Little Miss Sunshine - Super Freaky Olives
1/4 cup pitted Kalamata olives
1/4 cup pitted jalapeño stuffed olives
1/4 cup pimiento-stuffed green olives
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
Combine all olives in 1-quart re-sealable plastic bag. Whisk lemon juice and all remaining ingredients in medium bowl to blend. Pour marinade over olives; seal bag. Turn bag to distribute marinade evenly. Refrigerate at least 1 day and up to 2 days, turning occasionally.
The Queen - Her Royal Pieness
2 sheets of puff pastry - thawed
using a small round cookie cutter, cut the sheets into small rounds and then press into 2 prepared mini tart pan. Pre-bake the pie shells. And let cool
3 eggs
1 1/2 c heavy cream
1/2 c sour cream
1 c shredded Colby jack
onion powder, garlic powder, parsley, salt and pepper to taste
combine the custard ingredients well and divide into 2 bowls.
In one bowl add some chopped cooked spinach and chopped ham.
In another bowl add some sautéed baby corn kernels, crab meat and a dried crushed chili.
Mix both bowls well. In one pan put a dollop of the spinach ham mix into each pie shell. In the other place a dollop of the corn, crab mix.
Bake the quiches at 375 until center is set.
Dreamgirls - Dream Swirls
Whip together:
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup sour cream
1 regular size container of cool whip
1 6oz can of lime-aide - undiluted
When well mixed and light spoon into bowls or parfait glasses and top with favorite fruit such as pomegranate, strawberries, blueberries, etc. What ever you like.
Pan's Labyrinth - Mexican Nightmares
*winner - best appetizer!
1 lb ground beef
2 tbs taco seasoning
1 4 oz can of chopped green chiles, drained
Colby jack cheese cut into cubes (about 16)
1 egg white
1 tbs water
2 c crushed Doritos
Combine beef, seasoning, and chiles and mix well. Divide beef into 16 portions and shape each portion around the cheese cube, making sure to cover the cheese
In one bowl combine egg white and water and mix well. In another the crushed Doritos.
Dip each meatball into the egg white mix and the Doritos, coating completely. Press each meatball into a slightly flattened nugget shape and re-coat with crushed Doritos.
Spray a large baking sheet with non-stick spray. Place the nuggets on the sheet and spray the tops with non-stick spray. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until done. juices run clear.
In a microwave safe bowl, combine:
6 tbs taco sauce
3 tbs honey
microwave for 30 seconds until warm and serve with nuggets.
Babel - Random Shots
Serve "shot" of Pomegranate Cordial with a splash of sour apple pucker.
The Departed - Undercover Micks
1/2 lb Corned Beef, thinly sliced
1 small can sauerkraut
4 tbsp mayonnaise
4 tbsp mustard
Pillsbury Crescent dough.
Drain sauerkraut and rinse thoroughly. Combine sauerkraut with mustard and mayo and mix thoroughly.
Separate the croisant dough into the triangles. Place half a slice of corned beef on the dough. Place a dollop of the sauerkraut mixture and wrap the corned beef slice around it.Then wrap up the croisant dough as you would a pig in a blanket. Place on a cookie sheet and repeat until done. Bake at 400 for about 20-25 minutes.
Letters from Iwo Jima - Nacho Award, Clint!
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.
Blood Diamond - Blood Diamonds
Marinade
1 lb grated carrots (Large grate)
tsp ground cardamom
1 dried chili, crushed
1 tbs fresh grated ginger
1 tbs garlic, crushed
1 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 c sugar
1 c water
3/4c red wine vinegar, with a splash of balsamic
combine all ingredients up to vinegar in a med saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer mixture to a food processor and process until fairly smooth. Transfer back to pot and add vinegars. Boil for about 15 minutes (until it starts to slighlty thicken) cool and store in container until ready to use. (Can be made several days in advance)
7 good sized blood oranges
corn tortillas
Spice mix of: kosher salt, cardamom, garlic powder, onion powder, ginger powder, dried chili powder
Cut the oranges into supremes. Method: using a sharp knife, cut the top and bottom off and cut away the sides. Viewing from the top of the orange, cut along the inside of the membrane segment and cut along the other inside of the segment, this should allow the segment to drop free of the orange. Repeat until all oranges have been segmented. Carefully cut the segments into smaller pieces, and transfer to a bowl. Toss with marinade and let set about 30 minutes.
While oranges marinate, cut the tortillas into diamond shapes. Heat oil and fry a few diamonds at a time, when crispy transfer to a paper towel lined tray and dust with spice mix. Repeat process until you have enough diamond chips to satisfy. Serve marinated blood oranges in a bowl, provide a serving spoon to spoon oranges onto chips.
Notables:
Best Acceptance Speech: Forrest Whitaker, who gave an impassioned speech about his craft and his life.
Best Moment: FINALLY seeing Martin Scorsese win his Oscar for directing, to a standing ovation, and then having the sweet satisfaction of "The Departed" win best picture. What a nice change from the crap-fests of "Million Dollar Baby" & "Crash."
Worst Moment(s): Chris Connelly's insipid backstage "throws" to commercials. Only to be saved for a brief moment by Tom Hanks joining in a seemingly mocking tone.
Running Gag: Sean came up with two, which he perpetuated all by himself. All night long he adjusted his score to include the as-yet-unconfirmed win for Helen Mirren. Also, in an homage to Kanye West, every time anyone took the screen, came the comment, "George Bush doesn't like (insert nationality/ gender/ sexual orientation here) people."
Since When?: This year, none of the best cinematography nominees match any of the best picture nominees. That hasn't happened since the first year of the Academy Awards, 1927. Also, none of the performances for best actor appear in any of the best picture nominees. That has never happened before.
Other records: Meryl Streep earns her 14th acting nomination, setting a new all-time record for any actor male or female. Sadly, Peter O'Toole also sets a record for 8 acting nominations with no wins. Nominated for his 19th sound mixing award for "Apocalypto," Kevin O'Connell, loses for a 19th time. Even Susan Lucci won on her 19th try.
The Pool:
And one more record as we have our first ever tie
and the Oscar Cup goes to ....
John & Jami with 16 out of 24
And the rest of us looked like this:
Sean - 14
Gianna & Tracy - 12
Tom, Molly, & Claudette - 11
Daisy & Dianne - 10
Paula, Sam, Stacey, Carol & Ed - 9
Anne & Jason - 8
Gabe, Mary & Susan - 7
Naya - 4
