Bridge of Northern Spy Cocktails and Other 2016 Oscar Party Recipes

Being both a dedicated foodie and movie buff, Oscar night is one of my favorite occasions of the year to put on my hostess hat, get pun-y with the menu, and stuff my face with food while starving starlets parade down the red carpet.

Last year I was super negligent and forgot to round-up some Best Picture themed recipes for your Oscar night party. So for 2016, I took it up a notch with a fully coursed menu, full of homemade bear claws, mars bars, Big shortbread cookies, and Irish-Catholic favorites.

Read on for this year’s dishes. And if you want to go with a more abstract cultural theme, feel free to just serve all white foods.

Happy cooking!

xoxo
Phoebe

Drinks

Bridge of Northern Spy Cocktails | Healthy Delicious

The Northern Spy Cocktail is a classic combination of cider, bourbon and ginger. Not only is it delicious, but it’s also the perfect pun for this year’s epic Stephen Spielberg cold war film.

Brooklyn Lager Half n Half | Martha Stewart

Adding a little Brooklyn to your bar is easy with Brooklyn Brewery’s variety of ales and lagers. You can even mix up some sort of half and half Irish-Italian concoction to play up the movie’s central love affair.

Nibbles

Mini Grilled Cheese Sandwiches | Love and Lemons

Being trapped in a shed with nothing but grilled cheese makings for seven years seems pretty bleak. But luckily, in the world outside Room, there are plenty of ways to gussy up these melted mini sandwiches to make them interesting enough for guests.

Mushy Pea Body of Christ Wafers | Feed Me Phoebe

I love the idea of making Spotlight-themed canapes using an Irish-catholic staple (mushy peas) and these holy wafers. It might be sacrilegious, but then again, so are the extracurricular activities at the center of the film.

Mad Strammer Max Sandwiches | Nicky and Max

The “Strammer Max” is a classic German sandwich with ham and a fried egg. You can make mini versions of these with some kicked up furious hot sauce on top.

Entrees

Bangers and Spinach Mash with Cider Onions | Feed Me Phoebe

There’s a lot of Irish blood running through this year’s Oscar pool, so I decided to offer up two entrees based on the theme. If you’re not gluten-free, you can even sub Brooklyn Lager for the cider for a double whammy.

Meatless Lent-il Shepherd’s Pie | Feed Me Phoebe

Oscar night just so happens to overlap with Lent, which is perfect for Spotlight’s Boston Irish Catholic crowd. I love this meatless Shepherd’s pie made with lentils and mushrooms. Here are some other Lent ideas from Food & Wine.

I also like the idea of serving Big Short Ribs.

Dessert

Bear Claws | Sprinkle Bakes

These aren’t gluten-free, but I couldn’t resist including some Bear Claws for The Revenant, as it was possibly one of the most glorious and terrifying cinematic animal scenes ever.

The Big Shortbread Cookies | Gluten-Free on a Shoestring

For the gluten-free folks, serve up some Big Shortbread or cakes. For extra credit, you can make them in the shape of little houses with subprime mortgages.

Homemade Mars Bars | Iron Whisk

The Martian was an easy target. And if you’re not in the mood to break out these homemade Mars bars, you can simply buy them. You could also add in the Gravitini cocktails I developed for the 2014 Oscars.

***

Any more clever pun-y ideas for this year’s Oscar night? Please wax poetic in the comments section!