Photo: Travis Rathbone

Everyone has a dish that's so deceptively simple, they can make it from memory. We asked In the Small Kitchen cookbook authors Cara Eisenpress and Phoebe Lapine to share their go-to favorite--sure to become one of yours.

Bring both a small and a large pot of salted water to boil. Add 2 cups chopped kale to the small one and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain. In the large pot, cook an 8-ounce package of soba noodles according to package directions, reserving 1 cup cooking water when draining. Toss noodles with 1 Tbsp. oil. In a frying pan, sauté a large handful of chopped walnuts in oil until golden. Add kale, walnuts, small pinches of salt and cayenne pepper, and ¼ cup cooking water to noodles. Stir and add more cooking water, if desired, and lots of grated Parmesan.

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We know--Brad Pitt will probably be calling you any minute now with the news that Angelina has a cold and he needs you to stand in for her on Sunday night... but it's good to have a back-up plan just in case. Settle in for a long evening of ballgowns and tears with some fabulous food inspired by the nominated films, whether it's a Southern spread inspired by The Help or a French dinner a la Midnight in Paris. Here, a few ideas to get you started—and be sure to check out our Oscar Party Menu, which includes 16 cocktails, snacks, mains, sides and desserts that you can eat on the couch, with one hand holding your ballot. (Oh wait, is that Brad's publicist calling?)

The Help
Brothers Matt and Ted Lee, who are from Charleson, S.C., have based their recipes on ones they've found in slender church pamphlets, spiral-bound fundraisers for the Junior League and other sources. Their Lansdowne Punch and Shrimp and Deviled-Egg Salad Sandwiches will bring you right into one of the film's ladies' bridge party scenes.

Midnight in Paris
Channel your inner Parisienne and serve gougeres, little cheese puffs that go perfectly with chilled white wine; beef stew with cognac and horseradish mustard, perfect for a February night; and lavender creme brulee, which we can totally picture Owen Wilson's character lapping up with gusto as he goes on about la vie en rose.

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News from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economics Research Service: The cost of bleached white flour skyrocketed to $19.52 per 100 pounds in January, from $14.13 in May 2010. That's a 38% jump! And while the price hike is hitting commercial bakers much harder than it's affecting your Aunt Edna, no one wants to drop a bundle when making a simple batch of cookies. As it turns out, Crain's reports, flour isn't the only baking ingredient that's gone up in price lately. Sugar and nuts have also gotten more expensive (a 50-pound bag of sugar that cost $29.50 two years ago now goes for $37.50; a pound of pecans was $5 or $6 last year but is now more than $8).

But there's good news: The price of butter and eggs has actually gone down recently. Which means if you're trying to save money but still want to enjoy home-baked goodies, shortbread is a godsend. Like most recipes, Jamie Oliver's relies heavily on butter and has just 3 other ingredients, and produces crumbly cookies perfect for dunking in tea. These butter cookies also fit the bill; decorate them with pastel sprinkles and think spring. And Pick-Me-Up Muffins are another cheap treat; you probably have all the (budget-friendly) ingredients in your kitchen already.

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Photo: Scott Takushi for the St Paul Pioneer Press

Selling Girl Scout Cookies is no joke: As the St Paul Pioneer Press reports, the top cookie sellers are going out door to door every night of cookie-selling season, determined to sell as many Do-Si-Dos as they can. Selling the most cookies earns a Girl Scout a special "Cookie Diva" badge and rewards like an iPad or even a trip to Ireland, but for Kyla Gronau, the #1 seller of The Girl Scouts of the Minnesota and Wisconsin River Valleys council (she's sold over 12,000 boxes of cookies in her day), it's about much more.

Kyla has cerebral palsy, which has always affected the way people see her. As she told the Pioneer Press, "I want to be looked up to. All my life, I've been down here. All my life, I've wanted to be up here (pointing up). I feel people have looked down on me because of who I am. Now, girls want their pictures taken with me." Here's a girl with some grit--and if there's not a badge for determination and stick-to-it-iveness, well, maybe there should be. (via MSNBC Photoblog)

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I'd be the last person to say regular French fries needed improving, but have to admit their sweet potato cousins have stolen my heart lately. The one-two-three punch of honey-like flavor, savory salt, and crunch is hard to resist. And now that there are a few frozen varieties on the market, I can easily get my fix. Alongside a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch or served with roasted chicken for dinner, they've become my new back-pocket side dish. They're more expensive than making your own, and they certainly have a longer list of ingredients, but it's hard to beat the ease.

Ore Ida Sweet Potato Crinkle Fries
140 calories, 7 grams of fat per serving
Bake for 20 to 30 minutes at 400 degrees
These zig-zag-cut, French fried sweets crisp up nicely. They're thin enough that there's still a high crunch-to-potato ratio, and stand up well to dipping in ketchup, sour cream or an aioli dipping sauce (this garlic aioli is perfect).

Alexia Spicy Sweet Potato Fries
130 calories, 4 grams of fat per serving
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes at 400 degrees
With a good punch from the chipotle pepper seasoning, these julienned spuds are almost shoelace-thin, and many have tapered ends (which means if you like those little burnt crunchy bits , these are your fries). They're especially good with a cooling sauce like this yogurt-cilantro lime one.

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It's hard to find fault with a slice of cinnamon raisin bread toasted and spread with butter. It was a treat when I was a kid, and I still think of it as a more fun version of that most basic breakfast option, toast. (And if you haven't untwisted a swirl of cinnamon raisin bread lately, piece by piece, you really aren't living life to the fullest.)

Recently, though, people have been telling me about ways to incorporate it into other standbys. They're all classic breakfast, lunch and dessert dishes. But by replacing plain old white bread (or even healthy--but, let's face it, occasionally ho-hum--whole wheat bread) with cinnamon raisin bread, they get a tiny lift. From basic to...yes, a little out-there, here they are:

1. PB&J
2. French Toast
3. Bread Pudding
4. Apple Crisp (tear up pieces and add them to the crumble over the fruit)
5. DIY Danish: Make a sandwich out of two slices of toasted cinnamon raisin bread and fruited cottage cheese.

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Many excellent food sites have recipe boxes that will organize your favorites, from appetizers to desserts. But they're usually presented in a text-heavy list; you have to click through for photos. Not Pinterest, though. The personal bulletin board service is built on images (99% of which are totally drool-worthy), so you can click through colorful displays of noodle soups, pink and green cupcakes, cheesy pull-apart bread, icy margaritas with their glasses rimmed in salt, and so on.

Like Facebook, Twitter and other popular social sites, Pinterest starts out as a simple lark and can quickly become a time-suck. But it can also be a great way to get ideas (What should I make for dinner tonight? What can I bring to my neighbor's house for that potluck next week? What can I do with this avocado besides make guacamole?). Before you fall down the Pinterest rabbit hole, here are a few pieces of advice:

DO create separate boards for each subject you like. Favorite recipes and drinks are common, but you don't have to be limited by broad categories. I've seen boards for canning, "inspiring cookies" and even peanut butter pies. Users can follow all your boards or just a single board.

DON'T just follow your friends. As with Facebook and Twitter, Pinterest lets you create a list of people to follow. It's fun to follow friends, of course, but some of the most interesting recipes you'll find on Pinterest might come from people you don't know. You can follow Oprah's Pinterest boards for everything from winter soups to delectable desserts, and here are 5 more fantastic boards I've started following:
Jane Wang's Delicious board
Allison Butt's Recipes board
Callye Alvarado's My Love Affair with Fig board
Marly's Best Vegetarian Sandwiches board
Whole Foods Market's Cheese Is the Bee's Knees board

Photo: Thinkstock

We have nothing against bananas and tiny boxes of raisins, but sometimes you need something new in your emergency snack cache. Enter these interesting, tasty and healthy offerings: each come in handy single-serving packages.

Planters NUT-rition Energy Mix
Everything in these 180-calorie bags pulls its weight, from the dark chocolate-covered soynuts to the whole wheat pretzels, so you won't be picking through to get to the good stuff. $5.99 for 7 1.25-ounce packs.

Funky Monkey Carnaval Mix
Crunchy fruit? Why yes! One 110-calorie packet of freeze-dried fruit has organic banana, pineapple, apple and papaya--and nothing else. $1.99 for a 1-ounce bag.

BelVita Breakfast Biscuits in Apple Cinnamon
Cookies for breakfast always seems like a good idea to us, but sometimes we feel a tad guilty scarfing a chocolate chip cookie before 9AM. These not-too-sweet crisps--a pack of 4 has 230 calories--are the perfect solution. $3.69 for 5 packs of 4 biscuits.

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This Valentine’s Day, ditch the predictable box of chocolate-covered chocolates and try some of these fresh flavors instead.

Photo: My Sweet Brigadeiro

SHORT AND SWEET: Beloved Brazilian chocolate is finally making its way to the U.S. in My Sweet’s bite-sized brigadeiros; try their lavender, peanut honey, and pink salt flavors. (15 pieces for $30)

PEPPERY PASSION: You’ve never tasted anything quite like the tongue-tingling Szechuan buttons that sit atop Sensation Truffles. (4 pieces for $12.50)

WINE AND DINE: From Port wine-drenched strawberries to rosemary-infused salt butter caramels, the chocolates in Chuao's Sweetheart Box will satisfy both your sweet and savory cravings. (Originally $59, now $47.20 with discount code OPRAH12, good for 20% off all Chuao chocolates)

GOOD FOR YOU--REALLY!: In flavors like Cupuaçu (the tangy fruit from a tree in the Brazilian rainforest), Gnosis Passion Truffles are rich, creamy and surprisingly healthy—all are vegan, raw, and free of refined sugar, but no less delicious. (Originally 3 pieces for $10.49, now $8.91 with coupon code OPRAH-15, good for 15% off all Gnosis Chocolate products)

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Photo: Cristina Ferrare

My husband, Tony, knows how much I love fresh herbs. I grow them year-round inside and outside our home. I use them in my cooking all the time because they enhance the flavor of any dish I prepare. Using fresh herbs is the perfect way to brighten up the flavor of low-cal recipes, so you don't miss the fat or the extra salt. (Follow me on Twitter @CristinaCooks for more on healthy cooking.)

The other evening, Tony came home with a beautiful bouquet of fresh herbs and edible flowers wrapped in a lovely ribbon. As I looked at the bouquet, I realized everything in there was suitable for eating, and that gave me an idea. I decided to experiment and make a bouquet using fresh lettuce leaves, watercress, wild arugula, cucumbers, frisee, herbs and edible flowers; wrap them with a ribbon so they'd would look like a bouquet; and serve it as a first course for dinner on Valentine's Day. You expect a bouquet on Valentine's Day, but not one you can eat!