New Year's Eve: What are You Eating or Serving?

[Zucchini Mama]

We have been invited to a neighborhood progressive theme dinner. There will be costumes, theme music and wierd food. We are doing "the future". We are serving Soilent Green dip, Clockwork Orange punch and multi-course "spirals". Oh dear, what have we gotten ourselves into?

Zuke

[kurtisk]

We are doing "the future". We are serving Soilent Green dip, Clockwork Orange punch and multi-course "spirals".

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You'll be posting pictures, yeah?

k.

[winegeek]

I'll be partying with my beatiful wife in some way, shape or form in hot, sunny Puerto Vallarta!!

[D. Peckham]

Easy.. Lower Bowl... Canada vs. U.S.A

[Andrew Morrison]

Looks like Michelle and I are going to go to Nu and then Chambar. Puerto Vallarta, Derek? Egads, a waiter's work is never done. Enjoy yourself (you, too, everybody )

[Lancelot]

Work till 8.30 pm... Somebody has to make sure you can all buy bubbly for New Years.

5 pound standing rib roast with curry squash( from Trout Lake Farmers Market) and a bottle or two of Red 1997 Nottola Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and maybe a 1997 Isole e Olena Cepparello or 2000 Tua Rita Perlato del Bosco.

I'll be asleep before midnite.... until our crazy neighbors start banging pots and pans off their front porches.

[nwyles]

We decided that we would close this year.

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SO envious! Really? Isn't it nonetheless one of your biggest sales nights of the year, private party or not?

Just wonderin',

k

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Are you kidding ?

NYE is rookies night out ! Parties of twenty somethings who do not know how to behave in a restaurant ! Pass.

Expectations are soooo high for this night and it is just another night. Your steak did not get magically bigger and your red wine did not get magically redder.

People want bands, but not willing to pay for it.

Is the champagne not complimentary with the $18 sirloin ?

Blah, blah, blah

[kurtisk]

Awesome Neil,

Have fun, Sir,

k

[Oyster Guy]

A quiet night at home with a very special female friend.

After 17 days straight of shucking 11,720 oysters.........

Sabreing a bottle or two of some fine champagne ( Dom 1995)

A couple of dozen Effingham Inlet oysters with just a little lemon.

A roaring fire, soft music and.........

The rest...........Well.....

An oyster shucker never kisses and tells.........

Happy New Year to all and theirs and the best for the new year!

Gung hay fah choy

Keep on shucking

Oyster Guy

Edited December 31, 2005 by Oyster Guy (log)

[makanmakan]

sounds like everyone is going to feast like the gods!

have fun and happy new year to all

[gingerfreak]

My partner and I have never had a good time with big NYE blowouts...so we're off to a spectacular dinner, just the 2 of us, at Lumiere.

Then we'll come home and no doubt cap off the evening with some Hennessy XO for him and some Lagavullin 16 yr pour moi.

[M.X.Hassett]

Blue Hill followed by Pegu in NYC. Traffic should be fun

Edited December 31, 2005 by M.X.Hassett (log)

[ChefDanBrown]

Hey Y'all-

I'm no longer allowed by my PR dept to post menus here. Please see my blog at

DanBrown MySpace to find out what I cooked before I took inventory.

xxoo

DB

Edited January 1, 2006 by ChefDanBrown (log)

[M.X.Hassett]

Please see my blog at 

DanBrown MySpace to find out what I cooked before I took inventory.

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Beef Carpaccio and seared fois gras with horseradish, orange reduction, and arugula tossed with carrot vinaigrette

I was curious, how is this dish plated?

[Malawry]

I catered a private party for 8 people last night. Here's what I served:

Amuses while guests gather:

Rosemary and sea salt cashews

Parmesan cheese straws

Marinated olives

Hot passed hors d’oeuvres

Miniature potato pancakes with smoked salmon and chive quark

Chicken satays with peanut sauce

Pissaladiere (Provencal pizza with pesto, anchovies and olives)

Course 1: Soup and sandwich

Jean-Louis Palladin’s roasted shallot soup

Toasted brioche and farmhouse cheddar sandwich with tart apples

Course 2: Appetizer

Jumbo five-spice shrimp with warm Asian slaw and lemongrass-ginger beurre blanc

(Bonus course: Seared diver scallop with red pepper coulis and frizzled leeks)

Course 3: Entrée

Duck two ways:

Duck confit and cabbage strudel

Seared duck breast with prune-calvados sauce and seared Sonoma foie gras

Haricots verts with lemon zest

Mushroom risotto cake

Course 4: Cheese (provided by hosts)

Pecan-raisin bread, fig jam

Course 5: Dessert

Chocolate terrine with spicy caramel sauce and crème fraiche

Petit fours and coffee: chocolate cookies sandwiched with mascarpone, caramel popcorn, candied almonds coated in chocolate and unsweetened cocoa powder

(Bonus: Coffeecake to take home)

[sanrensho]

We had a Japanese nabe (hot pot) party with three other families. Two propane burners and two hot pots going on at the same time. One hot pot with kim chi and the other using a chicken stock for variety and for the kids. Everyone managed to stuff themselves silly and we polished off most of a 9-inch mousse cake (green tea and white/dark chocolate w/layers of almond biscuit).

At the stroke of midnight, we popped the cork on some "champagne" (sparkling cider) and everyone including kids had some bubbly. Best of all, everyone left with a satisfied smile. Can't wait to do it again next year.

[ChefDanBrown]

Please see my blog at 

DanBrown MySpace to find out what I cooked before I took inventory.

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Beef Carpaccio and seared fois gras with horseradish, orange reduction, and arugula tossed with carrot vinaigrette

I was curious, how is this dish plated?

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I'm debating substiting micro-arugula and carrot sorbet for the arugula and vinaigrette, haven't determined plating yet, it's still two weeks out.

[sadistick]

Thinking of doing a multi course tasting menu again this year...aiming for 8-10 courses. Would be interesting to hear if anyone else was planning an elaborate meal for new years eve...

Now to more significant matters...Thought this could be a good thread to start planning my dinner in, as well, giving others the opportunity to post their meals, in infancy.

Heres what I have so far...

Bisque - Be it garden tomatoes with some fried double smoked ham on top or corn, we'll see...

Gravlax or vodka smoked salmon, served with a dill/caper/sweet mustard sauce...everyone loved it last year and requested it again.

Tuna - Either sashimi or very fast sear...lookin for ideas for a sauce/pairing that would work well...have a few in mind so far.

Pasta - White truffle butter sauce - wine?

or

Pasta - Beet ravioli with butter sage sauce.

Steak - seared in pan...I was thinking a typical red wine pan sauce...ideas?

Duck - Port/Red wine/sage sauce

Cheese - some unpasturized goats, morbier, petit basque.

Dessert - Molten Lindt chocolate cake

Cheers.

[Shalmanese]

Just make sure to start it early enough so you are finished eating before midnight. These things can have a tendancy to stretch out. Alternatively, you could start fairly late and have an interlude in the middle to ring in the new year before going back for more food.

As for critiques of the menu: Why tomatos? What sort of tomatos can you get now?

It seems like a very heavy menu. Pasta AND Steak AND Duck? Pasta with butter and then both meats with red wine? All followed by cheese and then chocolate? This is going to get very stodgy. You need to lighten things up a bit.

It's also pretty seafood heavy. And the seafood as well is also heavy.

I would cut out a lot of the fat (salmon, duck, butter, cheese), add in some greens and fruit and light dishes. Maybe replace the bisque with a broth, turning gravlax into a salmon salad and putting it on after the pasta and choosing either steak or duck. Change the dessert to something fruit based or at least something with less cream & eggs.

The EGCI course on menu planning is also an excellent resource.

[rooftop1000]

Not planning much for this year except I want Oysters! As for your tuna may I suggest ...mix eaqual parts honey and soy - roll the blocks of tuna in this and then white sesame seeds - sear in a very hot pan on all sides then let rest and serve over bitter greens with a dressing similar to the marinade...not as sweet though

tracey

[sadistick]

Shal - Aiming to start at around 8ish...should give us enough time, I think. Regarding your comments - As far as tomato's go, I freeze the tomatos from our garden whole, then use them in the winter etc for various applications...works great.

I agree, the menu does seem a bit heavy...maybe remove the duck...add something in its place...I will probably have some type of veg along with the steak...as well, a sorbet will be added in there somewhere or another...

What else would you suggest?

Tracey - That sounds nice, do you have any issues with burning the honey at such a high heat?

[rooftop1000]

Shal - Aiming to start at around 8ish...should give us enough time, I think.  Regarding your comments - As far as tomato's go, I freeze the tomatos from our garden whole, then use them in the winter etc for various applications...works great.

I agree, the menu does seem a bit heavy...maybe remove the duck...add something in its place...I will probably have some type of veg along with the steak...as well, a sorbet will be added in there somewhere or another...

What else would you suggest?

Tracey - That sounds nice, do you have any issues with burning the honey at such a high heat?

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Yeah, I could have mentioned to crank up the exhaust fan...you get smoke but I havent hit any bitter flavors from burning the honey...Yet

T

[GordonCooks]

Ditch the honey idea with the soy. Mix 1 cup of soy per 1/8-1/4 up sugar and a teaspoon of sesame oil. Add 1 cup hot water and mix to dissolve the sugar. Marinate no more than 1 hour and then sear. Roll seared loins in sesame seeds and slice.

[tammylc]

My menu's a little less ambitious - but we'll have 5 to 7 kids running around, so 5 courses is about all we can expect to manage! (We'll feed the kids hot dogs during courses 1 and 2, and then they'll run off with full tummies to play for the rest.)

Seared scallops with leeks and caviar

Butternut squash ravioli with rosemary oil

Mushroom stuffed quail with mushroom risotto and haricots verts

Cheese

Chocolate-caramel-hazelnut tart with creme fraiche whipped cream

I have one person who's not a scallop eater, so I'm trying to think of an easy alternative to that course for her. We were talking tonight about how much she likes beets, so maybe some kind of beet preparation. Color would be quite different, of course, but I could cut it into a round and at least have the same kind of shape for plating...

Champagne with the first two course, and a Burgundy or Rhone with the quail and carrying over into the cheese.

[Jim Charles]

Since the last child went away to college some 16 years ago we have had our little tradition. We have a very simple menu that is simple and requires little effort. I get the best fillets I can find and 4 lobster tails. Nothing more than a Caesar salad, baked potato, melted butter with lemon and a very good bottle of wine to accompany the entree. Just a nice quiet dinner by candlelight in the dinning room. Oh yea, my wife always wants to watch the Barbara Streisand (can’t even spell her name) new years eve dvd, but I’m going to hide it this year.