With the Super Bowl and its ode to bar food behind us, it's time to roll out the red carpet and celebrate in style. Oscar night is this Sunday and, while the commercials may not be quite as entertaining, the stars are ready to shine.
Oscar night is luxurious, filled with glamour and panache. But let’s face it, it can be dull. To host a successful Oscar’s party, you need a few original scores of your own.
In order to spice things up, your guests need to have a vested interest in the winners. The best way to engage your guests, especially men, is to make it competitive. Some easy ideas are a ballot at the beginning of the night, a pool, or a bingo card (I’d suggest calling it an Oscar card instead.) Be sure to have some prizes, such as movie tickets or jumbo boxes of candy, for the winners.
Not sure what to serve? With the later start time, make things simple and serve dessert and drinks. Adorn glasses with Oscar-related charms such as leading lady, best picture, or best supporting actor. Be sure to serve plenty of champagne and sparkling cocktails.
For desserts, I suggest a variety of indulgent desserts: chocolate-dipped strawberries, cupcakes with sparklers, dense cake in the shape of stars. To me, nothing says decadent like chocolate truffles. Truffles are easy but can be a bit messy. Start a day ahead so you won’t be stuck cleaning your kitchen when guests arrive. Be creative on the toppings—the more variety of topping, the more beautiful they will look on your table. Ina Garten has a good recipe to get you started here. I highly recommend chilling them in the refrigerator before trying to work with them.
Have fun and let’s all hope for beautiful, well-fitting dresses and speeches that are short! Oh, and I want to thank my husband for all of his support and encouragement while I wrote this piece.
