The Dish: Award-worthy Oscar party ideas from Hard Rock Atlantic City Executive Chef Markus Holm
ATLANTIC CITY, NJ (WPVI) -- If you're preparing to host a watch party on Oscar Sunday, we headed straight to an expert to curate an easy, chic, and mobile cocktail party meal.
Hard Rock Atlantic City Executive Chef Markus Holm knows a thing or two about Hollywood's biggest night. The Executive Chef at Council Oak Steaks & Seafood worked with Wolfgang Puck on the Governor's Ball at the Oscars.
"It was very intense, fantastic week," Holm said. "It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience."
Holm is helping us bring that Hollywood experience into our own kitchens.
"When you host a party, for me, the goal is to avoid being behind the scenes," Holm said. "It's all about the glamor. It's all about the celebrities. It's all about fantastic food. You want to have a drink too. You want to have champagne. You can't just be in the kitchen. You will miss the vibe, and maybe miss the Oscars!"
Chef Holm says you won't miss a Hollywood moment with his elegant shrimp cocktail.
"It's a nice appetizer," he says. "People can walk around and it's easy to prepare."
You serve the shrimp in a glass with cocktail sauce at the bottom and a micro salad on top.
Holm also says a simple meatball in marinara sauce with a dollop of ricotta cheese on top is a hearty bite that's easy to walk around with.
Also, consider individual mac and cheese cups. You can even dress them up, if you like, with lobster and truffles.
And, if you're really feeling fancy, try what Chef Holm calls a "steak-cuterie board."
Simply slice up steak on a large wooden board, and serve it with stacks of veggies, like mushrooms, brussels sprouts and asparagus.
Shrimp cocktail with cocktail sauce and micro salad recipe
Cocktail sauce
Ingredients:
- Cup ketchup
- 2 tablespoons horseradish strained
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Instructions:
1. Mix all ingredients in a bowl
Shrimp
Ingredients:
- 2 pounds Shrimp U 12 ( peeled and deveined)
- 6 cups water cups water
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon Sugar
- Onion diced
- Orange
- Lemon
- Cup white wine
- Cup white pepper corns
Instructions:
1. Bring water to a boil
2. Cut Citrus in half and add all ingredients into the boiling water.
3. Prepare an ice bath.
4. Put Shrimp into the water and cook for 5 minutes
5. Transfer the shrimp to the ice water
6. Dry the shrimp from the water and place them in a bowl and add some olive oil and some black pepper
7. And mix it
8. The Shrimp getting a nice shiny look
Mixed micro green salad
Ingredients:
- 1 ounce mixed micro green
- 1 ounce Belgian Red Endive
- 1 ounce Radicchio
- 3 orange segments
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice fresh
- Salt/black pepper
- Smoked Sea salt
Instructions:
1. Mix all greens gently in the bowl with some olive oil
2. Squeeze some Lemon juice over the salad and season with salt and pepper
3. Arrange the cocktail sauce on the bottom of your vessel put the green salad gently over the sauce and put the cold shrimp
Truffle lobster mac & cheese recipe
Ingredients:
- 1 lbs. Tillamook cheddar cheese
- 1lbs. shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1lbs. white cheddar cheese
- 1.2 gallon Milk
- 1/2 gallon lobster stock
- 1-2 lbs. lobster
- 8 oz roux: 4 oz butter 4 oz flour
- 1 lbs. elbow macaroni
- 1 cup of panko breadcrumbs
- 1 winter truffle
Instructions:
1. Warm up milk and lobster Stock
2. Melt the butter in a separate pot
3. After the butter starts to bubble add flour and wrist smooth.
4. Add warm liquid and bring to a simmer
5. Cook the flour flavor out of the sauce
6. Add all the shredded cheese slowly to the sauce
7. Cook the lobster in salted water for 13 minutes and cool down in Ice Water
8. Break out all the lobster meat and keep separated from the
9. Cook Pasta in Boiling Salt Water
10. After the Cheese sauce is nice and thick and cheesy add the sauce to your pasta.
11. Cut down the lobster into hazelnut size pieces and add to the pasta mix.
12. Put the Mix into your small bowl, put shredded cheese on top and bake in the oven for 8 minutes at 375*F
13. Sprinkle a layer of toasted breadcrumbs on top and shave some fresh Winter truffle on top
Meatballs in creamy marina sauce with ricotta cheese recipe
Ingredients:
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1 lbs ground beef
- 1 lbs kobe ground beef
- 1 lbs veal ground beef
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 2 eggs
- Cup finely grated parmesan cheese
- Cup finely chopped fresh herbs(parsley basil oregano sage
- Cup small diced yellow onion
- 2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- Teaspoon fresh grinded black pepper
- Teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 teaspoons of Ricotta cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked sea salt
Instructions:
1. Make the panade. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the panko and milk until combined. Set the mixture aside to soak for 5 to 10 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients.
2. Combine the remaining ingredients. Add the ground beef, ground pork, garlic, eggs, Parmesan, fresh herbs, onion and Worcestershire sauce to the (same) mixing bowl with the panade. Sprinkle the oregano, salt, black pepper and crushed red pepper flakes evenly on top. Use your hands to mix the ingredients until evenly combined, being careful not to over-mix the ingredients.
3. Chill. To make the meatballs easier to form, I recommend covering and chilling the mixture in the refrigerator for 1 hour. But if you're pressed for time, you can skip this step.
4. Form the meatballs. Roll the mixture into 2-tablespoon balls and place them on the prepared parchment sheet.
5. Heat up tomato sauce (see tomato sauce recipe) and bring it to a boil.
6. Add the meatball to the tomato sauce.
7. Cook in the tomato sauce on medium heat for 12- 15 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 160F.
8. Serve the meatballs immediately and enjoy! Add a tablespoon of fresh ricotta and smoked black sea salt for an extra Chef Markus touch!
