Award-Worthy Emmy Menu: Winning Dishes Inspired by Honorees
Anna Williams
This Sunday night the most famous faces of the small screen will gather in Los Angeles for the 65th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards to celebrate a year of outstanding performances on television. Your favorite celebrities, like Tina Fey, Jeff Daniels, Michael J. Fox and Sofia Vergara, will strut their stuff on the red carpet, and while you'll likely be watching the drama unfold from your living room couch and not outside the Nokia Theatre, you can surely honor the nominees at home with a themed menu of eats and drinks.
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Start the party with flutes of Food Network Magazine's Red Carpet Cocktails (pictured above), bubbly adults-only beverages featuring pomegranate juice, gin and champagne, and serve a simple appetizer alongside them. Tyler's Cheese Fondue (pictured right), made with Swiss and Gruyere cheeses, is a richly decadent pick and similar to what the Drapers served during the Season 6 premiere of Mad Men, nominated for Outstanding Drama Series. Tyler accompanies his creamy pot with an array of bite-size dippers, like bread, apples and vegetables.
For the main dish of the night, instead of making a single big-batch entree to feed a crowd, prepare standard portions of two plates to offer variety in the spread. Recognize The Big Bang Theory's Outstanding Comedy Series nomination with Asian-inspired Chicken Satay with Spicy Peanut Sauce on account of the show's tradition of Monday night Thai dinners and Sheldon's preference for satay. For a refreshing bite on the side, try them with the cool cabbage-snap pea slaw.
Tara Donne, Tara Donne
If Italian cooking is more your style, you'll want to dig into a platter of Old-Fashioned Spaghetti and Meatballs in honor of James Gandolfini, who, while not nominated, will be remembered by his peers on Sunday. When the late actor played Tony Soprano on the long-running HBO series The Sopranos, he didn't hide his appreciation of Italian-American cooking on the show, often enjoying pasta, arancini and cannoli. The tried-and-true plate pictured left features beefy meatballs and twirl-worthy noodles dressed in a tomato-garlic sauce.
2013, Television Food Network, G.P. All Rights Reserved
Dessert will feature a double offering, as well, the first being a frozen treat in honor of Jason Bateman, who plays Michael Bluth on Arrested Development and is nominated for Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. On the show, Michael's family owns Bluth's Original Frozen Banana Stand, and Ellie's Chocolate-Covered Banana Pops (pictured right) are just like The Original Frozen Banana for which the shop is famous. These top-rated bites are made with just three ingredients, plus the sticks, but they need to freeze for a few hours before you eat them, so plan ahead if serving at a party.
Breaking Bad is nominated for multiple awards, including Outstanding Drama Series, and given a scene in one of the show's most recent episodes when Badger told of his idea for a pie-eating contest on Star Trek, there's perhaps no greater dessert to feature in its honor than Food Network Magazine's five-star Blueberry Pie. Boasting a filling of juicy fresh blueberries and a buttery crust, Chekov and Spock — the top-two finalists in the contest — would have happily eaten piece after piece of this sweet pie in order to win.
The 65th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards airs Sunday, Sept. 22 at 8pm/7c on CBS.