the oscars

as a child, i found the oscars magical. i cried at acceptance speeches, i dreamed of one day being up there. ah, the innocence of youth.

it is so hard not to be cynical about them now. once you know that these people have all starved themselves, and injected themselves with botulism, that they wear girdles, and have 5 publicists and 6 lawyers, the movies feel a whole lot less magical.

plus, everyone looked so damn put together, there was really no one to gawk at. before stylists, there was always cher in a spangly leotard with feathers on her head. now everyone is a class act, and it becomes a bore. the best thing to do, is to:

1. gamble. this raises the stakes artificially and gives you the sensation that you care.

2. drink.

3. eat well.

last night, to eat alongside the oscars, i made some spinach feta pies, the recipe for which i promised cerry i would post here.

spinach feta pie (as remembered at work from ina garten's barefoot contessa cookbook):

3 packages of frozen shopped spinach, thawed
6 sheets phyllo dough, thawed
2 onions, chopped
1/2 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup grated parmesan
1/2 pound greek feta, cubed
2 tbsp. bread crumbs
6 eggs, beaten
1 tsp nutmeg
butter
olive oil
salt, pepper

pre-heat oven to 375 degrees
drain all the excess water off spinach
saute onions in olive oil until translucent, or lightly brown
take off heat and sprinke with salt and pepper
mix all ingredients in a large bowl
melt 2-4 tbsp butter on stovetop (in a pan of course)
take a deep pie tin or glass pie dish
use a pastry brush to brush the whole pan with butter
then butter one sheet of phyllo and place in pan, edges hanging over
keep repeating with 5 more phyllo sheets
fill pan (on top of phyllo) with spinach mixture
fold phyllo edges over filling, so top is like a phyllo package
brush top with melted butter
cook for one hour

yum, delish.