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

[onrushpam]

We are staying in tonight (company just left and we're ready for down time). DH requested Susan in FL's chicken in champagne vinegar sauce. So, that's what we're having, along with mashed spuds and b. sprouts. Sweets will be leftover toffee.

[Lapin d'Argent]

Staying in tonight ... just me and Mr. L d'A. After six days without power thanks to a record-breaking ice storm earlier in the month, we are still celebrating electricity, heat, and running water.

Dinner is a roast beef tenderloin with a wine/port/pan juice reduction, served with Molly Steven's escarole braised with runner cannellinis from Rancho Gordo.

Happy New Year to everyone!

- L.

[chappie]

Had no specific plans until my wife found nice-sized (two pounds plus) lobsters on sale for $7.99 a pound and brought home three of them. So I steamed them in white wine, saved all the roe and tomalley for a compound butter, made a big salad with a reduced cider vinagrette and steamed asparagus topped with homemade hollandaise in which I substituted half the lemon juice with wine.

Completely gorged ourselves on lobster (with a bottle of rose prosecco), after which I mashed up the aforementioned butter and turned the shells, steaming liquid and juices into stock.

A sidenote, perhaps better off asked elsewhere than here, but after the somewhat short simmer and straining, can I reduce the lobster stock later on or does boiling it too long -- even without the solids -- give bad results?

H

[lapin d'or]

We had a quiet dinner at home, I had some goose stock in the fridge made from the christmas goose. My husband used this to make a delicious rissotto with some porcinni mushrooms and just a few morsels of goose meat added near the end.

This was perfect comfort food.

[Fat Guy]

Our friend David ordered an insane amount of sushi for 8 people and then only 6 people came for dinner.

(That was after David and I each ate about 40% of an antipasto platter for 10.)

[Prawncrackers]

I wish i lived somewhere i could order a truckload of quality sushi for NYE!! Instead i had to get up early to go to the wholesale fish market yesterday morning, it was pretty sparse but managed to pick up a couple of lobsters and a small turbot. We had chicken rice, stir-fried lobster, steamed turbot and veggies. Our friends brought round a coconut meringue roulade:

Happy New Year Everyone!!

[mydogbites2]

I won't be serving pig snout though tradition be damned!

Can you expound on this tradition?

My signifigant other is from PA dutch land.. and they have a tradition of eating pork on new years day and NEVER chicken... Reasoning is.. "A pig roots foreward, but the chicken scratches backward."

I dont much buy into superstition, etc.. But it would be interesting to hear anyother fables/tales.

Its fine with me anyway cause I get to use the leftover Christmas ham bone for bean soup and cornbread!

[rooftop1000]

We had an evening of Fun, Frivolity and Frying planned, then it began to snow. And it snowed until mid afternoon when my husband called me to say the winds were gusting around 40mph and there was no way he was going to stand on the lawn with a turkey fryer in 10 degree weather with high winds. After a few phone calls it seems like people are still coming up, but now there will be no Turkey, or plantains, or onion rings or homemade chips or ...anything I had planned for dinner. So after work I bought the family packs of chicken wings and sausage, peppers, rolls, chips, etc and ran home to start cooking.

2 people showed up

We now have about 22 cooked sausages with peppers and onions, maybe 20 Buffalo wings and lots of sliced veggies in the fridge and a Turkey in the oven

OY

turkey sandwiches

turkey soup

turkey ala king

happy new year

and tasty leftovers

tracey

[shellfishfiend]

We had wonderful Louisiana shrimp boiled with onions and new potatoes. We tossed in four king crab legs for good measure. Homemade cocktail sauce with lots of horseradish for the husband and tons of fresh lemon for me.

Washed down with lots of beer while watching our beloved LSU Tigers beat the snot out of Georgia Tech.

It was a delicious New Years Eve all around.

[Kim Shook]

I would have liked to have made a round of everyone's parties to sample all this wonderful stuff. And Tracey, I would have made it to your house NO MATTER WHAT !

Our NYE was spent our traditional way – we go to some friends and play cards and eat trashy stuff – artichoke dip, Knorr spinach dip, crab Meltaways, etc. I contributed a cheese tray w/ nuts and fruit, those meatballs (crockpot w/ apricot preserves and bbq sauce) at the request of the young people at the party and some surprisingly good Costco frozen all-butter puff pastry things stuffed with yummies like caramelized onion and gruyere, sautéed onion, sage and gorgonzola, four cheese and roasted garlic and artichoke w/ herb and garlic cream cheese. They were awfully good and very attractive – I’ll be buying them again. We started the tradition when all our kids were small and it was easier than getting a babysitter on NYE, and now that the youngest is 14, we find we quite like it and don’t see any reason to change. Dessert was leftover goodies from Christmas - very much more appreciated last night than after a huge Christmas dinner!

[RAHiggins1]

I host a New Year's party every year. I try to mix it up on food served. I usually do provide a couple of starters, beef, fish, poultry, 2 starches, 2 veggies and a dessert.

So far I am I know I am making;

Goat Cheese Mouse served on Crostini with a strawberry compote, red wine caramel and walnuts.

Shrimp and Queso Stuffed Chili Relleno with a Tomato Beurre Blanc on Polenta

Chicken Balantine with Tarragon Scented Veloute.

Parsley Buttered Red Potatoes

Steak Au Poivre

Bouche de Noel

←

I ran short on time this week to prep and cook in advance. I ended up doing it all after work and after shopping for all of it on new year's eve. I got home at 3:30PM. I had to change the menu for simpler preperation. It worked out great and no one was the wiser.

Crostini with goat cheese mousse, strawberry compote and walnuts.

Shrimp Cocktail

Assorted cheeses brought by a guest

Sirloin Au Poivre

Chicken Francese with Lemon Caper Sauce

Roasted Reds

Baby Carrots with Fried Shallot Gremolata

Garlic Mashed Yukon Golds

Edited January 1, 2009 by RAHiggins1 (log)

[suzilightning]

lovely food RAHiggins and Tracey... if i'd known we could have hopped on Berkshire Valley up to 23 to help you eat.

Schramsberg Mirabelle (eh, not that good).

served some pigs in the blanket with honey mustard and oriental meatballs(sweet and sour with more sour for me).

since one of my presents was a bottle of 13 year old Pappy van Winkle bourbon I HAD to try it. a few splashes in a glass with some branch to bring it down to 80 proof then served with a tasting of 4 blue cheeses: Mindoro, Roaring 40s, Gorgonzola Piquante and a Butler's Blacksticks Blue, some tiny figs and some homemade membrillo.

the smokyness of the bourbon so complemented the clinging fat of the blues. some of the best eating i have done in quite a while.

[Mayhaw Man]

I did not go out last night. I spend most of my time among folks in the bidness and, we have all said for years, New Year's Eve is amateur night. If I want to go out and whoop it up, I generally would rather do it with a much lower key crowd. In New Orleans, especially with the Sugar Bowl Crowd, sometimes it's better to just stay home. Besides, all of my buddies had to work, so, New Year's Day is a much bigger, and much more relaxed, deal.

I went to my friend Sue and Mario's house around the corner from mine. Sue's a big deal pastry chef and so the desserts were laid in advance of any annoying appearances of sto' bought ice cream (then again, she's not a snob. She's the one that named my Coconut Cake "Crack Cake."

We also had some killer breakfast egg and cheese casserole, black eyed peas with andouille, cabbage and vinegar (German style, delicious) , Boudin brought in from my newly returned friend, Pableaux Johnson (real jobs suck, as P just found out)and a ton of other stuff.

I spent the day, yesterday, smoking 43 pounds of butts and shoulders on the pair of twin Webers. They all finished up at around 185F and were cooked, completely, over pecan wood. Apparently, I didn't screw it up. You would have thought it was 1983 and I was dishing up Peruvian Marching Powder to an admiring bunch of Disco Freaks. There was none left. Not even the grease. I was very pleased.

She had done up a bunch of flute with sugar around the rim, and so those that were into it had cava mixed with various fruit juices and stuff. I didn't do any of that (allergies in this bizarre weather are killing me) but they seemed to be going down pretty well.

There were also a large ice chest full of Black Bay Oysters for those that knew what to do with them. Oh Boy! I did. Thanks Mike.

Tonight, I'm going to yet another " Lord, I'm glad that we have the day off" crowd. Looking forward to a good meal and good company, though it will be hard to top the Ceravalo's shindig.

Happy New Year to All.

Edited January 2, 2009 by Mayhaw Man (log)

[Sabrosita]

I was cooking for a party of about 50 people all in their 20s so I had to compromise a little bit of gourmetness for things people would both want to eat and appreciate in their drunkeness. We paired everything with kegs of local microbrews.

Homemade soft pretzels (Alton Brown's recipe) with hot pepper and brie dip paired with roger's pilsner

Grilled pizza--chanterelle and rosemary or duck proscuitto, caramelized onion and mozzarella paired with Manny's pale ale

Pork butt, apples and onions braised in apple cider and apple cider vinegar paired with chopper redale.

Over all it was really fun and very funny when the pretzels ran out and people were clamoring for other things to dip in the brie--I saw pizza, pork, and at the end of the night saw someone funneling it into their mouth using a spoon fashioned from the foil from the top of a champagne bottle!

Hope everyone else had a great NYE and has a very delicious 2009!

[Cleo]

Some friends of ours had us over at their house and they invited another couple as well. We each have 2 kids, so the age range on kids was from 2-9, mostly in the 2-4 range.

The friend of my friend has a store near her in CT that was selling lobster for $6.99/lb. Apparently they do this every NYE. So we started the night with pigs in blankets, hot spinach and artichoke dip, mini latkes with sour cream and smoked salmon.

Then we had salad, steamed lobster, grilled steak (even though it was beyond freezing out!), macaroni and cheese (I made Ina Garten's recipe). Dessert was homemade chocolate cakes (2 of them), apple pie, rice krispie treats, cookies.

Because most of the kids are young, we started the evening at 4:30 and we got home at 9:00 (they live 10 minutes from us). It was a lovely evening. All kids got along, no meltdowns the whole night, and I was able to relax and enjoy the company.

One of the most enjoyable New Year's Eves I have had in a long while. Not that they have been bad by any means in the past few years, this was was just particularly warm and nice.

[tsquare]

I did not go out last night. I spend most of my time among folks in the bidness and, we have all said for years, New Year's Eve is amateur night.

←

While I tend to agree with you, after a couple of weeks of houseboundiness, we decided to walk to a nearby restaurant and despite reservations that allowed them to turn the tables for three seatings, fully booked, we had a great meal, with excellent service.

We bypassed the set menu - they pared down their full menu but left us plenty of great options. As a local spot with lots of repeat business, they took the night in stride as a regular, fully booked night, with just a bit more festivity in mind (they gave confetti poppers and silly hats to those who ordered the special dinner.) And now they are closed for their annual vacation/front of house refresher break.

Happy 2009 to La Medusa!

We made a traditional pork studded hoppin' john, rice, collards, and cornbread at home for the 1st. Happy, healthy and prosperous New Year to all.

[TheSwede]

I did the lobster with vanilla beurre blanc sauce. The combination was stunning!

The recipe for the sauce is as follows:

2 finely chopped shallots, 50 g lobster stock, 50 g white wine vinegar, 100 g white wine, 1 split vanilla pod. Reduce to half. Remove from heat, strain (or just remove vanilla pod). Emulsify 100 g cold butter cut in cubes. Salt and white pepper to taste. Be careful with the temperature, you don't want the sauce to get either too hot or too cold. Personally, I add the butter just before serving and work the sauce on and off over a steaming pan.

[Shamanjoe]

I throw two main parties a year, 4th of July and New Year's Eve. Central to both parties are fireworks, alcohol (beer for the majority, hand-crafted cocktails for the rest of us) and of course, the FOOD!

This New Year's Eve, the following is on the menu:

Fresh off the grill..

Hamburgers (I make them with 50/50 chuck steak and sirloin flap meat, freshly ground and hand mixed with my 7 herbs and spices)

Carne Asada (from a Hispanic market close to my house, marinated all day in spices, onions and bell peppers).

Cheddarwurst (can't beat a classic)

Broccolini (tossed with some olive oil, salt and pepper and slightly charred)

Sweet Onions (tossed with olive oil, coarse salt and pepper, then grilled on a piece of foil poked full of holes using a chopstick)

When I come up with a cocktail list, I'll post it here too. For now, that's the food list.

So what's on your menu for New Year's Eve? What are you cooking, or what are you making to take to a potluck?

[DeliciouslyLekker]

"Gourmetten" is very popular in The Netherlands and that's what we'll be doing this year at the home of a couple we know.

In addition, we will have:

oliebollen (deep fried round doughnuts)

apple beignets

champagne (also a must for the countdown)

wine

beer

[Marlene]

We're doing a full turkey dinner since we didn't do one at Christmas

Appetizers

deviled eggs

mini tourtieres

Main

homemade dinner rolls or Challah, I haven't decided yet

Turkey

mashed potatoes

glazed carrots, or asparagus

homemade cranberry sauce

savoury bread pudding (instead of dressing or stuffing)

gravy of course!

Dessert

either a NY cheese cake or chocolate yule log. Haven't decided yet. The cheesecake, I would make. The yule log would be store bought.

We are having company and we'll play cards and pool, and toast with champagne at midnight.

[Peter the eater]

So what's on your menu for New Year's Eve? What are you cooking, or what are you making to take to a potluck?

I spent the better part of yesterday driving and walking around with the kids getting stuff for a New Year's Eve at my place. We'll get a few droppers-by early, all on their way to late night parties. After 7pm, it's just the family eating well in flannel pajamas and going to bed early with content smiles.

I haven't figured out what to do yet, but my ingredients on hand include: a fresh pheasant, a rabbit, live lobster, duck breasts, and a lamb rack. Lots of nice veggies and other tasty thing also in the fridge. Should be fun.

[Tri2Cook]

Pretty much the same thing that's on the menu every day... I'm working new year's eve.

[Darienne]

Dear Mr. Shamonjoe,

Where is your dessert?

[Chris Amirault]

Lots of kids and a menu with some gluten-free options drives the New Years Eve Eve party menu (which is, yes, tonight -- gotta get crackin'), all of which is homemade:

Regents Punch

Egg Nogg

mulled cider

Cuba Libres with Mexican Coke

sparkling lemonade for the kiddos

chicken wings

pine & Chartreuse cured salmon canapés

devils on horseback (pancetta-wrapped dates stuffed with gorgonzola dolce)

mac & cheese

mezze plate (hummous, tabbouleh, baba ganoush) w roasted vegetables

deviled eggs

seasoned root chips (potato, yam, yautia lila & amarilla)

popcorn

nam yu peanuts

[mtigges]

My wife and I never party go out. We just stay in and have a nice dinner. Here's my plan.

1. Goose oyster

I went shopping yesterday for third course and saw they had an extra goose, so I'm breaking it down, and the oysters will sous-vide, then seared and then served with a small amount of reduced stock, probably mounted with a touch of fat, heh heh.

2. Coho collars.

I'll marinate them and broil them. These are still left over from a midsummer fishing trip. Not sure what the side will be yet.

3. Short ribs.

They went in to the water bath yesterday. Sous vide for around 2 days. Then seared on one side, and sauced with a little over goose gravy from xmas. I know that won't be the best saucing, but we have quite a bit of left over gravy. I'll make a leek risotto for the side.

4. Cheese.

------

Chris ... what is Mexican coke?