Mission accomplished: my mom and I viewed 52 movies before February 28.  This includes each of the 15 short films (never knew I was missing out on these awesome flicks!), and unfortunately does not include the foreign films since they weren’t released anywhere near us until March — our limit was two hours, which is how far we drove to see the documentary shorts.  Turns out actually watching every nominated film does not make you an expert, but it does make you a bit of a dork who says, “Let’s host an Oscar party, but not invite anyone so I can pay full attention to the show!”  

I may have failed to predict more than half of the winners, but I did succeed at creating some awesome movie-themed snacks in honor of the eight “Best Picture” nominees.  (The Oscar really goes to my mother for dedicating the most time in the kitchen.  You can check out her blog post on our movie escapade here.)  Without further adieu, the nominees are….

War Boy Martinis (Mad Max: Fury Road)

The colors of this cocktail are reminiscent of the pale, red-eyed war boys from this action-packed film.  It’s even more appropriate that I found the inspiration from a site featuring “apocalyptic cocktails.”  We sipped on these during happy hour while watching Access Hollywood interviews with the nominated stars, and making our own Oscar predictions.

Borscht of Spies (Bridge of Spies)

There may be a reason beets and cabbage were so readily available during the Cold War…but let’s pretend it’s because they’re the best and throw them in a soup!  Did you know there’s a big difference between Russian and Soviet cuisine?  Soviet cuisine is a melting pot of several cultures, and Borscht is literally a purple melting pot of root vegetables, so it makes the cut.

“Big Apple” Reubens (Brooklyn)

The movie Brooklyn is about an Irish girl immigrating to New York and creating her American life.  So, what better snack than my favorite Irish-American fare: the Reuben?  Complete with a “Big Apple” slice on top.

Brie Larson’s Brie (Room)

Brie Larson’s performance as a trapped mother was incredible, which won her the academy award.  Our brie couldn’t quite live up to the same standard, but still put up a good fight with some drizzled honey and juicy pears.

Bear Food Salad (The Revenant)

Leo’s performance as a fur trader before, during and after a horrific bear attack won him his first Oscar.  So we paid tribute to the bear with a grizzly’s favorite: salmon.  Served atop mixed greens with bear claw utensils.

Big Short Ribs (The Big Short)

These ribs have nothing to do with the economy crash of the mid-2000’s, except that maybe the people these actors portrayed were the only ones who could still afford short ribs at that time.  Just as they took advantage of the economic collapse, I took full advantage of the crockpot to make these ribs melt-in-your-mouth delicious.

Potatoes Au Martian (The Martian)

Matt Damon’s character in The Martian succeeded at growing potatoes on Mars.  We succeeded at baking them with loads of cream and cheese.

Spotlight Sangria (Spotlight)

Two cocktails are better than one.  We took the Catholic church’s red wine (only metaphorically, we didn’t actually steal wine from a church) and mixed it with rum and fruit.  Unlike the priests, we were mixing things exactly where they should be.

And the Oscar goes to….