82nd Oscar Party

Roll out your red carpet and get set to host an Oscar Party!

Are things "Up in the Air" as to whether you can throw a great Oscar party without having George Clooney in attendance? The thought of hosting leaves you in "The Hurt Locker"? Or do you find yourself in need of "An Education" as to what to do for the "In Glourious Basterds" at your Oscar party?

How about...

The Red Carpet Cocktail

Ingredients
1 shot citrus vodka
1 shot black cherry vodka
4 shots of sprite
Splash of Grenadine
Cherry
Ice

We’ll take our shaker and fill with ice. We’ll put one shot of citrus vodka, one shot of black cherry vodka, a little sprite and a splash of grenadine. Give it a good shake and pour it into your glass and garnish with a cherry.

The Avatar
Ingredients:

1 1/2 oz Malibu Rum

1/2 oz Blue Curacao Liqueur

Splash of Orange Juice

Splash of Sour Mix

Pour all liquids into a shaker filled with ice. Strain into a martini glass.

Julie and Julia Mini Quiche
Ingredients
2 (9-inch) Pillsbury refrigerated pie crusts
4 slices of bacon
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 pressed garlic clove
1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
3 large eggs
1 cup of half n half or milk
1 t parsley
salt and pepper

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Roll out dough and cut 24 rounds out using a canning jar. Put the rounds into mini-muffin tins. Fry bacon over medium heat until cooked. Remove the bacon and drain on a paper towel and then crumble into the bottom of the pie dough. Use the rendered fat to cook the mushrooms and chopped onion and garlic. Add salt and pepper to taste. Spread the mixture into the mini-muffin tin. Then add the cheddar cheese. In a separate bowl, mix the eggs and half and half together with a whisk. Pour egg mixture into each quiche. Top with parsley and salt and pepper. Bake for 25 minutes. Let stand for at least 5 minutes to set before serving.

Blindside Mini Meat "Foot"balls

Ingredients
1-pound extra-lean ground beef
1 pound of Italian Turkey sausage
2 T Happy Hal’s Jalapeno Relish
1 1/2 cups bread crumbs
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1/2 cup finely chopped onions
2 eggs
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Red Wine Sauce

Method
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease your baking pans.
In a large bowl, combine ground beef, bread crumbs, celery, onion, eggs, Worcestershire sauce, garlic salt, and pepper: mix well with your hands. Shape into 1-inch footballs. (This is fun to do with friends! Thanks Pete and Regina!!) Put footballs on the baking pan and into the oven for 20 minutes.

While the meat footballs are baking, prepare the red wine sauce in your crock pot. Remove from oven transfer cooked meatballs to your crock pot. Keep on low or warm heat and stir occasionally. Serve with toothpicks.

Red Wine Sauce

Ingredients
2 cups Texas Sassy ketchup
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
¾ Cup of red wine
2 teaspoons Texas Sassy Mustard
1 tablespoon of Happy Hal’s Jalapeno Relish

Method
Stir all ingredients into the crock-pot. Add corn starch if you like a thicker sauce. Let the sauce simmer with the meatballs for about an hour before serving.

Photo by Shauna Alexander