Rejoice! The end of awards season is finally upon us as the Oscars air this weekend. Come Sunday, Hollywood’s best and brightest will don their finest gladrags, head down to the Dolby theatre in Los Angeles and watch as Ellen Degeneres presents the Matthew McConaughey's and the Meryl Streep's of the world with their awards for outstanding achievements in film. Problem is, it’s in LA, which is a casual 8 hours behind us meaning the red carpet doesn’t even kick off until 11:30PM here. So, get your best calling in sick voice ready, grab a few friends and settle in for an Oscars party.
**The Food **
Take inspiration from American Hustle and head back to the 70s for retro nibbles. Did you know you can still buy arctic rolls? Ditto for mini chicken kievs. While you’re at it go the whole hog and cube some cheese and pineapple and skewer them with cocktail sticks.
Also – believe it or not but until the ‘70’s spaghetti bolognese was considered all new, exotic and dangerous. So make a big pot of this cutting edge dish (it’s cheap and good at feeding a crowd), but try this recipe which adds a hint of chocolate just to keep things ‘exciting’.
Andrew’s Spaghetti Bolognese with a chocolate twist
Ingredients (serves 2)
2 onions
1 tablespoon of olive oil
2 cloves garlic
½ tablespoon of dried basil
A pinch of salt and black pepper
3tbsp tomato puree
450g (1lb) lean mince
2 tins chopped tomatoes
400g (13oz) spaghetti
1 teaspoon of cocoa powder
1 tablespoon of grated dark chocolate
Method
-
Peel the onions and heat olive oil in a deep frying pan to a medium heat
-
Add onions to the pan and slowly soften making sure that they do not burn
-
Once softened add garlic, basil, salt, pepper, tomato puree and the teaspoon of cocoa powder. Stir constantly for a couple of minutes
-
Add minced beef and fry until it is brown and incorporated into the sauce
-
Add in 2 cans of tomatoes and bring to a simmer. When the liquid starts to bubble, reduce the heat slightly and simmer gently for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally
-
While the sauce is simmering, cook spaghetti and drain into a serving dish
-
Once the spaghetti is cooked, increase the heat on the spaghetti until the sauce becomes rich and thick
-
Add sauce to the spaghetti and sprinkle in the tablespoon of grated dark chocolate.
-
Serve and enjoy!
The Game
Graphic designer Jessica Jones does a nifty little thing every year and designs Oscar Bingo cards that you can print out at home – for free! There’s 20 different cards so everyone can compete against each other. Check out last year’s here.
The Drink
The most glamorous of Oscar winners surely has to be Vivien Leigh who won the best actress prize twice. Top work Vivien. How’s about a cocktail that’s named after her most famous character Scarlett O’ Hara?
Ingredients
-
1 ½ Parts Southern Comfort Liqueur
1 ½ Parts Cranberry Juice
½ Parts Lime Juice
A shaker
Some cubed ice
A strainer
Method
Chill your glass (the easiest way is to fill it with ice).
Put lots of ice and all of the ingredients into a shaker.
Then shake hard for about 20 seconds to chill the liquid really well.
Strain the mix into the glass.
Follow Jess on Twitter @jess_commons
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.