Oscars Party Planning

Out of the trifecta of the Emmys, Grammys, and Oscars, the Oscars are my favorite. And not just because my good friend B and I host a party every year. There’s simply something glitzy and glamorous about them in a way that the other two awards shows aren’t, and I like that. It gives me a chance to put on airs, and show off a little bit.

Just putting the finishing touches on my Oscar party menu. I’m part of a year-round CSA and I got a turkey from some family friends in the area, so I have a ton of food on hand to play around with and use for the menu planning. Not only is it thrifty, since all the food’s already paid for, being a localvore is uber trendy right now.

Here’s my menu as it stands right now. I’ll post the final version the Monday after.

Roast Turkey with sage and garlic gremolata
Celeriac and New potato mash
Butternut squash soup with kale and assorted greens
Italian garlic bread
Orange maple ginger glazed carrots
Cheese plate: Smoked cheddar and jalapeno Monterrey
Poached pears in red wine sauce
Warm baked citrus fruits

Until then, please, enjoy some Oscar links, courtesy of Mahalo. These links will be updated to-the-minute on Oscar night.

• Oscar Winners 2009
• Oscar Live Coverage
• Oscar Nominations 2009
• Best Picture Oscar Winner 2009
• Best Actor Oscar Winner 2009
• Best Actress Oscar Winner 2009
• Best Supporting Actor Oscar Winner 2009
• Best Director Oscar Winner 2009
• Best Original Screenplay Oscar Winner 2009
• Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar Winner 2009
• Best Foreign Film Oscar Winner 2009
• Best Cinematography Oscar Winner 2009
• Best Costume Design Oscar Winner 2009
• Best Documentary Oscar Winner 2009
• Best Makeup Oscar Winner 2009
• Best Score Oscar Winner 2009
• Best Song Oscar Winner 2009
• Best Sound Editing Oscar Winner 2009
• Oscar Dresses 2009
• Oscar Performances 2009
• Slumdog Millionaire Oscar Performaces
• MIA Oscar Performances
• Wall-E Oscar Performance
  

Last week of my farm share :(

Today was the last day for the weekly farm share, which I've been participating in since early Spring. For about $15 a week, I got between 5 and 15 items freshly and organically grown on a farm within 25 miles from me.

The farm share is also known as CSA, which stands for Community Supported Agricultrue. I like "farm share" better, because it needs less explaining. We are a family of two, so I got a half share.

The experience was pretty good. It definitely got my husband and I to eat more veggies, and I was able to use nearly all of the produce I recieved without it spoiling. There were a couple squash that I let sit too long, and some swiss chard, and that was pretty much it.

It was, at times, hard to tell if I was getting my money's worth from the CSA, especially with the early season being droughty and the late season being floody, the reverse of what is ideal for farming. But, overall, it was a great experience, and I'll probably do it again. It did mean that a lot of days, I had to cook even if I didn't want to, or else my produce would spoil.

I'm lucky that there are several CSA's in my area, and I think next year I'll try a different one to see if I like it any better. After I've shopped around a bit, then I'll pick the one I like best.

If you are wanting to get into the local food thing, and you enjoy cooking on a daily basis, I highly recommend CSA's as a good way to start. And the fresh garlic that I got was very, very nice.

Look for a longer post about local food sometime soon--meat and veggies.