I’ve been throwing Oscars parties for years now, and am proud to say I’ve thrown them on three different continents.  Despite living in a primarily uninhabited pine forest, I decided this year to do one anyway!  It’s my version of the Superbowl, after all.

Here’s the menu (the border is a bit strange due to the peculiarities of my printer), and hopefully I’ll have a few good pics of the food to share too.  I wish more loved ones could come, but for some reason the damned Academy always has these things on Sundays.

Did you enjoy my clever portmanteau of ‘awooga’ and ‘gyoza’?  Probably not; I didn’t enjoy it much myself.

Last night as part of a healthful Asian meal, I made some gyoza (aka potstickers).  Perhaps it wasn’t the most health-conscious move to pan-fry them, but considering the rest of the meal shied away from fat, I didn’t feel that guilty about these crispy, savory submarines.  They are a bit larger and not crimped like I’d normally do gyoza, hence the submarine-like appearance. And yes, I know this is an AWFUL picture, but when you’re doing six other dishes a la minute and you’re starving, your photography can get shoddy.

The original recipe can be found at Epicurious; I ground up my own chicken thighs into mince and used two stalks of celery.  Like they do in Japan and China, I also added a dash of la-yu (chili oil) to the dipping sauce.

My stint in Japan unfortunately spoiled me rotten for Valentine’s Day.  Although expensive gifts of jewelry and the like were never on the menu (ha ha, I’m punning!), on this most commercialized holiday women are socially obligated to give the men in their lives chocolates.  Being the dashing man I am, I obviously received a ton.

Now that I’m back in the States, I am once again giving chocolates on St Valentine’s Day.  What better way for King Valentine to love the women with whom he works than with brownies?  BACON BROWNIES.  Thank you, Nigella Lawson (get the recipe here).

Adding chopped dark chocolate and crispy bacon in golden syrup.

A bit dark and dense, the bacon adds a delicious burst of saltiness to the brownies.