The Oscars

Long ago, in a land far away, some of my lovely lady friends and I started a tradition of snacks, snark, and the Academy Awards. It fell by the wayside, but I brought it back, even though the ladies that started it all were unable to attend.
Next year, I will record the event a bit more carefully so we don't miss Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Motion Picture. * sigh *
One of our traditions is a Best Picture nominee themed cocktail (The Million Dollar Baby, The Blood Diamond, etc.). This year, I went a little further and themed some of the food as well.
We had Slumdog Sangria (which I have decided will be the Apple Blossom the rest of the time), Benjamin Buttoncakes, and Oroville Readerbacher Popcorn Mix. Lots of other food too, yes, but these were the only themey ones worth mentioning in this here blog.

Slumdog Sangria/Apple Blossom
A take on the classic beverage which I'll make for any situation if given half a chance. It was cold and stormy and sort of fall-esque, so I was craving apples. I found this recipe on Design*Sponge and it was love at first site.
2 Pink Lady apples - I slice them super thin so that I get those beautiful center segments with the little star/flower in the middle; then I sliced the rest into thin strips that were maybe half an inch wide, keeping the pretty ones for garnish.
1/2 cup Calvados
2 bottles Pinot Grigio
1 bottle sparkling apple cider

I soaked the apples in the Calvados in the fridge for about an hour, then put them in a pitcher with two bottles of Barefoot Pinot Grigio and then let that sit for another hour or two. I considered adding apple juice, or apple cider, but worried about muddying the flavor or making it too sweet.
I placed one of the pretty slices in a glass, poured in the sangria leaving about an inch and a half of room at the top, then adding in some sparkling cider.
It was tasty and went down way too easily, as sangria tends to do.

Benjamin Buttoncakes
Okay, these were a total cheat based on what I had on hand, and again, my apple craving. I totally Sandra Lee'd some spice cake mix by adding apples, and frosting with cream cheese frosting. But then I shook a bunch of round sprinkles out of the container, and matched up four of each color to decorate the tops of the cupcakes to look like buttons.

Oroville Readerbacher Popcorn Mix
Again, based on what I had on hand, which unfortunately did not include Worcestershire sauce, which the recipe called for. I made do with soy and balsamic.
I popped my own popcorn, maybe 1/2 cup of kernels. I combined the popcorn with small pretzels in a baggie and added the flavoring. Because I was using more, I upped the amounts a bit.
5 tbsp melted butter
1 tsp garlic garni
1 tsp onion powder
soy sauce - maybe 2 or 3 tsps?
balsamic - maybe 1 or 2 tsps?

I poured it over the popcorn and pretzels and shook the living daylights out of it. Then I spread it out on a cookie sheet and baked it at 350 for 10 minutes or so.