Make winning treats for an Oscar party

Canapes may sound stuffy, but they actually are on the easy end of the party-food scale. And this year, for your Oscar viewing party, you've got a great reason to try making the old-school Philly canape made famous in Silver Linings Playbook: Crabby snacks.

Crabby snacks are, to quote the Matthew Quick novel on which the multiply nominated movie was adapted, "buttered crabmeat and orange cheese on English muffins."

Crabby snacks sometimes go by other names, like "crab bites," "crabby bites," "crabbies" or "crab canapes."

The main ingredients of crabby snacks - softened butter, mayonnaise, canned crabmeat, and (crucially) Kraft Old English cheese spread - don't look particularly appetizing when you dump them all in a bowl together. Ignore the rubbery consistency of that cylinder of chemically treated cheese spread, fold the ingredients together vigorously, and soon you will have a pleasantly sherbet-hued paste, which, spread on English muffins and broiled, becomes dazzlingly delicious in the way only high-fat processed food can.

The other snack mentioned in the movie, "homemades," or homemade egg pasta, is a bit more complicated, but we've included the recipe here for diehard fans.

To round out the menu, we also created a simple formula for other canape variations, dividing them into four components - bases, spreads, toppings and garnishes. For each canape, select one item from each category, then assemble. The easiest way to assemble enough for a party is to set out all of your ingredients (clustered by category), then just start selecting and building.

For an awards-night gathering, you might even consider turning the making of the canapes into a pre-party. Set out everything on the counter, pour some wine, and invite a few guests to come early and help assemble (and sample, of course).

Don't feel locked into the ingredients we've included in these categories. Head to the grocer and see what inspires you. For example, we include recipes for mixing your own spreads, but to simplify you could grab prepared tzatziki, hummus, flavored cream cheese, or cheese spreads.

Each spread recipe makes enough to top 24 canapes. If you opt to use 24 of each canape base (for a total of 96 canapes), supplement the three spreads below with a purchased choice, such as hummus, tzatziki or flavored cream cheese.

24 multigrain crackers

24 thin slices of seedless cucumber

24 toasted baguette slices

24 purchased phyllo cups (found in the grocer's freezer section)

Garlic-herb cream cheese: In a medium bowl, beat together 4 ounces softened cream cheese and 2 tablespoons milk until smooth. Stir in a pinch of salt, 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper, 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme, 1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano, and 1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic.

Zesty barbecue spread: In a small bowl, stir together 3 tablespoons barbecue sauce, 2 tablespoons spicy red pepper jelly, 1/4 cup sour cream and a splash of hot sauce.

Orange sweet potato spread: Microwave 1 medium sweet potato until fork-tender, then peel, place it in a medium bowl and mash it. Stir in 2 tablespoons orange marmalade, 1 tablespoon cider vinegar. Season to taste with salt and ground black pepper.

Small cooked and peeled shrimp

Shredded cooked chicken

Halved cherry tomatoes

Crab meat

Small wedges of Manchego cheese

Shaved Parmesan cheese

Sliced green and black olives

Sliced hot peppers (such as piri piri or Peppadew)

Sliced scallions

To assemble the canapes, arrange the bases on a large serving tray. Top each with a dollop of one of the spreads. Press one of the topping choices into the spread, then finish each with a garnish.

Makes 48 canapes or 6-12 servings

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1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

One 6-ounce can crabmeat, drained

One 5-ounce jar Kraft Old English cheese

   spread

1 tablespoon mayon   naise

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

6 English muffins, halved

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1. Put the butter, crabmeat, cheese spread, mayonnaise, and garlic powder in a medium bowl; stir to combine. Spread the crab mixture on the English muffin halves. Freeze for 30 minutes.

2. Heat the broiler. Cut each English muffin half into quarters. Transfer the canapes to a baking sheet and broil until browned and bubbly, about 5 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Per serving (based on 12): 189 calories, 7 grams protein, 14 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams sugar, 12 grams fat, 38 milligrams cholesterol, 422 milligrams sodium, 1 grams dietary fiber.

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2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt, plus more for boiling the pasta

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

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1. Combine the flour and salt in a large, flat-bottomed bowl. Form the flour into a mound and form a well in the center of the mound. Crack the eggs into the well. Beat the eggs with a fork, gradually incorporating the flour and being careful not to break the walls of the well. After about 1/3 of the flour is incorporated into the eggs, add the olive oil and ¼ cup water. Continue beating the egg mixture until a dough forms. Knead until all the flour has been incorporated and the dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes, adding more water if the dough is too stiff to knead or more flour if the dough is sticky, about 1 tablespoon at a time. Cover the bowl with foil or plastic wrap and let the dough rest for 20 minutes.

2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it. Meanwhile, cut the dough into 4 equal pieces and roll each piece into a thin rectangle with a pasta machine or rolling pin. Cut each rectangle into thin strips with a pasta machine; or, starting from one of the short sides, roll each rectangle up and cut it into thin strips with a knife. (You can spread the strands on baking sheets - or twist them into bundles - and let them dry at room temperature for up to a few hours. The longer you let them dry, the longer they'll need to cook - 10 minutes tops.) If you don't dry the pasta, boiling time for al dente, is 2 to 3 minutes.

3. Drain and serve with your favorite sauce. (Traditional is butter-and-Parmesan cheese.)

Per serving: 293 calories, 10 grams protein, 48 grams carbohydrates, no sugar, 7 grams fat, 93 milligrams cholesterol, 618 milligrams sodium, 2 grams dietary fiber.