Oscar night menu 2013!

Last year I had the idea to make cocktails inspired by each of the best picture nominees. I planned them, and bought the ingredients, but I didn't make it through all 9. Which my liver is thankful for. This year, I figured I would make a combination of beverages and edible items, one for each best picture nominee.

I am more proud of some than others, but they went over well with my guests, and it was a blast thinking of each item!

Here's what I made:

12 Years a Slave

A classic Mint Julep

Reasoning should be self explanatory

American Hustle

Perfect Manhattan

For those who don't know, "perfect" in this case means that this drink has both sweet and dry vermouth, while a traditional Manhattan would only have the sweet. A Manhattan seemed right for some reason for American Hustle, because of the NYC name and the general feel. I went for the "perfect" as a reference to the top coat J. Law's character talks about that has both the sweet smell as well as the rotten/sourness. Also, the margarita glass was totally on purpose.

Captain Phillips

Sambusa Boats

Sambusas are a Somali dish similar to Samosas in Indian cuisine - spiced filling in dough and fried. Frying things makes me nervous, plus making my own dough was truthfully daunting, so I opted for wonton wrapper cups and baking. And there's the additional benefit of being able to call them "boats!" I made these vegetarian so that some of my guests would be able to enjoy them, but the original intent was for tuna sambusas. Oh yeah, I also sprinkled in some Captain Morgan's for good measure.

Dallas Buyers Club

Dallas Buyers Club Sandwich

THE PUNS! It is a Subway club sandwich with American cheese on Jalapeno cheese bread. 

Gravity

Explorer

This is a 747 (Kahlua, Frangelico, and Baileys) served with a Tang rim. I thought Tang was too fitting for a movie set in space, and I wanted a layered drink, because the layering is achieved due the specific gravity of the different liquors. (nerd alert) I settled on using a 747 as the base, because it's delicious and it's named after a jet...

Her

Bloody Mary Jell-o Shots

....or at least that's what I was trying to make. The gelatin didn't set! I made two attempts and neither worked, despite following the directions religiously! GRRR! Maybe it had something to do with the Kosher gelatin....we ended just drinking them instead.

Anyway, why jell-o shots for Her? I was thinking about how Her was both somewhat futuristic, yet with a very 70s vibe. So I thought of food that was big in the 70s and stumbled upon aspic (thanks Anna). Aspic is used to describe gelatin dishes made with ingredients other than fruit basically - veggies, eggs, meat, etc. I thought an alcoholic aspic would be fun and appropriate - BOOM - Bloody Mary Jello Shots naturally.

Nebraska

Budweiser

Americana. "C'mon have a beer with your old man. Be somebody" 'nuff said

Philomena

Pets de Nonne w/ Baileys frosting

Basically French donut holes, pets de nonne literally translates as "nun farts" - perfect for a movie with despicable nuns. Also, add in some Baileys cream cheese frosting to give it a little Irish flair. The frosting was a huge hit; one of my roommates ate it with a spoon - literally.

The Wolf of Wall Street

"Lemmon" Drop Martini

"Lemmon" referring to the type of qualudes in the qualude scene. There's even an actual lemon drop in the bottom of the glass as garnish.