The Academy Awards, Restaurant Week and More!!!

Since we moved in together in 2008, one of our annual traditions has been a private feast for 2 on the night of the Academy Awards. In addition to some competitive betting, we make a ton of food, usually an intense appetizer buffet. Every year we have something that makes the night memorable (i.e. 2009's exploding champagne incident). This year we added a twist that we wanted dishes that would be representative of some of the Best Picture nominees. Here's the 2012 Casa de Cahill Academy Awards Menu:

Midnight in Paris: Hemingway Cocktail

The Artist/Hugo: Baked Brie (recipe from Ina Garten courtesy of Food Network) with a selection of crackers, apples and pears

The Descendants: Shrimp Cocktail

The Help: Classic Macaroni and Cheese (recipe from America's Test Kitchen)

Moneyball: Adult Snickers (see below for details)

One of our Academy Award dishes was inspired by a recent trip to Vie, a Michelin one-star, in Western Springs, IL which we went to for Chicago's Restaurant Week. Matt has been to Vie before for numerous work functions (since he works out in the burbs) and he couldn't wait for me to try it. Well...it certainly was amazing and we both highly recommend venturing out to try it. Every dish was great (some of our favorites included the bone marrow, crispy pork belly and the roasted whitefish) but one of the desserts was just amazeballs...valrhona chocolate mousse bar, soft caramel, salted peanuts (see above right).

Seeing as we don't typically challenge desserts on this blog, we were a bit hesitant at first but when we were still looking for something to represent Moneyball in our Academy Awards lineup, this seemed like a natural fit and a great take on an "adult" version of a snickers bar. So we took on the challenge.

We found recipes for three layers to this dessert bar: base, caramel sauce, and chocolate mousse. First prepare the base and allow to set (at least an hour), then prepare and layer the caramel sauce (the caramel sauce can be made a few days in advance), and finally prepare the mousse and layer and allow to set. Once all layers have been added allow to set in the fridge for a few hours before serving.

While the flavors were delicious, we still have a ways to go on our pastry presentation skills. We really enjoyed our version but the Vie version is more refined and was more surprising when we had it for the first time so this time the restaurant wins. That being said we have plenty of leftovers of everything so the week ahead will be a tasty one.