Tag Archives: Oscars

February 26, 2019 · 10:59 am

THE OSCARS – I DIDN’T WIN

Well, the Oscars show is over and I didn’t win. That is, I didn’t win the annual family contest of picking the winners. As I mentioned in my previous post, I thought that my granddaughter would not be participating. That would give me a chance. How wrong I was. She had emailed her choices ahead of time and kept in touch during the ceremony. The stakes were higher this year, as my son-in-law had purchased a trophy for the winner along with a $20 gift card.  In the end, the results were the same as the last two years: my granddaughter won and Susan came in second, this time tied with my son-in-law. It is clear that I have no future as a movie critic.

The new trophy
Ballots

In the meantime, the food was great. Delicious sliders with all the fixings  – definitely not Harold and Kumar’s White Castle (A nod to a family joke). There were also Carol’s popular mushroom soup, shrimp and dipping sauce, crudités with dip, cheese straws, Texas trash, and brownies with whipped cream along with marinated mushrooms at Carol’s request.

Marinating the mushrooms
Part of the spread

Diane’s marinated mushrooms is a recipe from our family cookbook. We got it from Diane Miller, the wife of the first associate I ever hired, back in 1977. The recipe has been a favorite with the whole family, especially Carol whose first word – after Mama and Dada, of course – was “muf-woom” to indicate that a mushroom was what she wanted to eat. The recipe calls for button mushrooms, but if you can only find large ones, you can cut them into halves or quarters. The mushrooms shrink with boiling and marinating.

RECIPE

Diane’s Marinated Mushrooms

Ingredients

  •  1½ pounds white button mushrooms (creminis work just fine)
  • 2 quarts water
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 cup apple cider vinegar (You can use wine vinegar if you prefer)
  • ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 1½ teaspoon sugar
  • bay leaf
  • ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • several whole peppercorns
  • 1 tablespoon pickling spice
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced

Method

  1. Prepare the mushrooms by wiping off the caps and, if necessary, cutting into halves or quarters. Bring the water to the boil, add the lemon juice and then the mushrooms. Return to the boil for 3 minutes. Drain and cool the mushrooms.
  2. Meanwhile, prepare the marinade by combining all the remaining ingredients.
  3. Add the boiled mushrooms to the marinade. Marinate for 24 hours, stirring occasionally.
  4. Drain. Serve at room temperature with picks. Makes about 2 cups, enough for 6 to 8 persons as an appetizer with drinks.
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February 23, 2019 · 4:02 pm

TIME FOR THE OSCARS, TIME FOR TEXAS TRASH

After two years, I have clearly adopted some of the behaviors and activities of Angelinos. One of those is a fascination with Hollywood. Well, not really, but I do pay more attention to the movies  and have returned to watching the Oscars after a decades-long absence. A major reason for that is our family. On Oscar night, our regular  Sunday family dinner has been supplanted by our gathering in front of the television. Dinner is finger food on a buffet so that you can replenish your plate during commercial breaks. My son-in-law in his professional life is a serious, no-nonsense, take-charge kind of guy. Around home he is quiet and considerate and also an expert on contemporary music and movies. He knows the names of all the actors, even the walk-ons, and usually knows some interesting tidbit about them. Same is true of current bands and singers. For that reason he is in charge of organizing Oscar Night. (They might want to consider him for the job of organizing the real Oscar show.) He makes ballots so that each family member can indicate his or her choice for the winner. There is excitement throughout the evening with the uncertainty of who will make the most correct picks. It is usually a tight race between my granddaughter and Susan. My granddaughter is also a movie aficionado so it is expected that she will do well. But the surprise is Susan who has no interest in the movies and is still able to pick the winners. This year, Susan may have the field to herself as my granddaughter is off to college. Her prize for winning will be that she has bested all the others in this very competitive family.

Meanwhile, Carol is in charge of the food. Trust me, there is just as much competitive pressure to deliver on the food as there is to win the Oscar picks. She will probably make sliders, her famous pinwheels, and maybe her elegant cheese puff pastry. She asked me to make cheese straws and brownies. Both are long-time family favorites. I decided to make some Texas Trash as well. This is another family favorite, and it lends itself to noshing in front of the TV. The recipe is SIMPLE. You can also find a similar recipe on any box of Chex cereal. These days you can also find it ready made, but like most things it’s not as good as homemade. The recipe makes about 10 cups, which should be enough for the five of us, but I expect that it will be gone at the end of the Oscars.

Who do you think will win the Oscars?

RECIPE

Texas Trash

Ingredients

  • ½ cup (one stick) butter, melted
  • 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 teaspoons seasoned salt
  • 2 cups Wheat Chex
  • 2 cups Corn Chex
  • 2 cups Rice Chex
  • 1 cup mixed nuts
  • 1 cup mini pretzels

Method

  1. Place the melted butter in a very large mixing bowl. Add the Worcestershire sauce and the seasoned salt, stirring to make sure they are well combined.
  2. Stir in the three cereals, stirring gently to make sure the butter mixture is evenly distributed and completely absorbed.
  3. Add the nuts and pretzels.  Stir to combine and transfer to a large rimmed baking pan.
  4. Bake for 1 hour in the middle of the oven preheated to 250° F , stirring every 15 minutes to make sure the mixture is evenly coated.
  5. Remove from the oven and cool. Serve immediately or store in an air-tight container.

Cook’s note: This is not like baking a soufflé, so measurements are not precise. The ingredient list is also variable. If you want to add or substitute peanuts or different pretzels or bagel chips, do it. If you want more flavoring like chile powder or dry ranch dressing mix, add it. Whatever you do will probably taste good, and the Texas Trash will be gone before you know it.

 

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March 5, 2018 · 3:31 pm

SEVEN LAYER TACO DIP

Last night was Oscars Night and we headed to Carol’s house to watch the festivities and to compete in the family predicting-the-winners sweepstakes. This is a long tradition at Carol’s, and we have been invited each year since our move to California. Carol had planned to have steak and cold boiled shrimp for what was our usual Sunday family dinner, but she has been under the weather lately. I suggested that I make some odds and ends of thing so that she could stay off her feet. She insisted on the steak and shrimp – which was alright by me – but I went ahead and made some snacks that we could enjoy in front of the television. I tried to make the food simple so that nobody had to do too much cooking. This dip is simple. It takes about 30 minutes to assemble and with store-bought tortilla chips makes an attractive party platter.

The seven layer taco dip turned out to be a big hit. The first time that I ever enjoyed it was over fifty years ago at a family gathering. Susan’s sister, who was famous in the family for no-fuss party foods brought a huge platter that was devoured in short order. Like so many classics of fifty years ago, taco dip has faded into obscurity. I’m not sure why because it is tasty, a crowd pleaser, and easy to make. It was popular last night. As an aside, I was nowhere close to winning the sweepstakes. Just like last year, the teen-age film buff walked away with the prize, although she was tied by her dad, who is also a movie fan. Susan, who is oblivious to movie stars, always gives the two champs a run for their money. How does that happen?

Layer One: refried beans
Layer Two: avocado
Layer Three: sour cream and cream cheese
Layer Four: salsa
Layer Five: tomatoes, peppers, onions and lettuce
Layer Six: cheddar and jack cheese
Layer Seven: black olives
The end result

RECIPE

Seven Layer Taco Dip

Ingredients

  • 14.5 ounce can refried beans
  • 1 envelope taco seasoning
  • 2 ripe medium avocados
  • juice of 1 lime
  • 8 ounces (1 brick) cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 16 ounce bottle salsa
  • 2 Roma tomatoes, diced
  • ½ green bell pepper, chopped
  • 3 snacking peppers seeded and chopped
  • 3 green onions, thinly sliced, green tops included
  • ¼ head iceberg lettuce, shredded finely
  • 2 cups grated cheddar/Monterey jack cheese (packaged pre-shredded is great)
  • 4 ounce can sliced black olives, drained
  • salt and pepper
  • hot sauce (optional)

Method

  1. Layer One: Combine the refried beans and taco seasoning. Spread on a 12-16 inch serving platter.
  2. Layer Two: With a fork, mash the avocados, along with the lime juice, in a small bowl to your preferred consistency. Spread on top of the refried beans.
  3. Layer Three: Combine the cream cheese and sour cream until they are smooth and completely blended. Spread on top of the avocado.
  4. Layer Four: Pour the salsa over the cream cheese mixture. If the salsa is too runny, you may wish to drain it in a strainer over the sink before pouring it over the cream cheese.
  5. Layer Five: Combine the tomatoes,  chopped peppers, and green onions. Arrange on top of the salsa and then add the shredded lettuce.
  6. Layer Six: Sprinkle the grated cheese over the vegetable layer.
  7. Layer Seven: Top with sliced black olives.
  8. Serve with tortilla chips. Adjust seasoning of each layer as you go with salt, pepper, and optional hot sauce.

 

 

 

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