present my gender-busting recipe video:

Bohemian Rhapsody Sprinkles Cupcakes recipe video

Best Picture BlacKkKlansman goes undercover to expose the swampy underbelly of racist America. And my Best Picture Entree, BlacKkKlansman Deep Fried Frog Legs, is as swampy a recipe as you can get!



My Cajun brother, the Swamp Chef, is a friend to all races and even turns a different color to prove it in the recipe video below.

Black Klansman Deep Fried Frog Legs recipe video

The last Best Picture Oscar Entrée is Roma Turkey Carnitas, Mexican-style. The movie Roma is named for a Mexico City neighborhood. Tied with The Favourite for most Oscar nominations, Roma is the film to beat. The movie is about the movie director's housekeeper.



My Best Picture Entree nominee, Roma Turkey Carnitas, is a humble but delicious street food that all classes of people will crave.

Roma Turkey Carnitas recipe 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:

Football Cuisine Battle Royale: Los Angeles Rams vs New Orleans Saints

It's the perfect culinary storm this Sunday when the Los Angeles Rams battle the New Orleans Saints in the football playoffs for a berth at the Super Bowl.

Which local cuisine will be the winner? Recipes from Los Angeles will shake and rattle your taste buds like an 8 point earthquake. Or a category 5 hurricane of spicy Cajun Cuisine swamping your tongue. Well, it's time to take sides!

I went to high school in Louisiana so grew up with the New Orlean Saints football team on the tv.  I grew to love Cajun Cuisine as it became a part of my culinary DNA. My Mom, nephews Zakk and Matt, have made a slew of video recipes with this Cheap$kate Chef. Everything from Blackened Fish to Mom's Jambalaya, I even have a Red Beans and Rice recipe from good vegan friend Miss Patti.

After graduation, I knocked around a bit then heading to Los Angeles to pursue a career in the L.A. dream machine. First off Los Angeles is the Taco Capital of America. I've eaten my way from bustling Downtown LA to scenic Santa Monica bordering the Pacific Ocean. And I have the recipes to prove it!

 So my loyalty is divided, oh boy.

Will it be an LA Street Hot Dog or deep-fried cornmeal crusted Alligator that spikes your taste buds? Well read on and cast your vote for the winning recipes and local eateries -- and go Saints, I mean go Rams!! Oh forget it!

The playoff game starts early so might as well have a Los Angeles pastry from DK's Donuts in Santa Monica. Okay, New Orleans let's see you top a Rainbow Donut!

Just as colorful, plus topped with a baby Fève figurine, is a New Orleans King Cake...hmmm I might have to have a huddle to determine the winner of this dessert scrimmage.

For the opening coin toss, heads it's a Tommy Burger from Los Angeles, and tails it's a New Orleans Shrimp and Oyster Po'Boy.

Let's hit the neon-lit streets of Los Angeles for, some would argue, the best fast food burger in town (sorry In-n-Out,) a classic Tommy Burger. It's all about the chili and a fat tomato slice. And I chow it down at one of the most visited landmarks in town, Uban Light located at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA.) Check it out and give the video extra points!



The Big Easy is all about the food and my Po'Boy Sandwich Tasting Tour is so good that even fans in the nosebleed stadium seats will get up and cheer!



Saints Purple or Rams Gold, spicy boiled orange Crayfish, or green Avocado Toast? Can you tackle peeling a Crawfish? If you have ever looked at a pileup of boiled Crawfish and wonder how to get through them, just check out the next video and you'll learn how I peel and eat 'em.



Hup one, hup two, hike a peeled avocado onto warm toast for the tastiest two-point ingredient conversion of an appetizer. Avocado Toast is my fave sack, I mean snack. It's as easy to make as a ten-yard extra point field goal.



Should I call Mom during the Sunday game? I'm sure to get my rear chewed out - nothing comes between her and her favorite football team, the New Orleans Saints - don't even think about getting her off her easy chair once the game starts.

Best to just throw in the towel when it comes to Mom's Cajun cooking. She wrote the rule book and let's see if L.A. can come back once she unloads her recipe of Jambalaya.



Whew, that recipe should be penalized for deliciousness. Well, Los Angeles has a reverse flea flicker of a recipe called, Carnitas. Hours of braising reduce a pork shoulder to a tender and succulent Mexican-style taco filling. I even throw in the pigskin for extra flavor. Carnitas are what I order for late night noshing at a taco truck.



Boy, all this tasty cuisine has me thirsty, and not for Gatorade either! But I know how to fix that - with a frosty Daiquiri from a local Louisiana Drive-Thru Daiquiri shop and make mine a White Russian! If that sounds too good to be true just take a gander here.



My recipe for a LA Street Dog is a freeway pileup of flavors that make an end run around any hot dog out there.



In Louisiana, I shop at the Dollar Tree and back home in Los Angeles I shop at 99c only Store. If you are too busy to cook then hit those dollar stores during halftime for some cheap ready-to-eat treats, like these right here.

Liver Cheese from a Los Angeles 99c only Store

Cream Puffs from a Louisiana Dollar Tree

A Los Angeles fan favorite is a California Roll. Like a stadium wave, this California spin on Japanese sushi has traveled to grocery deli cases all around the country. And it uses cheap imitation crab, so you will save big bucks on usually expensive seafood - hey, now you can afford an extra keg for your tailgate party!



New Orleans is right on the Gulf Coast so they know how to spike a seafood dish, and my nephew Zakk has a Blackened Fish recipe that will move the chain poles 10 yards for a first down!



For my vegan visitors, it's Legume Touchdown time! You'll want to pass around Gas-X or turn the fan to high in the dugout. Mexican-style Pinto Beans are stuffed into every Los Angeles Burrito and believe me I've had my share and here is how I make them out here.



Miss Patti, my good friend from New Orleans, is vegan and knows her Red Beans and Rice. She even came out to Los Angeles one time to show me how Cajuns cook them.



Okay, let's call a truce, listen up here to the menu from Little Jewel, a replica of a New Orleans deli market located right on the edge of Downtown Los Angeles, in of all places, Chinatown. You see, we can all get along after all, at least until kickoff time!

Daiquiri Drive Thru - Cajun Cuisine Diaries VIDEO

The libation of choice for the Chintzy Chef is of the golden variety: beer, whiskey or scotch. But, on a muggy, hot Global Warmed afternoon in the South, I am not averse to a icy-blended, fluorescent, concoction that's spiked with Everclear 190.

In Louisiana (and Texas) there are fast food drive-thru's serving slushy Daiquiris. I don't know how the heck they get away with it. Every time I go back to visit my Mom and Sis, I am reminded about this quirky roadside custom.. And it all comes back when I spy one on the Airline Highway on the way home (having just shot my nephew Zakk's recipe of Blackened Fish With Sweet Potato Fries, click here to see it.) It turns out Mom and Sis are not at all averse to getting cold to-go cups, especially on Tuesday's Special 2-for-1 priced Daiquiris day.

If you've never experienced this, you can hop into the car with The 99 Cent Chef by clicking on my new Cajun Cuisine Diaries video below, where you'll get a backseat view of how it's done.

Like any drive-thru, you look at the menu and order through a speaker-box, then pull up to the window to pay. From my vantage point, I spotted at least a dozen faucets embedded in a row of clear plexiglass, holding a colorful rainbow of icy blended flavors. While still behind the wheel, you're handed a large Styrofoam cup with a typical soft drink plastic top, and a straw.

Now, there are rules to this. Louisiana has an open container liquor law. So, when you get your Daiquiri, as both Mom and Sis reminded me several times: "Do not put the straw in!" That is a DUI violation if you are stopped. However parched you are, resist plunging the straw through the drink top -- until you get home. Fortunately, Mom's house was less than 5 minutes away. And a frosty beverage is the perfect way to end a day of filming my Chef Nephews recipes. Thanks for tagging along with me!

Daiquiris Drive Thru - Video

Play it here. The video runs  1 minute, 32 seconds.

View or embed from youtube, click here.
99 thanks to Mom & Brenda -- I love you both!