THE CATERING RACE : Now It Can Be Told: What Oscar Eats

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has cast its votes, and the winners are . . . cinnamon-grilled chicken and red chile-glazed veal medallion.

That’s what the stars will feast on at the Governors’ Ball, the glittery celebration that follows the Academy Awards Monday night at the Music Center. There, Oscar winners shine, losers make the best of it, and everyone gets an extravagant dinner.

Earlier this month, academy tasters met to critique a set of menus proposed by Pavilion Catering. During what must have been an extraordinarily long and caloric lunch, they reviewed three nominees for each course. The academy always has two entrees, so panelists tasted three pairs of main dishes, plus elaborate accompaniments and garnishes. Then they had to find room for three spectacular desserts.

Veal was rigged to win no matter what they chose. One losing entree was a mixed grill that included a veal chop with green pumpkin seed sauce, lamb chop with mint aioli and jerk chicken breast with red banana-curry chutney. The other was Cornish game hen and blackberry relish paired with a veal medallion and wild mushroom ragout.

Once the academy chose the menu, it insisted that the contents remain secret until today. To get an advance copy, The Times had to swear in writing not to reveal the goodies beforehand. There were teeth in this edict. Because the recipes arrived before the pledge was signed, a red onion confit recipe was held as a hostage.

The confit goes on the main plate under the veal. On the other side of the plate is the cinnamon-grilled chicken breast perched on crisp sweet potato shreds over a pool of yellow mole sauce that is sprinkled with dried cranberries. A round of corn bread dressing appears at center, and a Southwestern-looking vegetable column goes at the top. The column is constructed of pencil-slim asparagus spears, shiitake mushrooms, tomatoes and artichoke hearts wrapped in black-and-red striped pasta (black made with squid ink, red with sweet red pepper).

Food at this party is always substantial. It has to be to satisfy ravenous celebs who have sat for hours in the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, not to mention the time they’ve lavished on dress, makeup, hairdos and getting there.

You wouldn’t serve this group anything ordinary. It took Pavilion Catering eight pages to write the recipes for the two entrees and their accompaniments. And listen to Pavilion’s description of the dessert: “An architectural chocolate presentation of three mousses. A tall white chocolate column filled with a milk chocolate mocha mousse. A milk chocolate column filled with a tropical fruit mousse. A bittersweet chocolate cylinder of caramel mousse presented on a painted plate with macadamia nut ice cream and caramel rum, raspberry and ollalieberry sauces.” This is a party you’d want to crash for food, not autographs.

The logistics of serving are awesome. Monday night, the Music Center plaza will be covered with an enormous white tent imprinted with the academy logo. That’s where the 1,700 guests assemble. Tented temporary kitchens will line three sides of the Mark Taper Forum. There, food will be cooked, plated and immediately sent to the tables. The only advance work allowed is sauce-making and vegetable chopping.

It will take more than 300 chefs, managers, waiters, floor captains, busboys, scullery people, runners and others to handle the dinner. The kitchen staff alone will number 125. A crew of 80 to 100 will staff 16 lines for dishing up the food. Getting those three chocolate columns onto the plates along with the three sauces and ice cream will take a crew of 75. Oversized black plates will show off the fancy arrangements.

Instead of a formal first course, the academy decided to start with finger foods so guests could munch while mingling. The ball planners suggested tried-and-true things such as cheeses and crudites. Pavilion countered with six stylish hors d’oeuvres--spinach “cannoli” with smoked trout; roulade of goat cheese, prosciutto and asparagus; purple potato with sour cream, black sturgeon caviar and salmon roe; Belgian endive leaves filled with finely diced marinated salmon, onion, dill and toasted coconut shreds; Chinese pea pods stuffed with smoked chicken, and smoked pheasant quesadilla with jalapeno Jack cheese.

The wines will be Jordan Vineyards’ 1990 Chardonnay, 1989 Cabernet Sauvignon and 1988 “J” Champagne, which will accompany dessert. There will also be a full bar.

Certain foods are taboo Oscar night. One is shellfish, which observant Jewish guests would not eat. Another is pasta, which becomes gummy when cooked in massive quantities.

The A food list includes fresh and smoked salmon, caviar, Parma ham from Italy, goat cheese flown in from Texas, chiles brought in from Jamaica and Yucatan--anything rare and troublesome to obtain.

Purveyors have to guarantee delivery, no matter what. In 1990, an order of squash flowers was lost in a crop disaster. At the last moment, the frantic produce supplier sent trucks throughout California to scout zucchini patches for replacements.

The Academy Awards theme this year is “The Year of the Woman.” Coincidentally, two women are key figures in dinner arrangements. They are Dana Friedland, Pavilion’s catering manager, and Kathleen Soo Hoo, pastry chef. Men on their team include executive chef Karl Turner and Robert Kissinger, operations director for Specialty Restaurants.

The food definitely won’t be female. “It’s kind of hard to do the year of the woman without getting sexual,” says Friedland. “We talked about it and decided to stay away from it.”

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This mini-Oscar dinner includes one of the hors d’oeuvres, the whopper main course--with two entrees and three side dishes--and the ice cream that is meant to accompany the chocolate towers.

OSCAR NIGHT AT HOME

Belgian Endive With Lomi Lomi Salmon

Cinnamon-Grilled Chicken With Yellow Mole Sauce and Dried Cranberries

Sweet Potato Crisps

Corn Bread Dressing

Grilled Red Chile-Glazed Veal

Medallions With Red Onion Confit

Macadamia Nut Ice Cream

BELGIAN ENDIVE WITH LOMI LOMI SALMON

6 tablespoons salt

1/4 cup sugar

3 cups water

1 (1/2-pound) salmon fillet

3/4 cup finely diced red onion

1 1/2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

1/2 cup seeded and finely diced tomato

1 bunch dill, minced

3 dozen Belgian endive leaves

1/3 cup coconut shreds, toasted

Combine salt, sugar and water and mix well to dissolve. Place salmon fillet in non-reactive pan and pour marinade over. Let stand 8 hours or overnight until cured. When salmon is cured, outside of salmon will have lost raw look and be opaque.

Combine onion and vinegar in separate bowl. Mix well to combine. Set aside until ready to use.

Dice salmon and combine with onion-vinegar mixture, tomato and dill. Fill each Belgian endive leaf with generous tablespoon salmon mixture and sprinkle with toasted coconut shreds. Makes 36 appetizers.

Each serving contains about:

24 calories; 210 mg sodium; 2 mg cholesterol; 1 gram fat; 3 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams protein; 0.44 gram fiber.

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If you want to eat like a movie star, serve the chicken and veal together on one plate along with the sweet-potato crisps, the red onion confit and the corn bread stuffing. We think it’s more sensible to attempt one at a time.

CINNAMON-GRILLED CHICKEN WITH YELLOW MOLE SAUCE AND DRIED CRANBERRIES

Water

3 tablespoons sugar

3 tablespoons salt

1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

4 chicken breasts, skin and wing attached

1/2 cup Yellow Mole Sauce

4 Sweet Potato Crisps

1 ounce dried cranberries

Combine 2 cups water, sugar and salt in large bowl. Mix well until completely dissolved. Mix cinnamon with little water to make paste, then add to marinade and mix well until cinnamon is completely incorporated. (Be sure to use marinade immediately.)

Place chicken breasts in non-reactive container large enough to hold in 1 layer. Mix marinade well and add just enough to barely cover breasts. Refrigerate 1 1/2 hours.

On preheated grill, place chicken breasts skin-side-down. Cook until skin is crisp, then turn and complete cooking.

Place 1 chicken breast on each serving plate. Garnish each serving with 2 tablespoons Yellow Mole Sauce, 1 Sweet Potato Crisp and sprinkling of dried cranberries. Makes 4 servings.

Each serving, without Sweet Potato Crisp, contains about:

473 calories; 1,292 mg sodium; 123 mg cholesterol; 21 grams fat; 6 grams carbohydrates; 38 grams protein; 0.42 gram fiber.

Yellow Mole Sauce

2 sweet yellow peppers, roasted, peeled and seeded

1 1/2 dried chipotle chiles, seeded, roasted and soaked

1/2 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds, roasted

1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

Dash ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup chicken stock

1 tablespoon duck fat or peanut oil

Place peppers, chiles, onion, garlic, cumin, allspice, cloves, salt and chicken stock in blender. Blend on high speed until completely pureed and all ingredients have been incorporated.

Heat duck fat in small pot over high heat until very hot. Add sauce all at once. (Be careful. Sauce will splatter up and boil immediately.) Stirring constantly, cook sauce 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Reserve and keep warm. Freeze leftover for further use. Makes 1 1/2 cups.

SWEET POTATO CRISPS

1/2 pound sweet potatoes, peeled

Oil

Using thin grating disk of food processor or thin grating side of hand grater, cut sweet potatoes into thin shreds (about 3 inches long) from long side of potato. Reserve.

Fill small pot or wok with oil to depth of at least 1 inch. Heat over medium-high heat until oil reaches 325 degrees. Divide shreds into 4 portions. Fry 1 bunch at time. As soon as potatoes come into contact with oil, use skimmer or slotted spoon to draw shreds together as mass. Remove from oil when golden in color and crisp, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Do not let brown. Drain on paper towels. If shreds seem little soft when first removed, they will crisp as they cool. Makes 4 servings.

Each serving contains about:

69 calories; 7 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 1 gram fat; 14 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram protein; 0.48 gram fiber.

CORN BREAD STUFFING

1 1/2 cups stone-ground cornmeal

1/2 cup flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon sugar

2 eggs, well beaten

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

3 tablespoons melted butter

2 tablespoons softened butter

8 egg yolks

1 quart heavy whipping cream

1/2 teaspoon white pepper

2 tablespoons oil

1 medium onion, cut in medium dice

4 stalks celery, cut in medium dice

2 ears corn, roasted and kernels removed

1 sweet red pepper, roasted, peeled and cut in medium dice

Sift together cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, 1 teaspoon salt and sugar.

In separate bowl, combine eggs, buttermilk and 3 tablespoons melted butter and mix well. Add to dry ingredients and mix well.

Pour into 9-inch-square baking pan coated with 1 tablespoon softened butter. Bake at 375 degrees 35 minutes, or until lightly brown on top. Cool and reserve.

Beat egg yolks in medium bowl until light yellow and frothy. (Save remaining egg whites for another use.) Add heavy cream, remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and white pepper. Mix well until thoroughly incorporated. Reserve.

Heat oil in medium saute pan over medium heat. When hot, add onion. Cook 1 minute, then add celery. Cook until onion is transparent and celery is tender. Remove from heat. Reserve.

Cut cooled corn bread into 1-inch cubes. Place in large bowl with corn kernels, reserved celery, onion and red pepper. Mix to evenly distribute ingredients. Add egg-cream mixture and mix well.

Pour mixture into 9-inch-square baking pan coated with 1 tablespoon softened butter and distribute evenly. Cover tightly with foil and bake at 350 degrees 45 minutes to 1 hour or until custard is set in center and stuffing is solid. Remove and let stand 10 minutes.

Using round (2 1/2-inch-diameter) cookie cutter, cut out cylinders of stuffing. Serve immediately. Makes 9 servings.

Each serving contains about:

1,048 calories; 978 mg sodium; 601 mg cholesterol; 96 grams fat; 39 grams carbohydrates; 13 grams protein; 0.56 gram fiber.

GRILLED RED CHILE-GLAZED VEAL MEDALLION WITH RED ONION CONFIT

4 (4-ounce) veal medallions

1/2 cup Red Chile Glaze

Red Onion Confit

Dip veal medallions in Red Chile Glaze and coat well. Place medallions on preheated grill and cook to medium-rare, turning over once. Immediately after turning, brush top lightly with additional Red Chile Glaze. Makes 4 servings.

Each serving contains about:

256 calories; 268 mg sodium; 91 mg cholesterol; 9 grams fat; 15 grams carbohydrates; 24 grams protein; 0.67 gram fiber.

Red Chile Glaze

1 teaspoon peanut oil

1/2 medium onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 ancho or pasilla chile, roasted and soaked

1 mulato chile, roasted and soaked

2 guajillo chiles, roasted and soaked

1/2 cup molasses

1/2 teaspoon salt

Juice 1 lime

Heat oil in small saute pan over medium-high heat until hot. Add onion and saute until tender. Add garlic and continue to saute until onion is transparent. Remove from heat. Set aside.

Remove chiles from liquid. Measure 1 ounce each of ancho and mulato chiles, 1/2 ounce of guajillo chile. Place in blender with 1/4 cup soaking liquid, sauteed onion and garlic, molasses, salt and lime juice and blend into paste. Reserve. Freeze leftover for further use. Makes 1 1/2 cups.

Red Onion Confit

1 1/2 tablespoons duck fat or peanut oil

1 medium red onion, sliced 1/4-inch thick

4 shallots, sliced thin

Dash salt

Dash white pepper

Dash fresh thyme, chopped

2 tablespoons Port

Heat duck fat in medium saute pan over medium heat until hot. Add onion, shallots, salt and white pepper. Cook until lightly brown, stirring frequently, about 15 minutes. Add thyme and cook 1 minute more. Add Port and cook, stirring constantly, until liquid has evaporated. Keep warm until serving.

TOASTED MACADAMIA NUT ICE CREAM

3 cups whipping cream

1 cup milk

3/4 cup sugar

8 egg yolks

8 ounces unsalted macadamia nuts, toasted and coarsely chopped

Heat cream, milk and 6 tablespoons sugar in heavy-bottomed 2-quart saucepan. Stir occasionally until sugar dissolves and mixture is hot but not boiling.

Beat egg yolks and remaining 6 tablespoons sugar together in mixing bowl until sugar is dissolved and mixture is thick and pale-yellow. Remove from mixer.

Slowly pour 1 cup hot cream mixture into egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Pour back into saucepan with remaining hot cream and return to heat. Whisk constantly over low heat until mixture thickens enough to coat back of spoon, about 5 minutes. Do not allow mixture to boil, or it will curdle.

Strain and refrigerate overnight.

Process in ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Add macadamia nuts during last few minutes of processing. Makes 5 cups, about 10 servings.

Each serving contains about:

531 calories; 48 mg sodium; 318 mg cholesterol; 49 grams fat; 21 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams protein; 0.39 gram fiber.