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Oscar Party Must-Haves

Haley Greenwald-Gonella |
March 5, 2010 | 8:26 p.m. PST

Contributor
Are you having a chic Oscar party, but don't have a statue worthy menu yet?  Here are few festive ideas for your (motion) picture perfect gathering:


Quick and easy recipes for cocktails and desserts for the perfect Oscar viewing
party special enough to compete with the professionals. (Photo by Deidre Crawford)
The Unusual Suspects:
These drinks are for everyone from those viewing at home to the Rachel Zoe-styled starlets attending all the after-parties!
The Golden Statuette Martini
1 part Goldschlager Cinnamon Schnapps
1 part Stoli Vanilla Vodka
3 parts A&W Vanilla Cream Soda
Pour Goldschlager and vodka into a shaker with ice and shake vigorously.  Pour into chilled martini glass, accented with a sugared rim.  Add cream soda to the rest of your cocktail and you're set!
Walk the Red Carpet Cocktail--A new twist on a regular cranberry and vodka
1 part unflavored vodka
3 parts cranberry juice
Dash of pomegranate juice and champagne
Serve cranberry juice and your favorite unflavored vodka over ice in a highball glass.  Float pomegranate juice and champagne on top.  Serve with a lemon slice or whole strawberry on the rim.  
Winning Sweet Treats:
Berry Sweet Winnings 
Skewer fresh raspberries onto toothpicks--a least three berries per toothpick.  Place into freezer for at least two hours prior to party.  Pour Smucker's Magic Shell (or any brand of candy-coated topping) into a shot glass and serve alongside two berried toothpicks per each one of your guests.  Instruct your guests to dip the toothpicks into the Magic Shell, which will harden because the berries are frozen - voila!  A personal chilled fondue for each of your guests!  
Red Carpet Red Velvet Cookies--Super Easy!  (Also great for Valentine's Day and Christmas)
1 box Duncan Hines Red Velvet Cake Mix
2 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil (I prefer canola)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine cake mix, eggs, and oil together in a large bowl and stir until all of the cake mix is wet and a dark red color.  Roll batter into 1 tbsp. balls and place on cookie sheet.  Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees.  Recipe makes approximately 16-20 cookies.
Once cookies have cooled, cut off the top and bottom rounded edges, so that you now have a cookie that is a rounded rectangle--a red carpet, so to speak.  Serve and enjoy!
A Salty Leading Man Crostini--This isn't your mama's grilled cheese!
Cut a long, thin French baguette into slices and toast each slice in real butter on both sides in a pan - think grilled cheese status.  Place a slice of Brie cheese onto one side of a piece of the grilled bread.  
Put a single basil leaf on top of the Brie and finish off with half a cherry tomato (make sure to cut the cherry tomatoes lengthwise), and a dash of pepper and olive oil.  
These treats are great for long after awards season is over.  Your guests will love them and you will, too!  You'll look like you spent hours in the kitchen, but we'll know the truth--you were watching the pre-award shows, of course. 

It's time to break out the bubbly! (Photo by Deidre Crawford)

For more party ideas, check out more of our recipes or the Academy Awards party kit



 

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