Looking for Hollywood-themed party side-dish ideas for friend's annual summer party this Saturday.

I agree with the cobb salad.
Here's an authentic recipe. Disney took over the 'Brown Derby" name after it went belly up..but kept (some) of the recipes intact.
http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/brown-derby-cobb-salad-714069/
Consider a shrimp cocktail too--a classic.

There's also a grapefruit cake served there based on the brown derby recipe which I just can't find at the moment.

Mrslarkin--so happy you posted this, such fun to think about and Betteirene-- I have 2 movie quotes for you..."what we have here is a failure to communicate"..."that man is a P-I-G, pig." for Blazing Saddles, well that would be more of a sound effect, wouldn't it?

Yes, betteirene! those are all so great!! Must do the brownies too.

Great ideas, guys! Thank you so much for all the links, too.

For my side dish, I'm leaning towards the Hollywood and Vine tomato caprese salad, or some kind of drunken beans for the "pills and booze." @aargersi, got a drunken bean recipe up your sleeve?? Not that I'm picking you out for any reason other than I know you are a kick-butt tex-mex cook. :-)

I can't think of any sides except for (Sid) Caesar Salad, but there are quite a few desserts with punny Hollywood names:
Angelina Food Cake with Pitt-ed Bing cherries
Dunkin' Munchkins
(Jack) Lemmon Meringue Pie
(Halle) Berry Shortcakes

There are thousands of food scenes to choose from, such as the boiled-egg scene from "Cool Hand Luke" to the split pea soup from "The Exorcist" and the baked bean/campfire scene from "Blazing Saddles," but I defy anyone to forget the mashed potato scene from "Animal House."

And yet, none of those foods has been brought to more Hollywood-themed parties than these: Katherine Hepburn's Brownies http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Katharine-Hepburns-Brownies-106559

I'd go retro too or really this would be my childhood vision of glamorous. I liked the rumaki suggestion, (as well as the pills and booze). What about blini with caviar and creme fraiche or smoked salmon and chopped egg, jumbo shrimp cocktail, lobster skewers, anything with puff pastry, steak tartare.

Back in the day, Chasen's was famous for its chili - Liz Taylor supposedly had it shipped to her, wherever she was shooting on location.

When I think Hollywood circa 70's-90's, I think Wolfgang Puck. A great side dish would be his famous chopped salad (big LA fave) from Spago: http://www.wolfgangpuck.com/recipes/view/6175/Chino-Chopped-Vegetable-Salad . Spago's smoked salmon pizza was also a ubiquitous dish (though not really a side): http://www.wolfgangpuck.com/recipes/view/6162/Pizza-with-Smoked-Salmon-and-Caviar (still delicious w/o the caviar, if you're not feeling flush.)

Nowadays, the big thing in Hollywood are food trucks - a friend who's a writer out there tells me that arranging to have one come to the set is a popular treat: anything from Korean BBQ, to burgers, to Thai, to Mexican....so maybe there's something there to investigate.

How about a gorgeous riff on a Caprese salad? http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Mango-Radicchio-Caprese-with-Basil-Vinaigrette-242111

zuchini gratin

Love aargersi's snarky comment...but I just remembered the fun parties my friends melissa and kristin used to throw for the Oscars. They made a dish for every "Best Picture" nominee. Maybe some inspiration from this summer's blockbusters?

Pills and booze. Hee hee. So not helpful.

Sounds like fun! How about setting up veggies (for dipping) in big martini glasses for a fun effect or a "bar" to assemble one sort of food themselves. Some cosmo or super trendy jello shots on sticks would be FUN! check out this site! http://jelly-shot-test-kitchen.blogspot.com/

I think this sounds like a hoot. Have a blast!

hmmmm I am stumped. I did a little googling, maybe you could find a copy of this: Newman’s Own Cookbook – Sparkling Recipes from Paul Newman and his Hollywood Friends by Paul Newman & A.E. Hotchner
Published by: Ebury Press/Random House
ISBN: 009186926-9 © 1999

hollywood-themed?! hmmm, can't quite wrap my mind around what that might be (authentic hollywood would be no food at all since no one actually eats down there). for some reason I think of old school cocktail hors d'oeuvres like rumaki or things on skewers or items rolled in coconuts. another idea: the hollywood bowl's picnic tradition is cheesecake.

And today's Hollywood is all about tacos, tacos, tacos....

Well, this pizza is kind of Hollywood with Clark Gable and Sophia Loren, http://www.food52.com/recipes/4502_una_pizza_rustica_e_autentica_for_sophia_loren

@lorigoldby--did they have Shirley Temples?

http://julesfood.blogspot.com/2011/05/good-ol-cobb-salad.html Whoops, didn't give you the link for the Cobb Salad.

Cobb Salad - launched at the Brown Derby. Perfect side dish.

I googled hollywood, walk of fame and came across a neat website you might use for inspiration. www.hollywoodphotographs.com Old b & w photos of the Brown Derby (cobb salad), Chasen's, Spago (mini pizzas) but no pics of Trader Vic's (mai tai) but with all of the soda fountain recipes from last week's contest--maybe a starlet wannabee drink?

Hollywood & Vine tomatoes (caprese bites)
Grauman's Chinese Slaw (asian twist on slaw--goes great w/ BBQ)