Buy your weekday smoothies and get your weekend ones for free. (7 for the price of 5!)
This year’s inspiring field of contenders for Best Picture at the 83rd Academy Awards inspired me to do an Oscar-themed dinner Sunday night, to celebrate the event with our most movie-passionate friends. Each element of every course had a connection to one of the nominated films. It was a fun and laughter-filled evening, and I’m looking forward to what next year’s field of nominees might entice us to serve up. I even won a $5 bet :)
Hors d’oeuvres:
“127 Hours” trekker gorp (with ginger – thought that would go well with the drink)
“Toy Story 3” Snack Mix (with goldfish and other toy-like snacks)
“Fighter” Cape Codder cocktail (while going to school in Cambridge, MA, I worked in a dive bar… where besides the pitchers of beer that got slung around, the most populah drink was the “Cape Coddah”. I have trouble drinking them still. But this version with Tito’s (my new fav vodka) handmade in Austin, TX, and Organic Cranberry juice went down quite smoothly!
Appetizer course:
“The King’s Speech[less] Salmon” (King salmon filet which I cured for 3 days in green jasmine tea, coarse sea salt and honey – recipe to be posted next week!)
“The Greens are All Right” (field greens with a meyer lemon-shallot dressing)
“The Social Network” Butter Pretzels
Main course:
“Winter’s Bones” (BBQ marinated baby back ribs)
“True Grits” (cheesy grits with corn)
Dessert course:
“Black Swan” (Molten [black swan] chocolate cakes with powdered [white swan] sugar, in a raspberry coulis [representing blood] with a rock sugar candy epee [representing the broken mirror] – Sad but beautiful and delicious!)
“Blue Valentine” (A cocktail of Blue Curacao and white Creme de Cocoa, with a red heart ice cube)
After-dinner drink:
“Inception” Dream Maker (An Absinthe drip, to top it all off!

“Black Swan” – complete with black & white swans, “blood” & broken mirror!