Oscar Gold

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, Oscar Gold

Awards season is about to reach its crescendo and over the last few weeks Annelie and I have tossing around the idea of reinstating our famous Oscars Party.

We used to co-host with Elton back in the late nineties but had a huge feud over something none of us remember or care about anymore (all we know is that we will always be the staunchest of rivals) and stopped participating in that side of the awards season.

You know, the side that raises money for charity via party.

Last week’s catch-up with Alicia reminded us of our (inevitably going to be achieved) ambition to be EGOT winners and we thought the best way to get the O (not you, Oprah…yet) rolling was to invite a bunch of our closest friends/past winners over and reminisce about our friendships.

We will also discuss any future Oscar-bait projects we could work on together.

So in honour of the season, sit back and enjoy the show. Maybe it would work if we made a film about our party, Oscar Gold? With Meryl playing both Annelie and I, obviously.

Picture source: Toby Canham/Getty Images.

Alicia Keys Lime Pie

Dessert

It is fitting that we caught-up with Alicia during week of the Grammys; fitting and awkward, as she iced us out of winning one with her in 2011 in favour of Blue Ivy’s dad. Thankfully she opened up with an apology, as we kindly opened up our home and hearts to her in the hopes of rekindling our friendship.

Despite the recent animosity (and ourselves), it felt like no time had passed and we were those young ingenues on the set of The Cosby Show once more. We caught each other on what has been happening since we last spoke; she had two kids, we have once again taken the world by storm and have been thrust into the limelight.

We laughed about Kanye’s idiocy at The Grammys and apparent love for Beyonce (move on Kanye, she already has a husband that ruined our lives) and discussed Bill Cosby’s recent controversy before serving Alicia with a slice of humble Alicia Keys Lime Meringue Pie.

 

Alicia Keys Lime Pie_1

 

The tart kick of lime acted as a symbol for our pain over the, well you know what, and the period in her life when she didn’t have us (baby), while the sweet, delicate meringue was an offering of hope that our friendship could continue as sweetly as it used to.

Enjoy!

 

Alicia Keys Lime Pie_2

 

Alicia Keys Lime Meringue Pie
Serves: 8

Ingredients
375g can sweetened condensed milk
4 large egg yolks
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons key lime juice

Crust
1 ½ cups digestives, crushed
2 tbsp caster sugar
5 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Meringue
4 egg whites
1 pinch cream of tartar
2 tbsp caster sugar

Method
Preheat oven to 170°C.

Stir together digestive crumbs, sugar, and butter in a bowl with a fork until combined well, then press mixture evenly onto bottom and up side of a 9-inch glass pie plate (quiche dish will do in a pinch). Bake crust in middle of oven 10 minutes and cool in pie plate on a rack.

Increase heat of oven to 180°C.

Whisk together condensed milk and yolks in a bowl until combined well. Add juice and whisk until combined well (mixture will thicken slightly).

Place egg whites and cream of tartar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat egg whites until soft peaks form and then gradually add sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form, approximately 1 to 2 minutes. Use to top lime filling.

Pour filling into pie crust and top with meringue. Make sure meringue completely covers filling and that it goes right up to the edge of the crust. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until meringue is golden. Cool pie completely on rack (filling will set as it cools), then chill covered overnight.

Serve by fallin’ face first into the pie and devouring.

Putting out the fire

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

We used to be very close friends with Alicia Keys, having guest starred as Rudy’s friends in The Cosby Show episode “Slumber Party”.

And no, not that type of slumber party. There were no pills.

I played the groundbreaking role of Rudy’s transgender friend, while Annelie her sassy side-kick and Alicia the brains of the outfit. We forged a bond instantly on set and assumed that we would collaborate forever.

Cut to 25 years later and she dumped us in favour of Jay-Z on Empire State of Mind and we thought we would never forgive her for attempting to ruin our chance at EGOT glory.

Time heals old wounds though and we have decided to take a chance on trusting again and allowing her to be our Girlfriend.

I mean, we will probably win a Grammy soon anyway.

Picture source: Unknown.

Candace Cameron Bure-ito Bowl

Main

I am thankful that Candace decided to be the bigger person and get in touch to end our eleven year feud. While we have many differing viewpoints now (and neither side will take blame for the ruining the Kids Choice Award venue), our Friday dates were our personal highlight of the 90s (before we got in with the BH Crew).

It started out pretty awkward, with us politely chatting about what we have been up to in the last decade; her recent stint on Dancing with the Stars, our return to the A-list simply through documenting our celebrity catch-ups. Thankfully by the end, we were friends again and are (spoiler alert) looking forward to working together on the Full House reboot.

In the effort of bringing us back together via food (which thankfully was a success), we thought something warm, spicy and casual (capturing the essence of our old catch-ups), was best. This obviously meant three big old serves of our famous Candace Cameron Bure-ito Bowl.

 

Candace Cameron Bure-ito Bowl_1

 

The original recipe we based this on was light on the spice and as our motto is “make food so hot it burns its way out and liquefies your organs” we upped the spice levels, so adjust according to your own tastes.

Then enjoy, obviously.

 

Candace Cameron Bure-ito Bowl_2

 

Candace Cameron Bure-ito Bowl
Serves: 4.

Ingredients
500g chicken mince
3 tbsp of olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 cup of uncooked long grain rice
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
½ green capsicum, diced
1 tsp of cumin
½ tsp of chilli powder
¼ tsp smoked paprika
¼ tsp ground coriander seeds
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
pinch ground cinnamon
½ tsp of garlic powder
2 ½ cups salt-reduced chicken stock
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
salt and pepper
freshly diced tomatoes
diced spring onions
sour cream
guacamole

Method
Sauté onions in 2 tablespoon of olive oil until they start to soften.

Add chicken to pan and cook over medium high heat until chicken has started to brown. Season with salt and pepper.

Move chicken to one side of pan, in the other side of the pan add an additional tablespoon of olive oil and sauté uncooked rice for about 2 minutes or just until some grains start to turn golden brown.

Stir in black beans, canned tomatoes, chicken stock, spices and capsicum and bring to a simmer.

Cover, reduce heat to low and cook about 20 minutes or until rice is tender.

Season with additional salt and pepper as needed.

Sprinkle with cheese, recover and let set for 2-3 minutes off heat to melt cheese. Serve with fresh tomatoes, green onions, sour cream and guacamole.

Whatever happened to predictability?

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

Every Friday night during the 90s, our friend-date / Full House episode parties with Candace Cameron-Bure were so legendary that they were considering an edit to the start of the theme song.

We first met Candace Cameron-Bure while Annelie was working as a stand-in / body-double to the Olsen Twins on Full House and I was down the road acting as Mara Wilson’s PA (still the greatest job I have ever had) on the set of Mrs. Doubtfire.

Sadly we have been in a feud after an incident involving Melissa Joan Hart and Anna Chlumsky at the Nickelodeon Kid’s Choice Awards in 1994 where, obviously, the police were called, buildings destroyed, charges pressed and our friendship destroyed.

After twenty-one years, Cameron-Bure reached out hoping to make amends and we felt it was time to, as Adele Dazeem said, let it go.

I hope my love of show tunes and peen doesn’t offend her like it does Kirk? This could be interesting.

Picture source: Fanpop.com

Ice(d) T

Drink

Yes, he isn’t the washing machine kid but damn Ice T is good company. Better yet, he definitely thinks we should become members of the HFPA for our contribution to the arts, Hollywood and the planet.

I think that is my favourite part about him.

We have been friends for some time, following a chance encounter on the Law & Order set where I was fired for sneezing when playing Corpse #2 (B.D. Wong over peppered my lunch after catching wind I would appear in Jurassic Park 2) and Annelie and Ice have been friends since their days hanging with 2Pac.

It was so nice catching-up, hearing about what our dear friend Coco is up to (she helped form and helped choreograph for our dance troupe, Jazz in your Face) and laughing about the time Meg Ryan caught us egging her house across the canyon…all over a refreshing glass of Iced T.

 

Ice(d) T 1

 

The rich flavour of the rooibos tea cuts through the tart lemon and raspberry, add to that the mint and sugar and you have the makings of a perfect summer drink for when you aren’t rapping or solving crimes.

Or learning to play the washing machine. Have I mentioned this kid is the greatest?

 

Ice(d) T 2

 

Ice(d) T
Serves: 4.

Ingredients
3 bags of rooibos tea
¼ cup raw caster sugar
½ cup raspberries
½ lemon
a small handful of mint leaves
ice, ice and ice

Method
Steep tea bags in a pitcher of freshly boiled water for 2-3 minutes, or to your liking. Remove tea bags, stir in sugar and leave to come to room temperature.

Once cooled, slice lemon into discs and add to tea with the raspberries and mint leaves.

Give a good stir, add ice and serve. With or without liquor, obviously.

Law & Order: Sexy Catch-Ups Unit

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

As you’re aware, we decided to prioritise this year’s dates based on levels of fame and importance…as we decided that the only way to have the Hollywood Foreign Press Association waive the So-Cal residence rule for membership, was to be in with the MEGA famous.

Who would have thought future co-best friend-om with Tina/Amy wasn’t enough?

Anyway, during the course of our scientific rankings, I incorrectly identified the kid that did this as Ice-T and I knew that if we didn’t catch/butter-up our (faux) number two for support for HFPA status, Annelie would get aggressive.

Justifiably aggressive.

What says, sorry your house overlooks Meg Ryan’s/why aren’t you as talented on a washing machine/when do we vote for the Golden Globes?

Picture source: RollingStone.com.

Lil’ San Choy Bow Wow

Main

Our decision to rank the importance of this year’s celebrity catch-ups was (another) stroke of genius! Bow Wow (he will never be Shad to us, his closest friends), as always, was charming, funny and a straight up pleasure to be around.

Fresh from hanging with my (unwitting) ex JVDB and Annelie’s frenemey, Academy-Award nominee (and spoiler alert, soon to be winner) Patricia Arquette on the set of CSI: Something-not-starring-Caruso, Lil’ was able to fill us in on all the haps of the awards season and tinseltown.

Sadly, he couldn’t confirm whether JVDB talks about me. I assume he does though?

We also got to work on project Bring down Lipdicki 2015 over a celebratory lettuce-cup of Lil’ San Choy Bow-Wow.

 

Lil San Choy Bow Wow 1

 

 The heat and spice were perfect for the horrific Queensland summer we are experiencing and were able to open our minds to a new, exciting avenue for revenge, faux-kindness.

On that note we’ll probably see Lipnicki soon. In the meantime, enjoy!

 

Lil San Choy Bow Wow 2

 

Lil’ San Choy Bow-Wow
Serves: 4, hunger dependant.

Ingredients
1 iceberg lettuce
1 medium carrot, peeled
4 tbsp vegetable oil
½ red onion, sliced
2 stalks celery, finely diced
Thumb(ish) sized piece of ginger, finely sliced
3 cloves garlic, finely sliced
10 fresh shiitake mushrooms, finely sliced
1 x 230g tin water chestnuts, chopped
500g pork mince
1 tbsp palm sugar (raw would do in a pinch)
2 tbsp soy
3 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
3 tbsp Shao Hsing rice wine (dry sherry works in a pinch)
6 spring onions, finely sliced on the angle
2 large red chillies, cut on the angle
1 bunch coriander, leaves picked
½ cup crushed peanuts
sriracha hot sauce or hoisin, to serve

Method
Trim the lettuce to create cups and soak the lettuce cups in cold water in the fridge to ensure the leaves are crisp. Grate the carrot and set aside.

Heat wok or pan over a high heat. Add the oil, onion, celery, ginger and garlic and cook for 20 seconds, then add the carrot and mushrooms, cooking for another 10 seconds.

Add the pork mince and fry, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, for approximately 2-3 minutes.

Add the sugar, soy, oyster sauce, sesame oil and rice wine and cook for another 30 seconds, before adding half the spring onions, half the chilli and half the coriander and give it all a good stir. Remove from heat.

Divide the pork mince mixture between the lettuce cups and garnish with the remaining spring onion, chilli, coriander and peanuts.

Devour.

Guess who’s back?

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

We’re baaa-aaaack! We hope you had a lovely holiday period and were able to enjoy some down time…because we didn’t.

With the resounding success of the documentation of our catch-ups (aka the blog…that you are currently reading), we spent the break fielding calls from our celebrity friends (and hangers-on from the D-List) and hosting date after date.

Yes, we love it and enjoy seeing our friends but sometimes you just want to eat two kilos of cookie dough and take a nap in front of the fridge in your underwear, you know?

Anyway with such a volume of friends wanting to catch-up, we were forced to initiate a ranking system to deem who was more important to see. As such, obviously, Lil’ Bow Wow was the top of our list.

We’ve known Lil’ Bow Wow since he was even lil’er. You see, I was cast as Jonathan Lipnicki’s stunt double in Jerry Maguire for the airport scene; one thing led to another and I was escorted off the set for a brawl that Lipnicki started.

After recovering from the altercation, Annelie (she was Tom’s stunt double) and I set about enacting our revenge on Jonathan and stalked the set of Like Mike where we met and befriended Lil’ over our mutual hatred for Lipdicki and a burning desire to bring him down.

Nothing bonds three people like a revenge plot and nothing bonds three people for life like a failed revenge plot.

What says we will get him eventually, Lil’?

Picture source: Unknown.

Merry Holidays etc.

Uncategorized

Once again the Fame Hungry team would like to say, Merry Christmas / Happy Holidays / etc.

We will be taking a three week(ish) break while we sail the French Riviera with some very A-List friends that we can not name (you know that isn’t our style).

While you may not have the connections and celebrity that we do, we would like to thank you for your support, readership and aspirations to be more like us.

In the mundane downtime, you can always make all of our recipes like grumpy-version Amy Adams in Julie and Julia…or you can create a vision board to achieve our lives.

From Probst’s bed to yours, Merry Christmas!

See you next year,
Annelie and Ben