After all the Oscars were doled out during the 91st annual Academy Awards ceremony on Sunday, February 24, legendary chef Wolfgang Puck indulged the who’s who of the film industry for the biggest after-party of the evening, the Oscars Governors Ball.
Puck and the Wolfgang Puck Catering (WPC) team set the stage for Hollywood’s biggest night for the 25th consecutive year, and the 2019 menu was one of the most innovative yet.
Wolfgang Puck Catering's Vice President of Culinary Eric Klein worked closely with Puck to create more than 60 imaginative dishes, from hors d’oeuvres to small-plate entrees, that were tray-passed throughout the evening.
[Related Content: Wolfgang Puck’s Eric Klein Shares Insights on Culinary Wellness]
Alongside signature guest favorites of Smoked Salmon Oscars, Potato and Caviar 2.0 and Winter Truffle Baked Cavatappi and Cheese sat newly created menu items that included:
- Heirloom Carrot Tartare.
- Vegan Torchio Pasta with Arugula, Tomato and Caper Berries.
- Nashville Hot Fried Quail with Red Velvet Waffle.
- Loup de Mer with Romesco.
Meanwhile, the pastry team of Kamel Guechida, Garry Larduinat and Jason Lemmonier created an array of three dozen desserts. Several fan favorites that made a return included:
- 24K Gold-Dusted Chocolate Oscars.
- Golden Piper Heidsieck Champagne and Strawberry Push-Up Pops.
- Square Pillow Cake with Coconut Mango and Passion Fruit.
Meanwhile, multiple action stations at the Oscars Governors Ball offered Affogato with Housemade Ice Cream and Stumptown Nitro Cold Brew.
Hungry yet? Try these three delicious new dishes created exclusively for the 2019 Oscars Governors Ball by Wolfgang Puck Catering.
Torchio Pasta With Arugula and Oven-Dried Cherry Tomatoes
Torchio Pasta With Arugula and Oven-Dried Cherry Tomatoes. Credit: Audrey Ma for Wolfgang Puck Catering
Colorful, fresh tasting and flavorful, this vegan pasta dish will satisfy meat eaters. If you can’t find torch-shaped torchio pasta, substitute another bite-sized shape such as fusilli or penne.
Ingredients:
- 1¼ pounds large cherry tomatoes.
- ¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil.
- Kosher salt.
- Freshly ground black pepper.
- Granulated sugar.
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled.
- ½ cup caper berries, sliced.
- 12 ounces torchio pasta.
- 2 pinches Aleppo pepper.
- 2 cups packed baby arugula leaves.
- ¼ cup finely julienned fresh basil leaves.
[plus whole sprigs and basil flower, if available, for garnish] - 2 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley.
Directions:
Prepare the cherry tomatoes. Rinse the tomatoes, pat them dry, cut them in halves, and put them in a mixing bowl. Add ¼ cup of the olive oil and sprinkle lightly with salt, pepper and sugar. Stir well. Spread the tomatoes on a baking sheet and leave at room temperature for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 150°F.
Put the baking sheet with the tomatoes in the oven and cook until they look slightly dried but are still juicy, about 2 hours. Remove from the oven and set aside.
While the tomatoes are cooking, double-blanch the garlic. Bring a small saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil and place a bowl of ice cubes and water nearby.
Drop the peeled cloves into the boiling water and leave them for 30 seconds.
Remove with a slotted spoon and immediately plunge the cloves into the ice water. Repeat the process with fresh boiling water. Drain the garlic cloves, pat dry, and slice them thinly.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, in a large saute pan, heat 3 tablespoons of the oil over medium-low heat. Add the sliced garlic and cook, stirring frequently until it is fragrant but not yet browned. Add the cherry tomatoes and raise the heat to medium-high.
Cook for several minutes, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes start to collapse, then reduce the heat to low and continue cooking until they are completely softened but haven’t disintegrated, about 5 minutes. Stir in the sliced caper berries.
As soon as the water reaches a full boil, salt it generously and add the pasta. Cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente, tender but still slightly chewy, following the manufacturer’s suggested cooking time.
When the pasta is done, drain it, reserving ½ cup of the cooking water.
Add the drained pasta, still dripping, to the tomatoes in the pan and with a large spoon, gently combine them with a stirring motion, adding a little of the cooking water if the mixture seems to need some moisture. Add the arugula and remaining olive oil and fold them in until the arugula has barely wilted.
Season with Aleppo pepper, salt and pepper to taste and garnish with basil, parsley and, if available, a basil flower. Serve immediately.
Crab Deviled Eggs
Crab Deviled Eggs. Credit: Audrey Ma for Wolfgang Puck Catering
Ingredients:
- 12 organic hard-boiled large eggs.
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise.
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard.
- 3 dashes hot pepper sauce.
- 3 dashes Worcestershire sauce.
Crab Salad:
- 6 ounces jumbo lump crabmeat.
- 2 tablespoon chives, finely sliced.
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh parsley.
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt.
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper.
[plus lemon juice and zest] - 1 pinch sugar.
Garnish:
- Trout roe.
- Chervil leaves.
Directions:
Cut eggs lengthwise in half. Remove yolks, reserving whites.
In a bowl, mash yolks. Stir in all remaining ingredients. Put in a piping bag.
Mix all ingredients gently and season, stuff the egg white with crab salad and top it with egg mixture with a piping bag. Refrigerate, covered, until serving.
Garnish with roe and chervil.
Heirloom Carrot Tartare
Heirloom Carrot Tartare. Credit: Audrey Ma for Wolfgang Puck Catering
Ingredients:
- 1 lb. red heirloom carrots.
- 1 whole quince, cut in half.
[One half gets diced and pickled]
[The other half is cooked in verjus vlanc and pureed] - ¼ cup mustard seeds.
- 1 tsp. mustard oil.
- 1 pinch salt.
- 12 sunchokes (skin on).
- 2 cups canola oil.
Pickling liquid (for mustard seeds and quince):
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar.
- ¼ cup water.
- ¼ cup sugar.
- 1 tbsp. salt.
Directions:
Place water, sugar, salt, and vinegar into a small pot and bring to a rolling boil. Once the sugar has dissolved place the mustard seeds into the pickling liquid.
Allow the mustard seeds to bloom in the pickling liquid. Do the same process for the diced quince on low heat, simmering for 5 minutes. Cool and set aside.
Gently scrub sunchokes with a damp towel and place them into a pot of canola oil on medium heat. Cook until sunchokes are tender, about 8 minutes.
Remove sunchokes from pot and drain oil. Put sunchokes on paper towel. With a paring knife, take top half of sunchoke and remove filling. Be careful not to remove too much.
Bake in the oven for five minutes at 375 degrees to create the bark.
For the carrots tartare, If you have a meat grinder on the KitchenAid, use a medium die and grind carrots like you would meat. Mixing carrots, pickled quince, quince puree, salt and mustard oil in a bowl.
The mixture should not be too wet. Season to taste. Spoon a healthy mixture into the sunchoke. Garnish with ½ teaspoon of pickled mustard seeds.
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