Oscars and Appetizers

I love the Oscars. I love movies and good story telling, so I embrace the Oscars and their celebration of the motion picture industry like it's a national holiday. After all, I'd like to think that my film school training was good for something.

My favorite parts are always the opening monologue and the last 15 minutes when they get to the "good stuff." But in between there is lots of time to talk about who wore what, argue with your friends and family about who is ahead in the pool, and of course, eat hors' d'oeuvre.  

Last I checked, I have never been invited to the Governor's Ball; however, that doesn't mean I can't make the evening special and memorable. This year's Governor's Ball isn't even featuring a sit down dinner. Chef Wolfgang Puck is serving up small plates and hors'doeuvre all evening long. So in that spirit, I ran out to Party City and Fresh & Easy where they have a nice little assortment of "small plates" and fun serving vessels for hors' d'oeuvres.

Making fun and interesting appetizers is easier than you think. Serving them with style is half the fun.

For example you can take your garden variety egg roll up a notch by serving Lemongrass Egg Rolls from Trader Joe's instead. Place a dollop of chili-lime sauce from Fresh & Easy into a shot glass and place egg roll on top. Rather than super-size, if you mini-size and have fun with your presentation, it becomes a visual treat as well as a taste treat.

This weekend, along with the Lemongrass Egg Rolls, I will also be serving one of my favorite dishes: bruschetta. However, I will be making it with a twist (recipe below).

I've also included my picks for the Oscars. Bear in mind I did not include all categories, as I didn't get out of the kitchen long enough to see a representative sampling of documentaries, shorts and foreign films among other categories. 

Herbed Goat Cheese Bruschetta

Ingredients

• 1 package mini filo shells (Fresh & Easy)
• 1 large log fresh goat cheese (I used 11 oz log from Trader Joe's)
• fresh basil, finely minced
• 1 package mini heirloom tomatoes (from Trader Joe's)
• 1 shallot
• 1 -2 cloves fresh pressed garlic
• olive oil
• balsamic vinegar
• fresh ground salt and pepper to taste
• milk

Directions

Put cheese in a small bowl and blend with fork until smooth. Add about 1 tablespoon of the finely chopped basil and 1 tablespoon milk to reach desired consistency. Put into filo shells in rounded teaspoons or using a pastry bag.

Cut the heirloom tomato babies into quarters or smaller. Add finely minced shallot, garlic, salt and pepper, and 2 tablespoons of finely chopped basil. Toss well to combine. Drizzle with about 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar (or less depending upon how many tomatoes you are using) and toss to combine well.

Spoon a little of the tomato mixture onto the goat cheese. Garnish with a small basil leaf or basil flower.

Bon appetite! And may the best picture win!

Laura's Oscar Picks

• Best Picture - The Artist
• Best Director - Michel Hazanavicius: The Artist
• Best Cinematography - The Tree of Life, Emmanuel Lubezki 
• Best Film Editing - The Artist, Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius
• Best Original Screenplay - Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
• Best Adapted Screenplay - Nat Faxon, Alexander Payne & Jim Rash, The Descendants
• Best Animated Feature - Rango
• Best Actor - Jean Dujardin: The Artist (however I wish George Clooney would win; a girl can dream can't she?)
• Best Actress - Viola Davis: The Help
• Best Supporting Actor - Christopher Plummer: The Beginners
• Best Supporting Actress - Octavia Spencer: The Help
• Best Original Score - The Artist, Ludovic Bource
• Best Original Song - “Man or Muppet”: Bret McKenzie The Muppets
• Best Art Direction - Hugo, production design: Dante Ferretti; set decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo
• Best Costumes - The Artist, Mark Bridges
• Best Makeup - The Iron Lady, Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland
• Best Visual Effects - Hugo, Rob Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossmann and Alex Henning (but wish it was Rise of the Planet of the Apes)
• Sound Editing - Hugo, Philip Stockton and Eugene Gearty 
• Sounding Mixing - Hugo, Tom Fleischman and John Midgley
• Best Documentary Short - "Saving Face"
• Best Animated Short - “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore”