Best Picture Food

I'm proud to say that this year I've seen seven of the nine Oscar Best Picture Nominees - the only two I haven't seen are Amour and Lincoln. I heard mixed reviews about Amour, so I'm cool with not ever seeing that movie. And I know, I can't believe I live in Richmond and haven't seen Lincoln, either...especially since a large part of it was filmed downtown and in the surrounding areas. Brian was able to go to the Richmond premier with his father (and the governor!).

So, of the movies I saw (and loved), my favorites were Silver Linings Playbook, Les Miserables, and Django Unchained. All are uniquely set in different time periods and regions of the world, so I was thinking if I ever became inspired to cook a meal based on one of the specific geographic areas, what would it be?

Silver Linings Playbook is set in Philadelphia. I've never actually been there, just driven through it, so it doesn't count. The first thing that comes to everyone's minds when Philly is mentioned are the cheese steaks. I'm dying to get up there and try one! Lucky for us, those who don't live in Philly can make the famous cheese steaks whenever we desire with this recipe, courtesy of Pat's King of Steaks. If you're in Richmond and craving a cheese steak, I hear Str8 Out of Philly is where to go.



If you're trying to channel the wonderfully French Cosette or Jean Valjean from Les Mis, try Smitten Kitchen's Moules à la Marinière, or mussels steamed open in wine and flavorings. These light, savory delicacies pair perfectly with Baked Pommes Frites. You really can't go wrong cooking anything by Julia Child, so keeping in line with that theme...try to make her crepes - a personal favorite of mine. You don't have to look far for great French food in Richmond - Can Can Brasserie and Chez Max are both highly acclaimed!



When it comes to cooking food based on Django's wanderings throughout the Deep South during the antebellum period, the first thing that comes to mind is home-style fried chicken. Pair it with some pecan pie for dessert. I've had some surprisingly fabulous fried chicken in New York and am actually in the mood for some today...Ukrop's (I won't call it Martin's), I will see you tonight.



So there's my tidbit of food-spiration from the nominees for Best Picture...I can't wait to watch!