TOP 5 EASY AND ELEGANT OSCAR WORTHY RECIPES

Hosting an Academy Awards viewing party? Here are five of my easiest Oscar worthy party bites inspired by the menu created by Wolfgang Puck for the Governors Ball.  Get all of my Oscar party tips here.

The best thing about Wolfgang Puck's menu is that it is filled with comfort food favorites, not a lot of over the top gastronomy, using quality ingredients instead of flashy techniques. So make your best comfort food dish like Mac n Cheese or you can get items like pizza or sushi from your favorite restaurant. A cheese board is always easy; guests can graze while gathered around the television.

DEVILED EGGS WITH TOPPINGS: What could be easier? Make the deviled eggs in advance and add the toppings just before guests arrive or allow them to add their own toppings. If you really feel like splurging, you can go all Wolfgang and get some caviar or truffles to shave on top. Get the recipe...

HAM AND CHEESE IN PUFF PASTRY: An unexpectedly elegant twist on ham and cheese that is so delicious, my friend Justin put it in his new cookbook. With layers of flaky, buttery puff pastry and gooey, melted cheese, this will become of your favorites, too.  Get the recipe...

CITRUS PICKLED SHRIMP: Without question, this my favorite party recipe. You can make it for a big or small crowd, you can make it in advance, and best of all, it is always a hit.I've made it for casual or very elegant occasions and adjust the way I serve it to the event. Get the recipe...

HOMEMADE TRUFFLES: You must have chocolate for an Oscar party and serving your own homemade truffles is one of those wow factors your guests will always remember. For their "award" or favor, package these in a gold box for friends to take home. Get the recipe...

DARK AND WHITE DOUBLE DRIZZLED POPCORN: What's a movie party without popcorn? Take ordinary popcorn to the next level with lots of melted chocolate. What could be better (or easier) than that? Get the recipe...

PARTY THEME: HOST AN ACADEMY AWARDS NIGHT PARTY!

For an Academy Awards night viewing party, birthday, movie night party, or girls night in, incorporate signature items Wolfgang Puck includes in his Oscar night party for the stars but with easy, make-ahead and purchase options to make your party prep a breeze.

Ideas for hosting an Oscars viewing party Martie

SET THE STAGE: Whether you want the party to be casual or glitz and glam, let your invitation set the tone. Ask guests to come dressed red carpet ready or low key casual. Let the party reflect your personality. Evite has several "Oscar" and "Red Carpet" type of invitations to select from and you can get them out fast or you can create a Facebook or other social media event invitation. Take some inspiration from Oscars' designs below. Movie reels, gold men, etc can center your design for the invitation and for the party.

Photos above: Oscars.go.com

DECORATIONS: Oscar is gold so I used gold for the main design element. I always like to use what I have paired with a few easy to find items to anchor the décor. If your china has a gold band, start there. I found a few inexpensive mix and match items to round out my supplies including some gold plates and plastic platters from Party City; under $3. Mixed in with some of your nicer pieces, these look great and won’t break the bank. I got gold stars and helium-filled balloons from Wal-Mart.

Note: Some of the Wal-Mart stores do not inflate balloons any more so call first to be sure yours does. I tied cardboard gold stars (also from Wal-Mart) to the balloons to keep them in place and they look like they are floating. You can download printable photos and posters from the Oscar website, too.

MENU: Use Wolfgang's Oscar menu as inspiration for your own party. Wolfgang does lots of elegant bites set up in stations, perfect for a viewing party since guests will be camped out in front of the TV. You want guests to be able to mix, mingle, and graze easily. Look over his menu and choose a few things to make- like your favorite Mac n Cheese, Sliders, or Grilled Cheese Sandwiches. Add a cheese board, a platter of sushi from your favorite place, some pizza cut into squares, and a few sweets and you're all set.  Get my top 5 easy and elegant Oscar night recipes...

Photo credit: Tamika Moore/The Birmingham News

BEVERAGES: Champagne or bubbly is always a great way to start the party. I always have at least one signature cocktail pre-made so that I don't have to play bartender all night. Serve in pitchers, a dispenser, or pre-fill glasses and set them on a tray.

ENTERTAINMENT: It is always fun to predict the winners or play Academy Awards trivia. Download this year's full ballot or get ideas for your movie trivia game from the Oscars website.

Create your own movie quote trivia game. Match the quote to the film. "Ditto", "You had me at hello", "You know I love you more than my luggage",,, you get the picture. Or you can download my Movie Quote game, complete with instructions.

Create a party mix of tunes from your favorite Oscar winning movies. Most are available on iTunes or you can get a soundtrack of Academy Award tunes at most stores. Spotify will have an Oscars mix ready to play to make it really easy.

MY TOP 5 BISCUIT RECIPES FOR NATIONAL BISCUITS AND GRAVY DAY

FEBRUARY 21 IS NATIONAL BISCUITS AND GRAVY DAY!

What could be a better way to start the weekend than with biscuits and gravy? Here are four of my favorite biscuit recipes from my blog and a very entertaining interview with Alton Brown by William Shatner as Alton makes biscuits and gravy. His famous Ma Mae's biscuit and gravy recipe is below.

MOM'S WEEKNIGHT BUTTERMILK BISCUITS The recipe my mom made most often. While she never wrote it down, I made these with her so many times, I doubt I will ever forget how to make them. Get the recipe...

THREE INGREDIENT WHIPPING CREAM BISCUITS My mom would make these biscuits at times if she wanted to serve Strawberry Shortcake and had no cake. They are not sweet but certainly sweeter than buttermilk biscuits. Get the recipe...

BACON CHEDDAR BISCUITS While the texture of these wonderful bites is more like a muffin than a biscuit, take care to make them when you have a crowd or you will eat the entire batch. Get the recipe...

BISCUITS AND CHOCOLATE GRAVY It is said that women living on farms around North Alabama would make chocolate gravy for leftover breakfast biscuits as a treat for the children when they could not afford sweets or desserts. Now, they are more of a brunch item. Made with cocoa and sugar, they are affordable yet rustic decadence. Get the recipe...