Whip Up a Star-Studded Red Carpet Snack Table in Under 30 Minutes #MovieLoversSweeps

We’re getting ready for a red carpet Oscars party night thanks to Cost Plus World Market.  Love being a Cost Plus World Market Ambassador! All thoughts and ideas, however, are solely that of Rural Mom.

The 86th annual Academy Award nominations are in, the date is set (Sunday Mar 2) and the question that’s naturally on your mind is “what the heck will I serve at my Oscar Viewing Party?”

The year’s most popular red carpet event deserves nothing less than a Hollywood-worthy roll-out, but with the nine zillion things you have to do, who has time to create a glamorous spread?  You do!  With a little help from the right kitchen tools and food from Cost Plus World Market, you can whip together a fabulous star-studded red carpet snack table that will wow your guests and please your palette.

The first step is to choose a theme to center your snack table around.  As I love traditional “old school” Hollywood boulevard glamour and antipasto plates, so I decided to roll out a “red carpet” with Italian flair.  Whatever your passions, pair them with a favorite cuisine and it will always be a win-win for you and your guests.  Look to the nominated movies for inspiration, too.  For example, another idea that intrigued me was a Tex-Mex “glitz” theme that would go well with the “Dallas Buyer’s Club” (one of the nominees for “Best Picture.”)

Once you have theme in mind the rest is simple shopping.  Cost Plus World Market is one of my favorite go-to’s as I always find a crazy-good selection of food and drinks, tableware, party goods and nearly everything you need to create themed parties with products from around the globe.

To complete my vision of old Hollywood glamour, I decided to use a red table runner as a red carpet and use simple glass serving trays to create sparkle without distraction.  I had a vision of a line-up of trays – sort of like movie stars parading down the runway – and found a set of glass Rectangular Tempo Plates and Tempo Square Bowls that I foresee using for many a party buffet to come.

Thinking of stars had me visualizing a literal translation to add a Hollywood star lineup to the setting, but again, I wanted something to stand out, yet blend in, creating subtle glam.  Knowing I’d be incorporating cheese and sausage into my snack line-up, I had an “ah-hah” moment when I saw the Linzer Cookie Cutter set.  I’ve coveted one of these for holiday baking and the mini star cutter gave me the extra push to add this to my kitchen collection as I knew it would be a perfect accent for the cheese tray.

Once you have your base in place, food and drinks for your star-studded spread are the most important items needed to round out my spread.  The tricky part of my need was to find something I could prep and serve in under 30 minutes – about all the time I’ll have on Oscar’s night to spare before guests arrive.  But I wanted something that wouldn’t look or taste like I hadn’t spent oodles of time and expense on it.  (Again, this factors in on my love for Cost Plus World Market, I always find high quality products without a humongous price tag attached.)

To achieve my end game, I decided to create a duo-focus appetizer to be the star of the show: Bruschetta Dip that would also be used as the base for a Prosciutto Pizza hors d’oeuvre (full recipe at https://ruralmom.com/2014/02/prosciutto-bruschetta-pizza-and.html) and in the vein of keeping things simple, the rest of the foods would be slice and serve, or in the case of the Mezzetta Bistro Italian Olive Antipasto, uncap and serve!

A rich red carpet snack table deserves an Oscar-worthy drink, too, but rather than breaking out the champagne, I opted for a classic wine spritzer with Italian flair to perfectly compliment the antipasto-inspired spread.  This truly simple drink has complex flavor and a nice golden glow:  Fill a champagne or tulip glass half full with white table wine (I recommend using a Chardonnay) and top with a sparkling beverage like San Pellegrino (my favorite selections are the “Limonata” or “Pompelmo”)  Garnish with a slice of citrus or kiwi for extra flair.

With a great theme, creative options for display, a show-piece recipe, and simple, quality ingredients, it’s a cinch to put together a star-studded red carpet snack table without spending hours in the kitchen or breaking your budget.

Right now, Cost Plus World Market has even more than all the right ingredients for entertaining your friends and your love of Oscar night films… they are hosting a spectacular Movie Lovers Sweepstakes to keep you entertained all year long!

Enter online at worldmarketsweepstakes.com for a chance to win a grand prize package that includes FREE Movies for a Year ($1600 Fandango gift card) and a $1,000 World Market gift card! 3 Runner Up Prizes of $500 Fandango gift card and a $500 World Market gift card are also up for grabs.  That’s a whole-lotta star power!