Brokeback Mountain - (Bread) Pudding
"Independent films are those hippie movies. They're always about gay cowboys eating pudding!" ~ Cartman, "South Park"
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 1/2 pounds spinach, washed (3 cups cooked and roughly chopped)
2 cups chopped yellow onions
1 tablespoon roughly chopped garlic
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons Emeril's Italian Essence, or other Italian seasoning blend
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/4 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
3 (8 1/2-ounce) cans quartered artichoke hearts, any tough outer leaves removed
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons lemon juice
12 to 14 cups cubed (1-inch) day-old French bread (1 loaf)
1 pound Brie, rind removed and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley leaves
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 by 13-inch baking dish with 1 tablespoon olive oil.
Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Add the spinach and cook until just wilted, about 30 seconds. Drain and rinse with cold water. Once cool, squeeze as much water from spinach as possible, then roughly chop, and reserve.
Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook until golden brown and tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, 2 teaspoons of Italian Essence, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and cook, stirring, until the garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the artichokes and cook, stirring, another 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and reserve.
Combine the eggs, cream, chicken stock, lemon juice, remaining 1 tablespoon Italian Essence, remaining 2 teaspoons salt, and remaining 1 teaspoon pepper in a large bowl. Whisk to combine. Add the bread, spinach, artichoke mixture, brie, 1/4 cup Parmesan, and parsley and stir to combine. If bread does not absorb all of liquid immediately then let rest until this happens, about 20 minutes.
Pour the bread pudding mixture into the prepared dish. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan over the top and drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Bake until firm in the center and golden brown, about 1 hour. Serve warm.
Good Night & Good Luck - Red Menace, with censor-chips
Capote - Life of the Party Shrimp
12 tablespoons Goat cheese
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon
1 teaspoon chopped fresh chervil
1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano
2 teaspoons minced garlic
Salt and pepper
12 large shrimp, peeled, tail-on and butterflied
12 thin slices of proscuitto
2 tablespoons olive oil
Drizzle of white truffle oil
In a mixing bowl, blend the cheese, herbs and garlic together. Season the mixture with salt and pepper. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper. Press one tablespoon of the filling in the cavity of each shrimp. Wrap each shrimp tightly with one piece of proscuitto. In a saute pan heat the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the stuffed shrimp and sear for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, or until the shrimp turn pink and their tails curl in towards their body. Remove from the pan and place on a large plate. Drizzle the shrimp with truffle oil. Garnish with parsley.
Memoirs of a Geisha - Japanese Chicks
The Constant Gardener - Bad Medicine
Combine 1 bottle Stoli Vanilla and 1 Jar Landers Pomegranate and Cranberry Juice.
Munich - Sweet Revenge
2 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. chopped nuts
3/4 c. canned milk
2 tbsp. butter
Boil sugar and milk slowly until it forms a soft ball when tested in cold water. Stir constantly to prevent curdling. Remove from heat and add vanilla and butter. Beat until creamy and pour into greased pan.
King Kong - Nacho Average Love Story
*Winner, best appetizer!
In a small, square Pyrex dish, layer the following from the bottom up:
Cream cheese
chili
salsa or taco sauce
cheddar cheese
Monterey Jack Cheese
Jalapenos
Black olives
Microwave for 2-3 minutes until warm. Serve with Tortilla chips.
Walk the Line - Rings of Fire
Take 4 large sweet onions, peeled and cut into rings. Beat 4-5 large eggs in a bowl. In another bowl, combine approximately 1 Cup mesa flour, 1 Cup of Chick Pea flour, 1 Cup and of Mashed Potato flakes. Season dry mixture with a couple teaspoons of garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and season salt. Mix thoroughly. Dip onions in egg, shake off excess and dredge in flour. Transfer to a platter to let dry. Repeat process again if you like a thicker coat. In a large, deep skillet, heat olive oil (enough to cover an inch deep.) Oil will be ready to fry when you take a piece of batter and it sizzles and rises to the top. Fry the onion rings in batches until they're crispy - usually a few minutes a batch. Drain on paper towels. Serve with your favorite spicy sauce.
Crash - Fender Benders
Tear open a bag of Cheetos and pour into a bowl. Enjoy!
Notables:
Best Acceptance Speech: George Clooney whose effortless charm and sincerity (and brevity) was an early high point.
Best Moment: A tie between the opening montage and the Gay Cowboy montage. Who can say which was more satisfying to see: John Stewart in bed with George Clooney or turning the macho world of westerns on its ear?
Worst Moment: Who needs to see the President of the Academy drone on forever and ever about how awesome his industry is? It was one of the briefest Oscars ever, but you wouldn't have known it while he was going on...
Running Gag: "We need a montage...!" Ok, the occasional montage is nice, but do we really need this many? And shouldn't there be a point to them? During the pre-show, we actually had to endure a montage on monkeys in the movies.
The Pool:
And the Oscar Cup goes to ....
Jami with 17 out of 24!
And the rest of us looked like this:
Gianna - 15
John - 14
Sean, Tracy, Jason - 12
Molly - 11
Tom, Susan, Ed, Stacey, Sam, Mary, Mike - 10
Carol, Anne - 9
Gabe, Laure, Susan - 8
Erin, Sal, Daisy - 7
Paul - 6
Naya - 5
