I think I should start this post by telling you that I could probably count on one hand the number of times I went to a movie theater before I was twenty. And that my family didn’t get a VCR until I was twelve. So, you can probably guess that movies just weren’t a big part of my life for a really long time. Other than a brief but intense obsession with The Little Mermaid, I could pretty much take or leave the entire film industry.

But then I married Eric, who really, truly enjoys movies in a way that I’m still trying to fully understand. In the course of our nearly ten years together, he’s rubbed off on me, and while it pains the productive crazy in me to just sit for two hours, I too have learned to really enjoy movies – especially when sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with Eric, my hand wrist deep in buttery popcorn.

So I was really excited when Haley of Cheap Recipe Blog contacted me and asked me if I wanted to be a part of an Academy Awards Blogger link-party. Myself and seven other bloggers were assigned by Haley to watch one of the Best Picture Nominees and come up with a party-friendly recipe that matched the theme or setting of their assigned movie.

So creative, right?



(P.S. All of the other recipes are linked to at the bottom of the post!)

I got Boyhood, which I’ve been wanting to see since I first heard about it. Beginning in about first grade, Boyhood tells the story of Mason and details both the everyday and the significant moments of his growing up from his perspective – all the way through high school. You watch him make choices, go through an awkward middle-school phase, see his family evolve – but here’s the catch: this film was shot over twelve years with the same cast. He literally grows up during the course of this movie; his mother ages and gets wrinkles, his sister goes through a Delia’s stage and then dyes her hair and goes to college. It is so, so beautifully done, and like only the best of books, you want so badly for the story to continue when the closing credits start rolling.

Eric and I loved this movie. We loved it because it did not hinge on the more dramatic scenes, but rather relied on the significance, pain, and beauty in everyday life to tell a story that is so relateable in its ordinariness. We are totally pulling for Boyhood to win best picture…or Grand Budapest Hotel because, well, Wes Anderson.

So my contribution to the blogger link-up Academy Awards party are these Texas Queso Tortilla Cups. Boyhood takes place in Texas (where chips & queso is apparently, life), and there is a rather significant conversation in the movie that takes place over a shared bowl of chips and queso. So I knew I wanted to do a play on this for a party appetizer.



Having never had chips and queso in Texas, I did a ton of internet research to figure out just what makes this combination so special to the big-hearted folks of the south. There are many, many Velveeta versions, but I wanted to make mine a little less processed.

I slightly adapted this queso recipe from the Homesick Texan because while it starts with actual cheddar and Monterrey jack, she uses a roux as well as a very slow and tedious addition of cheese to make it come out smooth like its Velveeta counterparts. And while you could just whip up a batch of this dip and serve it with chips, it’s so easy to bake up these little tortilla cups and make bite-sized party fun.

I will be honest with you – this queso dip is a little high maintenance BUT you can make it a few days ahead of your party and then reheat for the big day. It’s best kept warm (think mini-crockpot) and if you’re making the tortilla cups, I would suggest baking up a big batch of the cups a few hours ahead of your party. Then, you can just bring out a new plate of the cups, freshly filled with your warmed queso. It only takes a minute or so to fill a dozen or so cups, and they’re defintiely better warm then cold.

Be sure to check out these other fabulous recipes to complete your menu for your own Academy Awards party:

1. American Sniper: The $10 Mezze Platter from Cheap Recipe Blog

2. Birdman: Vegan Blackberry Whiskey Pie With Chocolate Pie Crust from Nellie Bellie

3. Grand Budapest Hotel: Lemon Chantilly Cream Puffs from Femme Fraiche

4. The Imitation Game: High Tea from Pickles Travel

5. Selma: Alabama Firecrackers from The Honour System

6. The Theory Of Everything: Boozy Nutella Milkshakes from Dining With Alice

7. Whiplash: Golden Potato, Bacon, and Rosemary Pizza from Savoury Table