Create An Oscars Best Picture Menu Slideshow

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 20 Shucked oysters, cleaned
• 2 cups Buttermilk
• Salt and pepper
• 1 cup AP flour
• 3 T Old Bay Seasoning
• 6 cups canola oil

1. Marinate oysters in buttermilk, salt, and pepper for at least an hour.
2. Mix flour with Old Bay.
3. Heat canola oil in a pot large enough that the oil only fills it half way, to 350 over medium heat, use a candy thermometer to keep track of temperature.
4. Remove oysters from buttermilk, dredge in seasoned flour, and fry in canola oil until crispy and golden brown. Season with salt when oysters are removed from the oil, let oysters drain on paper towels.
5. Serve on toasted baguette, cut into 4, with Hush puppies and remoulade. 

Remoulade:

• 4 oz Dijon mustard
• 2 oz ketchup
• 1/2 t Worcestershire sauce
• 1 t prepared horseradish
• 1 clove garlic
• ½ t lemon juice
• 2 t black pepper
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1 stalk of  celery, chopped
• 2 T parsley, cleaned and chopped
• ¼ spanish onion, chopped
• 2 T Paprika
• 2 dashes of Tabasco sauce
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
• Pinch of chili flake
• Salt and Pepper.

1. Puree all items in food processor until smooth
2. Season to taste.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 2 large eggs
• 1 12 oz bottle of amber beer
• 2 c plus 4 oz All Purpose flour
• ½ t baking soda
• ½ t salt
• 1 t Ground black pepper
• 1 lb Chicken breasts, cleaned of excess fat and cut into strips
• 6 cups Canola Oil

Procedure:

1. Combine 2 cups flour, baking soda, salt and pepper in large mixing bowl. Whisk in beer and eggs until there are no lumps in the batter. Let batter rest for at least 20 mins.
2. Over medium heat Canola oil in a pot large enough that the oil only fills it half way, to 350, using a candy thermometer to monitor temperature. Dredge chicken strips in remaining flour. Then dip into the beer batter. Carefully place the chicken into the hot oil, making sure to lay the chicken away from you and to not overcrowd the pot.
3. Cook until chicken has cooked all the way through. Drain on paper towels and season with salt and pepper.

Whiskey Sauce

• 2 white onions, sliced thin
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 oz fresh ginger, minced
• 1 oz Tabasco
• 5 oz Ponzu soy sauce
• 10 oz white grape juice
• 8 oz whiskey
• 2 oz canola oil
• salt and pepper

1. In large heavy bottomed, 2 quart sauce pot or dutch oven, heat oil over medium high heat until smoking. Add in sliced onion, minced garlic and ginger; turn heat down to medium and caramelize.
2. Add in the whiskey, ponzu, grape juice, and Tabasco. Bring this up to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer for about 10-15 minutes.
3. Briefly blend the sauce in a blender, just to puree whatever is left of the onion, garlic and ginger. Do this in stages, making sure not to overload the blender. Strain this liquid through a fine mesh strainer and season.

Serves 8

Vanilla Cake

• 1 ½ cups Sifted Cake Flour
• 1 ½ teaspoons Baking Powder
• ¼ teaspoons Salt
• ½ cup Unsalted Butter, softened
• 1 cups Sugar
• 2 large Eggs, room temperature
• ½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• ½ cup Whole Milk

Procedure:

1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly coat a cookie sheet with butter and dust with all-purpose flour. Sift the cake flour, baking powder, and salt into a large mixing bowl.
2. Beat in the butter one heaping ¼ teaspoonful at a time, using an electric mixer set on low speed, until the mixture resembles coarse sand. Beat in the sugar a tablespoon at a time, until the mixture resembles fine damp sand. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Add the vanilla and milk, and beat on medium-high, just until blended. Do not over beat.
3. Pour into the prepared pan and bake until a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out clean — 15 to 20 minutes. Cool slightly before unmolding and cooling completely.

Peanut Butter Ganache

• ½ cup peanut butter
•  8 ounces 60% bittersweet chocolate
•  8 ounces heavy cream

Procedure:

1. Heat heavy cream and peanut butter together in heavy bottomed sauce pot over medium heat.
2. Pour the hot cream and peanut butter over chocolate and let sit for 2-3 mins. Whisk to combine.

To Serve:

1. Cool and cut cakes into 3 ½ inch circles
2. Pour warm peanut butter ganache over and cover on all sides evenly and smoothly
3. Cool completely to let ganache set. Store in airtight container, will keep chilled for up to 4 days.

Serves 12

• ½ cup butter softened
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup molasses
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tsp. ground ginger
• 1 ½ tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp. allspice
• ½ cup buttermilk
• 2/3 cup slivered almonds, toasted,* divided
• Chocolate Ganache Glaze
• 1/3 to ½ cup apricot or peach preserves

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Coat two 9-inch round layer cake pans with vegetable spray. In mixer bowl beat butter until fluffy. Beat in sugar then molasses to blend thoroughly. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Beat in vanilla. In another bowl sift dry ingredients together. Beat into butter mixture just to blend. Mix in buttermilk.

Coarsely chop 1/3 cup of the almonds; mix into batter. Pour into prepared pans, dividing equally and smoothing tops. Bake in center of oven about 15 minutes, just until springy to the touch. Cool in pans on racks 5 minutes then turn out onto racks to cool completely. Meanwhile, prepare Chocolate Ganache Glaze; set aside.

Place one cake layer on serving plate; cover with preserves and drizzle with glaze. Top with remaining cake layer. Spread glaze evenly over top and sides of torte. Garnish with remaining almonds. Allow glaze to set at least 1 hour before serving.

Chocolate Ganache Glaze:

In small saucepan over medium heat bring 6 tablespoons whipping cream and 1 ½ tablespoons light corn syrup to a boil. Remove from heat and mix in 1 cup (6 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips until smooth. Cool until mixture is thick enough to spread on cake.

To toast almonds, spread in an ungreased baking pan. Place in 350-degree oven and bake 5 to 10 minutes or until almonds are lightly brown; stir once or twice to assure even browning. Almonds will continue to brown slightly after removing from oven.

Makes 2 Macarons

Ingredients

• ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons ground almonds
• 1 ½ cups confectioners' sugar
• 3 large egg whites
• 2 tablespoons sugar Raspberry buttercream

Preheat oven to 300°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Combine ground almonds and confectioners' sugar until very fine in a food processor. In a medium bowl whisk egg whites until stiff but not dry. Add sugar, and whisk again until very stiff. Using a rubber spatula, add one-third almond mixture to egg whites and gently fold in, leaving some streaks. Gently fold in remaining almond mixture by thirds. Make a piping bag for the batter: Place a sturdy plastic storage bag into a tall water glass, folding its top back around the rim of the glass. Spoon batter gently into plastic bag. Remove bag from water glass and close, snipping a hole in one bottom corner. Use this piping bag to pipe 1-inch kisses onto baking sheets. Bake 18 to 20 minutes, turning pans halfway through baking or until set but not dried out. Let cookies cool completely, then remove from parchment paper with a small offset spatula. Sandwich cookies together with buttercream and serve, or store airtight for up to 2 days.

Raspberry Buttercream:

Using a mixer, beat ½ cup (1 stick) room temperature unsalted butter with a pinch of salt until fluffy. Add 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar, 1 tablespoon seedless raspberry jelly, ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract, and beat until blended. Store covered and refrigerated, and let come to room temperature before using.