Vegetarian appetizer recipes and wine pairings for your Oscar party! Red Pepper Soup Shooters, Best Dressed Endive Spears, and Mini Pizzas.
The Academy Awards are this weekend – have you seen all of the movies? We’ve binge-watched only a few of them, but so far my favorite is the Grand Budapest Hotel. Does anyone know where I can get Jack a hat that says “Lobby Boy?”
Whether or not you’re into the glitz and glam of it all, we love any excuse to gather over food and wine. We’ve partnered with Dark Horse Wine to create 3 fun Oscar-themed appetizers along with some unexpected wine pairings. To make things easy, most of this menu can be prepared in advance, and all of these Dark Horse wines are under $10 (Honestly – I was surprised when I heard the price because, to me, each one tastes much more expensive!).
Red-Carpet-Ready Red Pepper Soup with Dark Horse Big Red Blend
My favorite part of the Oscars is really the Red Carpet (aren’t the dresses everyone’s favorite?) I normally wouldn’t start a wine menu with a bold red, but I couldn’t resist the word play. In my opinion, “wine rules,” are meant to be broken.
Why we love this pairing: The Big Red Blend is just how it sounds – big and bold – yet we found it to be really smooth as well. We love it with this red pepper soup that’s creamy, tangy, and just a tiny bit smoky. Special bonus: this simple soup can be made the day before your party.
Best Dressed Quinoa Endive Spears with Dark Horse Chardonnay
I can’t think of a more glamorous looking vegetable than endive. It’s such a swanky way to serve salad as an appetizer. And, conveniently, the quinoa filling can be made in advance. Break out your best fruity olive oil and dress this to the nines.
Why we love this pairing: The creamy Chardonnay nicely contrasts with the bitter bite of the endive. The tangy dressing and sweet currants bring out the peachy vanilla nuances in the wine.
Appetizer in a Leading Role: Pear & Arugula Mini Pizzas with Dark Horse Merlot
These little pizzas are easy but elegant – especially with bright, peppery arugula on top. They’re filling enough to be our “leading role” so that your guests will last through the too-long Oscar speeches.
Why we love this pairing: An unexpected layer of pear “pairs” (pun intended, so sorry) well with this fruit forward wine. Salty feta and peppery arugula bring out the spicier notes in the wine.Â
This post is sponsored by Dark Horse Wine – follow them on Twitter and Instagram @DarkHorseWine. All opinions, images and words are our own, thank you for supporting the sponsors that support L&L!
Roasted Red Pepper Soup
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 small shallots, chopped
- 4 small carrots, peeled & chopped (about ½ cup)
- 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 3-4 fire roasted red peppers (from a jar)
- 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
- 2 cups water, more as needed
- 1 cup blanched & peeled almonds or raw cashews
- ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
- generous amounts of salt & pepper
- optional - 2 T more olive oil, add at the end
- Heat oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add shallots and a pinch of salt. Cook for a minute or so, then add carrots and cook until soft (about 5 minutes). Add garlic and red peppers. Stir, then add sherry vinegar. Stir, then add water, almonds, smoked paprika and a few more pinches of salt and pepper.
- Let simmer for about 15 minutes. Let it cool slightly, then blend in a high speed blender. Taste and adjust seasonings. For a richer soup, add a few more tablespoons of olive oil. If your soup is too thick, add a little water and adjust seasonings again.
- Serve in small glasses as appetizers, or store in the fridge for 1-2 days and reheat when ready to serve.
- 1.5 cups cooked quinoa
- ¼ cup crumbled feta
- 3 tablespoons dried currants
- 2 tablespoons minced chives
- 3 endives (about 18 individual spears)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ clove garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
- squeeze of orange (about 2 teaspoons)
- salt & pepper
- Whisk dressing together, set aside.
- Mix together quinoa, feta, currants and chives. Toss with most of the dressing. Taste and adjust seasonings. Scoop mixture into endive spears and drizzle the rest of the dressing on top.
- 8 small pre-made flatbreads
- drizzle of olive oil
- ½ clove garlic
- 2 ripe but firm pears, thinly sliced
- about 2 cups of mild white cheddar cheese
- about ⅓ cup crumbled feta cheese
- a few pinches of red chile flakes
- 2 cups arugula
- salt & pepper
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Brush flatbreads with olive oil and rub with the open side of ½ clove of garlic.
- Sprinkle a layer of cheddar cheese, followed by a few slices of pear followed by another layer of cheddar and a bit of feta.
- Bake until the cheese is bubbling and the pears are soft (about 15-20 minutes).
- Remove from oven, top each pizza with a bit of arugula, a drizzle of olive oil and a few pinches of red pepper flakes. Depending on the saltiness of your cheese, you might want to add a pinch of salt and pepper as well.
wine glasses pictured: Bodega Tumbler Mini Glasses
Loved the red pepper soup!!!
Made the red pepper soup for a dinner party appetizer last weekend, and it was delicious. I made about 1/3 more than the recipe called for because I had a hunch I would like it and want leftovers, and I’m so glad I did!! I’ll definitely make this again.
thanks Katie! I’m so glad you liked it 🙂
hi,
I am a French culinary blogger ( so excuse my English a little awkward ) and I came to see What did our friends across the Atlantic .
I am delighted by your blog , beautiful pictures and beautiful recipes.
I always love your combination posts, like pairings, and different dishes to make depending on the season!
I would just like to take a second to appreciate the beautiful wine glasses. Love the post!
These look great!
Kari
http://www.sweetteasweetie.com
This is amazing! Very rarely get to read posts about wine pairings, so this is really great and refreshing to read…thanks!
Amazing photos!
What a great post – I don’t think I’ll be hosting an Oscar party, since I live in Europe and the Oscars air in the middle of the night here. But this is great inspiration for upcoming dinner parties! 🙂
Wow, you’ve really made the perfect range of bites for a party. And I’m loving the Spanish romesco spin on the soup. Must make this!
Everything looks absolutely delicious! I was wondering what to make for tomorrow’s Oscar festitivies and now I do, thank you!
And those wine glasses are devine, I’ve never seen such a beautiful shape. Could you share where to find/purchase them? Thanks!
thanks Lynne! Aren’t they cute? I got them on amazon, here they are: http://amzn.to/1B1rrNL
I love these appetizer ideas – totally gorgeous AND made me want a glass of wine at 9am. I’ll try to resist, but those mini pizzas are happening stat 🙂
Ha, it’s 5 o’clock somewhere, right?
Oh my goodness, I love this idea!! All the appetizers and the wine sound amazing. I love the way you’ve put the soup into shot glasses – it looks terrific, and those mini pizzas look so tasty.
By the way, I love the look of your printable recipe formats in this post – may I ask what plugin you use for them? xxx
thanks Miranda! We use Easy Recipe.
I swear smoked paprika turns everything it touches into gold!
I know, I’m sort of obsessed with it 🙂
These all look great! I really liked Grand Budapest Hotel, too. They are selling the hats on Etsy, but they’re kind of expensive! https://www.etsy.com/listing/182630618/lobby-boy-hat-grand-budapest-hotel
Ha, thanks!!
i’ve never tried dark horse wines, but these pairings look delicious!
Can’t agree more. You certainly know what goes with what!