Oscar Nominated Cocktails: Avatar #movies #recipes

James Cameron’s “Avatar” inspired several cocktail drinks celebrating this three-time Oscar winning film. “Avatar” won an Academy Award for Cinematography, Art Direction and (no surprise here) visual effects. The movie also received one half-dozen additional Oscar nominations in the categories of directing, film editing, original score, sound editing, sound mixing and the coveted, Best Picture.

No matter whether you enjoyed the 3D blue people and strange love story in “Avatar” or think it’s “a truly horrible movie” like How to Be Black author Baratunde Thurston does, these Oscar nominated cocktail recipes are fit for humanoids on either side of the audience spectrum.

Pandora Elixir
(from Sunset Magazine)

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice and then combine ¼ rum, two tablespoons of passion fruit juice, 1 lime leaf torn into small pieces and two teaspoons of fresh lime juice into the shaker. Shake well, strain into martini glasses, top each drink with two tablespoons of club soda and then garnish with a lime wedge. The Sunset Magazine’s “Avatar” cocktail recipe also lists substitutes for the juice (such as guava and orange) and the lime leaf, if you’re interested in learning how to put a spin on this particular one.

Ame Na'vi Cocktail
(by bartender Rafael Jimenez Rivera at the Lobby Bar in San Francisco)

Chill a martini glass while adding 1 ½ oz gin, one teaspoon each of dry vermouth, Parfait Amour and orange juice with no pulp to an ice filled cocktail shaker. Shake it up and then strain the drink into the chilled cocktail glass. Garnish the “Avatar” drink with an orange peel. You can also use blue curacao as a substitute for the Parfait Amour, when making this “Avatar” movie cocktail recipe.

The Avatar
(by Sandra Lee, featured in Entertainment Weekly)

Combine one ounce each of citrus vodka and white cranberry juice, ½ ounce of blue curacao and one squeeze of lime juice into a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Cover, shake well and then strain into a cold glass. Lee says that the citrus vodka is used to honor the tree of life in “Avatar,” and also recommends the Ketel One Citroen brand.

Among these Oscar nominated cocktails for "Avatar," which one do YOU plan on drinking?

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Oscar Nominated Cocktails: The Blind Side #nablopomo #blogher #atthemovies

Here are some Oscar inspired cocktail recipes that I’ve compiled for your drinking and movie-watching pleasure. The cocktails in this post are based on “The Blind Side” starring Sandra Bullock. It was nominated for Best Picture in 2010 while Bullock received a Best Actress nomination for her performance in this film.

"The Blind Side" lost the Oscar to U.S. Army war drama, "The Hurt Locker." You don’t have to be a fan of Bullock, “The Blind Side” -- or the Oscars, for that matter, to make these cocktail drinks but it surely makes for a fun evening of Netflix rentals or Blu-ray DVD enjoyment whether you’ve already seen this movie or not.

Bombay Blind Side
(from The Nibble)

To make this “Blind Side” cocktail, mix 1½ ounces of gin, ½ ounce of dry vermouth and one splash each of tonic and lemon juice in a martini shaker with some ice. Shake the ingredients up and then pour it into a glass using a strainer.

The Blind Side
(by Jason Adams at Entertainment Weekly)

Combine 2¼ ounces of half-and-half, 1 ounce of Sambuca and ½ ounce of either Baileys or another brand of Irish cream liqueur in a martini shaker filled with ice and then shake this stuff up well. Fill a glass with ice and then pour The Blind Side mixture through a strainer, into the glass. Top this cocktail off with whole coffee beans. Adams says that this is a girl drink, particularly a dessert cocktail for moms to celebrate a good day. I say whatever the case is, it appears to be a winner – even for those who may not like coffee.

So, which one of these Oscar nominated cocktails for “The Blind Side” do YOU plan on drinking at your next movie night?

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A Q&A on Fear from Ricki Lake #nablopomo #blogher

Join me in answering today’s NaBloPoMo Prompt:

I was terrified to go on DWTS (that’s “Dancing with the Stars,” for those who don’t watch reality TV), but facing my fear and overcoming it has been an incredible experience. Have you faced fears and overcome them?
(Guest Post by Ricki Lake)

Yes, I have faced several fears and overcame most of them while still working on the others. I was afraid of continuing my art education after abandoning the practice for so many years and after overcoming that particular fear, I’ve been reminded of how truly liberating visual arts can be for the mind and spirit. I also used to be afraid of cats...until I got one. Boy, did I overcome that one really quick!

What fears have YOU overcome?

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