Every year I look forward to awards season.  First the Golden Globes, then the SAG Awards and the grand finale with the Oscars.  Maybe it’s because I was a screenwriting major in college, but I just love the period from mid-Jan to the end of February.

Another reason why I love awards season is for the viewing parties.  Every year my family hosts an Oscars dinner party that is complete with good food, a very competitive ballot contest, and a delicious dessert (last year was a Chocolate Molten Cake).

The Englishman and I have yet to host a dinner party in our new place and with the Golden Globes next week, we decided it would be the perfect time to have people over for some eats and general merriment.  And bubbly.

Since our weeks are pretty busy, I decided to pull out some of my favorite cookbooks to begin planning the perfect awards show dinner.  A lot of people like to do “theme” dinners based on the movies nominated this year, but since this is our first dinner party of 2013, we decided to keep it simple with some homemade pizza, appetizers, and of course dessert.

Here is the (proposed) lineup:

Appetizers/Starters:

I decided to consult my trusty True Food Kitchen cookbook for this one.

Kale Salad – my favorite salad at True Food.

Harvest Vegetable Salad – not in the cookbook so this will be done from memory.

Pizza:

The Englishman and I love making pizza, so we consulted our pizza cookbook from my dear friend for a few recipes!

Margherita pizza – always a crowd pleaser.

Salami, Fennel and Asiago Cheese Pizza – definitely need something with meat in there and this fits the bill.

Pizzette with Garlic, Mushrooms and Goat Cheese – anything with goat cheese and mushrooms is a winner in my book.

Dessert:

I’m consulting my Tartine Cookbook for this one.

Deluxe Double-Chocolate Cookies – because who doesn’t love chocolate chip cookies?

OR

Flourless Chocolate Cake – again, because chocolate is awesome.

OR

Maybe some Pumpkin Spice Cake too.  Just because.

Bring on awards season!