Oscar Potluck--but the theme is wacked!

[jandazza]

My boyfriend and I just got invited to an Oscar potluck where we need to bring a dish inspired by one of the Best Picture nominees.

Whaaaaa?! The good news is everyone else seems just as clueless as to what to bring, so the menu is wide open.

Okay, here is what we have:

Avatar (Did they eat anything in Avatar? Can't recall... maybe I can just make something big and blue)
The Blind Side (football food?)
District 9 (Alien/South African cuisine?)
Hurt Locker (one of those pre-made army pouches of food)
An Education (haven't seen it yet)
Inglourious Basterds (someone is already bringing strudel)
Precious (mac and cheese, chicken wings, pigs feet)
A Serious Man (haven't seen it yet)
Up (chocolate... definitely chocolate)
Up in the Air (airline food?)

I'm not doing such a good job thinking out of the box for this one, Chowhounds. Please help me get the creativity flowing! Thanks all!

[jandazza]

I posted a thank you, but I didn't mention what everyone actually brought. My boyfriend and I were clearly the most clueless, because the food was seriously good and it made me a convert to this kind of theme party.

1. The best French Onion Soup I've ever had in my life (Julia & Julia -- I thought it had to be for Oscar nominated pictures, but I was wrong). I guess the key is to caramelize the onions within an inch of their lives.
2. Amazing Beef Bourguinon (Julia & Julia)
3. Bourbon chicken wings and buttermilk biscuits (Crazy Heart)
4. Strudel with creme fraiche (Inglourious Basterds)

We brought a salad with French greens and a lemon vinaigrette for An Education and some Hurt Locker Hummus, which worked, but hardly wowed like the other dishes did. Now that we know what we're in for, next year we plan to kick as much ass as the other guests.

Thanks again for the suggestions!

[Whippet]

I didn't really like Precious (so! many! cliches!) but I'm kinda put off by the idea of eating food "inspired" by that movie, considering that almost every scene with food was meant to be painful or even gross -- food is abused and used as a tool of abuse.

[NellyNel]

See: http://www.epicurious.com/articlesgui...

[jandazza]

HA! NellyNel, we totally stumbled upon that Epicurious article after I posted--and we totally cheated. Hurt Locker hummus and An Education salad.

[greedygirl]

I haven't seen it yet, but An Education is a British film set in the Sixties so I'd go for some kind of afternoon tea thing - sandwiches with the crusts cut off, cake, and scones with jam and clotted cream.

[Rojellio]

Spotted Dick. Basically its just a suet based pie crust, with added sugar, and dried fruit {most often currants} and boiled or steamed.

[runwestierun]

I've got it! Do Hurt Locker and make a bombe!

[Rojellio]

I suppose you could make some kind of fudge or a cake that looks like a bomb.

[Rojellio]

HURT LOCKER.. MRE's ... you really dont want to shell out that kind of scrilla to serve more than one. The WORST {most unpopular} MRE Entry would be Chicken Ala King. Chicken Breast, Cream of Mushroom soup, peas, maybe some chopped celery.

Inglorious Ba$tards ... Personally I would bring home cured Pastrami. But that's because any excuse to cure a Pastrami is a good one. OR maybe some kind of wurst and sauerkraut.

Precious.. I don't know that Fried Chicken is necessarily the must have meat. Other soul food like Pork Chops and Grits perhaps.

[Emme]

For Avatar, how about a Blue Potato Gratin with Wild Mushrooms, Caramelized Onions and Blue Cheese?

The Blind Side - go southern with Memphis Ribs or a Bacon Potato Salad

An Education - yes go french... too bad souffle is too hard to travel... Duck A L'Orange?

Hurt Locker - Baba Ghanoush and Kebabs

Precious - collard greens and mac'n'cheese (however gourmet you like)

A Serious Man - brisket or a big pot of chicken soup (depending upon your weather) or noodle kugel

Up in the Air - something hotely... - something continental... i'm blanking...

[precia]

I vote for a towering blue jello mold for Avatar. That'd be hilarious, and really outside of the box. Or you could make a big chocolate cake and dye the frosting blue, for Avatar AND Up.

For a main dish, a South African Bobotie (it's like meatloaf) would be fairly easy to make and easy to serve at a potluck.

[Niblet]

The only food I remember from Avatar was the breakfast that Sully was eating on the fly. Was it scrambled eggs? Figures, nothing potluck-worthy. I mean really, with all the details, can they not consider the food needs of Oscar party-goers when they make these movies?! Cellophane noodles for the strands on the tree of life might be kind of fun, but I have no idea how you'd pull it off. If you can post what you come up with, I'll be interested to read it.

[tatamagouche]

Well, I think your airline food and army food ideas are cute. I mean, you could just make whatever you want, but present it in pouches or compartmentalized trays.

And yeah, at least Blind Side is easy—you can just repeat whatever you made for the Super Bowl!

[Ajax32]

Make some prawns and call it a day :D
(District 9...)

[Glencora]

In "An Education" the two main characters have a romantic picnic in Paris -- so maybe cheese and pate? There's also a birthday cake in an earlier scene and lots of cocktail drinking.

District 9 -- cat food.

(I think this kind of party is pretty silly.)

[NellyNel]

Someone else posted on this - see: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/685792

district 9 is ethe easiest - what with the "prawn" and "cat food" bits throughout the film...
I stlll havent seen any of the other films!

(and I must say I certainly don't think District 9 is Oscar worthy!)