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

[bmdaniel]

Chris ... what is Mexican coke?

It's either a powdery white substance that will get you killed in Juarez or Coca-Cola imported from Mexico, chiefly because it is still made with real sugar as opposed to HFCS. I reckon either would be good in a Cuba Libre.

[Chris Amirault]

The latter.

[bmdaniel]

The latter.

Party is less exciting that way....

[zoe b]

we have a party to go to, and I was making gougeres and devilled eggs with caviar, but it's supposed to be rainy/icy, so we may stay home & have

lots of champagne

rumaki

lobster

some kind of winter salad

bread

I'm thinking of something soothing & creamy for dessert--flan or rice pudding

the other option is steak tartare--haven't had it for around 20 years, and it's popped into my head

dmdaniel said--

View PostChris Amirault, on 30 December 2009 - 10:07 AM, said:

The latter.

Party is less exciting that way....

I dunno, that sugar high can make you crazy....

[tammylc]

I bought myself some "molecular gastronomy" chemicals for Christmas, so I'll be using those for my New Year's contributions to various parties I'm going to.

PB&J - Strawberry pate de fruit coated in peanut butter powder

Prosciutto with melon caviar

Whipped goat cheese with beet caviar

Plus I've got some leftover salty caramels and some tiny meringues that i'm going to dip in mint dark chocolate.

[Wayne K]

Prosciutto with melon caviar

I've been thinking about this for a couple weeks. I'd be curious to hear what tricks you have for this, in terms of the science and the presentation, and how it turns out. I just did my first spherification a couple weeks ago (mango caviar on vanilla icecream w/ dark chocolate & brandy mousse - thank you for making everything so easy to get Will Goldfarb!), and it worked well - though would an inverse spherification perhaps make the prep for NYE easier? Best of luck!

[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.

Alright, now I know what I'm doing. For Christmas I got wee little plates and bowls in all shapes -- perfect for a tasting menu. Lots of ingredients in small quantities. One of them has three compartments, so I'm going land-air-sea with crusty lamb-roast pheasant-lobster gnocchi. The rabbit is taking the form of a cawl, jury's out on the duck. Lots of pictures.

[Katie Meadow]

Three friends coming for dinner, one says she's bringing caviar, another's bringing champagne

My husband's on a Manhattan kick, so there's that...

Clarine or Brebiou cheese, olives

Spinach, fennel and leek soup for a starter

Coq au Vin (rice and green salad)

Apple pie, choice of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream

[tammylc]

Prosciutto with melon caviar

I've been thinking about this for a couple weeks. I'd be curious to hear what tricks you have for this, in terms of the science and the presentation, and how it turns out. I just did my first spherification a couple weeks ago (mango caviar on vanilla icecream w/ dark chocolate & brandy mousse - thank you for making everything so easy to get Will Goldfarb!), and it worked well - though would an inverse spherification perhaps make the prep for NYE easier? Best of luck!

I have no tricks - just standard alginate mixed with the melon juice (seasoned with a little sugar and salt), dropped one by one in calcium chloride solution. Put a piece of prosciutto in the bottom of a soup spoon, top with some melon caviar, eat. I'll make them a few at a time at the party until I get bored and want to do something else.

I haven't tried reverse spherification at all yet.

Edited to say: I made a bunch at a gathering last night, and they worked out well. "skin" was a bit thick - i'm going to dilute my melon/alginate mix with a bit more juice, see if that helps.

Edited December 30, 2009 by tammylc (log)

[Kouign Aman]

NYE will include something w leeks and phyllo dough. Not sure what. needs to be fingerfood.

[Jon Savage]

Lots of bbq pork butt means I'll have to get up early tomorrow to get the fire started.

A mess of chicken carnitas.

Frijoles refritos

fresh Salsa

Green chile and queso enchiladas

Big Caesar salad

plenty of fresh flour tortillas.

That is just what we are making- we are also expecting 20-30 folks to show up @ ours also bringing random food.

One memorable year someone brought enough spiny (local) lobster tails to fill both sides of our sink to the brim. I split and grilled 'em- sublime.

Should be a fun party. Usually we do something similar for thanksgiving and christmas but this year we were in Venice for the former and camping (10 lbs clams 3 dozen Oysters) for the latter.

Edited December 30, 2009 by 6ppc (log)

[Lapin d'Argent]

We are going to visit friends who teach at SUNY, New Paltz, and have been asked to bring desserts. I'm not much of a baker, but fortunately I remembered that I have a copy of Dorie Greenspan's wonderful From My Home to Yours (or whatever it's proper title is). So today I whipped up a batch of the Cinnamon Squares, which will be frosted tomorrow morning, and the Lemon Cream, with the tart crust waiting patiently in the freezer to be baked, also tomorrow morning.

I'll post the rest of the menu when I find out what it is. (Was!)

[Peter the eater]

What's on the menu you ask?

Here's my first draft -- the theme is "protein orgy".

[scubadoo97]

It's Wed evening and

I just found out I'm hosting a party of 8-12 people. 6-8 of my cousins and maybe my brother and his wife. My cousins my wife and I were going to head out to Sarasota beach for NYE and spend a couple of days on the beach. But first it was going to rain. Now it's less rain but still rain plus plunging temps with highs in the high 50s. So plans were canceled. We Floridians are such wimps.

Just didn't feel it was worth the hotel rental if we weren't going to be out on the beach. "You know when you live in paradise you don't have to go out on a bad day". A saying used a lot when diving in the Keys.

Menu so far, most of which got done tonight. The gravlax, salmon salad/dip and Texas caviar was going to get made anyway and taken to the beach.

1. Gravlax-done-Now do I cold smoke it tomorrow? Mmmm?

2. Hot smoked pulled salmon salad. 2lbs center cut salmon cut from a 4.5 side. The rest went into making the loxs. The salmon was hot smoked over oak at 250* until just done. Brined over night in a 15% brine with a good dose of dark brown sugar. The salmon flakes were pulled apart and lightly mixed with fine diced red and green peppers, celery+leafs, onions and capers. Dressing is a mix of cream cheese, Dukes mayo, Worcestershire, a shake of Tabasco and tapatio hot sauce, 1/2 lemon juice and zest, maple syrup, smoked chili powder, smoked paprika and s & p.

I mixed up the diced veges with the dressing and then lightly tossed and mixed in the large soft flakes of smoked salmon. done

I've been making a hot smoked salmon dip/salad which is mixed down to a finer texture. For this I wanted to keep the large flakes whole. Man it looked and tasted really good. Good to be the chef

3. A loin of ahi tuna lightly seared and sliced. Served with rice flavored with a wasabi/mayo cream, thin julienned carrots and daikon radish for crunch and some homemade picked ginger. to get done. Or it might turn out to be a tuna poke' with Thai Asian dressing. Just not sure which direction to go but both will be good.

4. Texas caviar. Black eyed peas, corn, fine diced red and green peppers, celery and tops and onions and thin slivers of raw collard green (gots to have black eyed peas and collards on NYE). Dressing was made from a balsamic dijon vinaigrette I had made yesterday but now flavored with smoked chili powder, garlic powder, ground cumin, big splashes of champagne vinegar and sherry vinegar. This also got high marks from the cook. Must do again. done

5. Thin sliced smoked flat iron steak. I made this yesterday and we didn't eat it. It's med rare edge to edge. I'm going to give it a quick sear tomorrow straight from the fridge to give it a thin crust but keep it med rare and thin slice, maybe serve with little dinner rolls stuffed with lettuce and thin sliced veges. Little bits.

6. A mixed leaf salad. I plan to make this a salad/vegetable course and thin slice some zucchini and yellow squash and toss it in a vinaigrette and serve over said salad. to be made

Okay I've done all I'm doing tonight. Time to relax and maybe enjoy a late night cigar and wee drink. Got to pace myself ya know. Got to decide on some cool drinks to have on hand. Glad I've got tomorrow off

[Shamanjoe]

Dear Mr. Shamonjoe,

Where is your dessert?

To be honest, I'm not really sure yet. Last year somebody made angelfood cake covered in whipped cream with berries on top in the pattern of the U.S. flag.. That was really good. I think this year she said she'd make a red wine cake..

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

Is it weird Chris that even when I'm typing up the reply, I still imagine I see your picture off to the right?

Anyways, I want those devils on horseback, they sound amazing. And that tasting menu looks like something I could go for about once a week, especially the rabbit.

Three friends coming for dinner, one says she's bringing caviar, another's bringing champagne

My husband's on a Manhattan kick, so there's that...

Clarine or Brebiou cheese, olives

Spinach, fennel and leek soup for a starter

Coq au Vin (rice and green salad)

Apple pie, choice of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream

Katie, are you making the Coq au Vin old-school with a rooster and all of it's blood and the whole two bottles of wine? Or a more Alton Brown approach with a stewing chicken? I've always wanted to try it, especially since a friend of mine has an old rooster (he's bitten me more than once, I'd like to return the favour ) but I've never had the time..

[CDRFloppingham]

It will just be the two of us and I'm keeping it simple.

French 75s

Wedge salad

Crabcakes

Panna cotta with orange/ginger reduction

[rooftop1000]

If I had my head on straight earlier in the week, we would be having piles of lobsters or something since it is just the 2 of us stuck home (work related). But no, I had to decide it was time to get the damn free turkey out of the freezer. So we are having a nice turkey dinner for 2 and then for later on, crab salad, hummus, and "mexi-style" cheese dip in my new little tiny crock-pot

Happy New Year Everyone

I think we will have lobster tomorrow night

Tracey

[Katie Meadow]

The apps have grown to include pumpernickel slices with smoked salmon, cucumber and an approximation of creme fraiche, since my husband baked two killer loaves of pumpernickel yesterday.

We usually make a tarte tatin to go with Coq au Vin, but my husband is pretty enamored of our new version of apple pie, and when someone volunteers to make a pie, I don't object. He is doing a Julia Child double crust, and the filling is RLB, which so far is my favorite.

Shamanjoe, there will not be blood. No rooster, either. My life is complicated enough. There will be plenty of good wine in it and home-made stock and flaming cognac is involved at some point. It is an old recipe (we can't remember where it came from) and pretty labor-intensive. But worth it.

[maggiethecat]

Two peeps, one big-ass brisket and a mess of "Berghoff" fried potatoes.

[Jon Savage]

Could someone be so kind as to enlighten me as to what "Berghoff" fried potatoes are?

Thanks!

[JAZ]

We decided to recreate the first New Year's Eve dinner we had together, with a few refinements. So, rack of lamb, asparagus with sauce maltaise, and a sort of cross between potatoes Lyonnaise and rosti. Tomorrow will be some kind of first course with lobster, and osso buco.

[MarkinHouston]

We are taking New Year's Eve low key this year. Weather is damp and chilly (relatively speaking) so we are staying away from the crowds out and about.

For appetizer, I made some gravlax which I subsequently cold-smoked for eight minutes. I use the customary accompaniements of capers, onions, egg yolks, and Champagne.

The entree is turkey carcass gumbo with home-made wild boar andouille sausage. I used Bruce Aidells' andouille recipe but increased the fat content and seasonings to match the boar meat. This really adds a new flavor dimension to the gumbo. Dessert is Blue Bell ice cream and apple pie.

[Marmish]

lamb

mashed potatoes

greek beans

later parmesan fondue

[santo_grace]

One of our best dinners yet!

Amuse - Bacon, Rosemary, and Potato Flatbread

Scallop with a brown butter vinaigrette

Julia's Garlic Soup

Arugula Salad

All Day Pasta Sauce

Lamb with Poached Port Pears

Ham with Mole Teloapan, Cornbread, and Jicama/Pickled Red Onions

Assortment of Spanish Cheeses

Winter Spiced Molten Chocolate Cake with Rum/Ginger Ice Cream

Can't wait until next year!

[Okanagancook]

We had a party of ten with small plates (hot) and cold platters:

Hot Plates were:

BBQ Spare Ribs Languedoc Style with sweet & Sour Onion Raisin Relish from Paula Wolfret's Cooking of SW France....very yummy

The Sweet Potato Agnolotti from The French Laundry.....it's true about how they melt in your mouth....could only hear "mmmm, oh...sooo good, amazing, can we have some more please"

Duck Roulade from Charcuterie served over the Warm Lentil Salad from Wolfret's SW France book...unfortunately the duck got over done while I was comparing old and new world Cab.Sav./Merlot blends.

Cold Platters were:

Fresh Oysters

Fresh Veggies with dip

Cheese and assorted meats

Shrimp in dill mayo

Marinated vegetables

Baked Eggplant from Marcella Hazen's Italian Kitchen....very, very good

Green Peppers & Anchovy

Tuscan Chicken liver pate

Mushrooms & Artichoke Hearts (marinated)

Martha's Bread Sticks

Homemade Bread

Chocolate for dessert