Will the big winner be a Slumdog Millionaire…or an aging-in-reverse Benjamin Button? Will Kate Winslet finally get her Oscar on her sixth try? All will be answered on Sunday night, with a worldwide audience of many millions of movie fans.
Why not invite some friends over and celebrate with a glitzy, Oscar-worthy dinner party to kick off Tinsel Town’s night of nights?
Try these featured recipes from our marquee menu:
Top billing goes to our Beverly Hills Grilled Beef Tenderloin with…
(At our “pre-Oscar” party, we also served steamed asparagus, roasted potatoes and a garden salad.)
For dessert, try our Sweet Pear Tart with Whipped Cream.
Make Your Guests Feel Like Movie Stars
Here are our nominees for “best ways to make your guests feel like Hollywood royalty.”
• Ask everyone to dress up for the occasion and let the guests make their own interpretation of what “dressing up” means.
• Get fancy. Put out your finest china and place gold-leaf gilded pears at the center of each plate (see photo below). Learn how to gild a pear.
• Set out name cards at each place setting with the name of an Oscar-nominated actor or actress written on it. The person taking a seat there must assume the personality of the actor and/or character from the movie or at least make a good-natured attempt. When any of the actors at the table wins an Oscar, they must stand up and give a short acceptance speech. You can find all the nominees listed at Oscars.org or a number of other sites.
• Prior to the ceremony, hand out Oscar ballots listing the major awards: Best Picture, Best Actor/Actress, Best Supporting Actor/Actress, Best Director, etc. Let everyone make their predictions and whoever gets the most right is awarded some sort of prize at the end of the evening.
By all means, keep things lighthearted and fun. Most everyone likes to talk about movies they’ve seen recently, or which movie or actor is their all-time favorite. Oscar night is a wonderful time to enjoy great food, good conversation, and Hollywood star-gazing.
Here’s hoping your dinner party earns a Lifetime Achievement Award!
