Serve natural wine and a DIY meal.
If you're hosting an Oscar party, infuse health into your offerings. The meal can still feel like an indulgence even if it doesn't go overboard with fat and sugars.
On the menu
Optimize your time with guests by setting up a DIY meal.
• Consider a nori taco bar with fillings like sesame-laced salmon, creamy crab and cucumber salad, and a selection of sauces and garnishes.
• Or, do like cookbook author Leah Koenig and prepare an array of colorful salads and mezze-style spreads to pair with a large-format protein that can be eaten at room temperature.
What to imbibe
• This mezcal-apple cocktail, with no added sugar and just three ingredients, would make a great pre-batched drink.
• Fresh carrot juice and reposado tequila pair well in this bold and bright carrot margarita.
• Or, dive into natural wine. Hannah and Marian Cheng prioritize orange wine and pinot grigio for their get-togethers. In keeping with the festive vibe of the Oscars, pop a bottle of pét-nat.
• For those who don't drink, try one of these inventive, flavorful mocktails.
The decor
• In honor of the glitzy event, you could set a "maximalist table" like Jonathan Adler, complete with gold-accented plates.
• Chef Whitney Otawka prefers to focus on minimalism, but with lots of candlelight and strategically placed twinkling lights. "The vibe is somewhere between romantic and magical," she says.
• Or, keep it fragrant and farm fresh with vases of flowers and herbs strewn throughout.
The music
If you want to have music, keep the volume very low so you can take in the awards show (and make the obligatory conversations about deserving and non-deserving winners).
• Here, an array of playlists for when the party gets less TV-centric.