Academy Awards Food: Silver Linings Playbook 'Homemades' And 'Crabby Snacks'

David O. Russell's hit film "Silver Lining's Playbook," adapted from the novel by Matthew Quick, centers around a charmingly dysfunctional family whose favorite pastime is cheering on the Philadelphia Eagles.

To prepare for Eagles games, the protagonist's mother (Jacki Weaver) creates snacks that have gained notoriety not only among family members, but among neighbors and friends of her son.

Crabby snacks and homemades are mentioned so nonchalantly throughout the film that a viewer could safely assume that the snacks are Philadelphian staples, but that's not the case. Examiner.com debunks the myth, and explains where producer David O. Russell got the idea for the script:

The film was shot in a neighborhood in Philadelphia down the street from Mrs. Cappelletti - mother of Hall of Fame football player John Cappelletti. She had Russell over to her home before filming began and offered snacks to Russell calling them crabbies and homemades. Russell assumed that they were a traditional serving of snacks found in most homes in Philadelphia. But after filming was completed, Bradley Cooper told Russell that when he grew up in Philadelphia he never had heard of either snack. So crabbies and homemades may be just a creation of Mrs. Cappelletti.

So what are crabby snacks and homemades? We did a little sleuthing to find out.

Matthew Quick, the author of the book, tweeted a photo of crabby snacks recently. The dish traditionally involves crab meat, cheese spread and some seasonings spread on English muffins. Alternatively, some crabby snacks can be made without any crab -- the "crabby" refers to a type of Old Bay seasoning -- and involves a dip made with cheddar, mustard and paprika.

Here are a few recipes to try out:

Crabby snacks recipe from Lindsey's Luscious
New England Crabby Melts from Group Recipes

When Philadelphians refer to "homemades," they're usually talking about homemade egg noodles. This nickname was adopted by Italian-Americans in southern Philadelphia. However, Matthew Quick's book doesn't include the term, and instead only discusses homemade pizza made by Pat's mom, with toppings such as hamburger and chicken.