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Here are five fun hors d'oeuvres, each inspired by a best-picture nominee, to serve at your Oscar party.

Potato Biscuits with Irish Cheddar and Apple (The Departed)

Those Irish love their potatoes. This is a fabulous biscuit to serve as an hors d'oeuvre. I like to top them with apple slices, but peameal bacon or smoked salmon would work as well.

1 cup cold mashed potatoes

1 cup grated Cheddar cheese

1½ cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

½ cup cold butter

2 tablespoons milk

Glaze:

1 tablespoon milk

Toppings: green apple slices, chutney, smoked salmon, or peameal bacon

Preheat oven to 425 F. Combine potatoes, Cheddar, flour, baking powder and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. (You can do this is in a food processor.)

Stir in enough milk to bring dough together. Turn on to a floured board and gently knead together until just combined.

Roll out dough to about ½-inch thick. Use a cookie cutter to cut out 2-inch circles. Gather and reroll scraps.

Place circles on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and brush with milk. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Use topping of your choice. Makes 24 potato biscuits.

Smoky Cheese and Ham Quesadillas (Babel)

Babel is set in many different places, but I liked the Mexican story best. Here is a crunchy munchy from that country. The smoked cheese in these quesadillas gives it a distinctive flavour. Substitute prosciutto if Serrano is not available.

4 12-inch flour tortillas

125 grams smoked Monterey Jack, or other smoked cheese

1 tablespoon chopped jalapeno pepper

125 grams Serrano ham

2 cups arugula, stems trimmed

1 tablespoon olive oil

¼ cup mayonnaise

¼ cup spicy tomato salsa

Lay tortillas on counter and divide cheese, jalapeno, ham and arugula evenly between them. Fold tortillas in half over filling and press down.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add tortillas one at a time and press down with your hand. Cover and fry about 2 minutes a side or until cheese is melted and tortillas are golden.

Mix together mayonnaise and salsa and serve as a dip. Makes 4 quesadillas.

Chicken Fingers with a Twist (Little Miss Sunshine)

Strip this recipe down and it's a regular chicken finger with lot of attitude -- just like the movie.

3 boneless chicken breasts (about 1½ pounds)

Salt and freshly ground pepper

½ cup coconut milk

2 teaspoons green curry paste (or to taste)

1 cup panko or bread crumbs

¼ cup vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Slice chicken breasts across the grain into ½-inch-thick strips. Season with salt pepper.

Combine coconut milk and curry paste in a bowl. Place chicken strips in bowl and marinate for 30 minutes. Drain and roll in panko.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken in batches and fry until each side is crisp, about 3 minutes. Place on baking sheet and continue to fry remaining chicken strips, adding more oil as necessary.

Place baking sheet in oven and bake for 6 to 8 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and juices are clear. Makes 15 to 20 chicken fingers.

Sausage Rolls (The Queen)

Even if these don't quite meet the gourmet standards of Her Majesty, these sausage rolls would be a Cherie Blair favourite.

Use any sausage you like: hot, Italian or chicken. It doesn't matter. Remove the meat from casing but leave it in a sausage shape. You may have to roll the sausage a little thinner if too thick.

1 package puff pastry, defrosted

1 egg, beaten

½ tablespoons Dijon mustard

500 g (1 pound) sausages, removed from casing

Preheat oven to 425 F.

Remove puff pastry from package and roll out each portion into a thin 10 x 12-inch rectangle. Cut rectangles into three 4-inch-wide strips.

Brush edges with beaten egg. Brush each strip with mustard. Lay sausages along the long edge of each pastry and roll, sealing edges together.

Place seam-side down on baking sheet. Cut into individual rolls about 2-inches long each and make a slash on each roll. Brush with egg.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until pastry is golden. Makes about 30 2-inch sausage rolls.Sushi Pizza (Letter From Iwo Jima)

This appetizer is the best of two worlds: a Japanese delicacy served with an American twist. I buy already prepared sushi rice from the corner sushi shop. This recipe is courtesy of Barry Chaim, owner of Edo and Edoka restaurants in Toronto. He deep-fries his pizza, which gives it extra crispness, but we pan-fried it. Use either chopped fresh salmon or smoked salmon for the topping.

2 cups cooked sushi rice

2 tablespoons cornstarch

About ¼ cup oil

2 tablespoons mayonnaise mixed with 2 teaspoons Asian chili sauce

150 grams fresh or smoked salmon, chopped

Flying fish roe caviar

2 green onions, finely chopped

Measure 1 cup sushi rice and form into a hamburger shape about ½ inch thick. Repeat for second cup. Dust with cornstarch. Over medium heat, add enough oil to film base of pan. Fry each side of rice about 2 minutes.

Brush with chili mayonnaise. Top with salmon and sprinkle with caviar and green onions. Cut in quarters. Serve with wasabi. Makes 8 pieces.

lwaverman@globeandmail.com