Oscar night

Academy Awards spread at Elle's house

Ah yes, the Oscars. An excuse to drink champagne in the afternoon.

Dom, anyone?

For the Oscar gathering I attended, I brought my shortbread hearts and made something that was a crowd-pleaser last year.

Ina Garten’s curried crab strudel caught my eye as an elegant finger-food for such an event (even though last year’s party went down in flames, resulting in a broken champagne glass). This year, the curry dish also sort of matched the Oscar sweeper, Slumdog Millionaire! See? I think of everything.

But let’s be honest, crab meat is expensive, and cracking it yourself takes forever and is a huge mess. Even if you make your bf do it.

So I substituted chicken for crab – success!

Here’s what you do:

Shred 1 lb. of cooked chicken with the juice of one lime, a handful of chopped parsley and salt and pepper to taste.

Meanwhile, cook three chopped scallions with a couple cloves of garlic in 2 tbsp. of butter. Add 1 tsp. of curry powder when the veggies are soft, then stir it in with the chicken.

Now, get out your thawed philo dough. One piece at a time, brush on melted butter and sprinkle some bread crumbs. Repeat until you have five layers of the dough. Spoon half of the chicken mixture on one end of the dough, then roll up.

Repeat with the remaining 5 pieces of philo and the chicken.

Finally, score the rolls before you bake them. Bake at 400 until slightly brown, around 15 minutes.

Cut all the way through and enjoy!

Yes, this is kind of a pain thanks to the delicate philo dough. But the crowds love it, trust me. And be ready for your house to smell like curry for a while….

Strudel-icious!