Tuesday, December 29, 2009

New Year's Eve Dinner Party with Close Friends


People have such high expectations of New Year's Eve that it is hardly ever possible to meet them.  For that reason, I never go out on that night.  Instead, I have close friends over to my house for a nice dinner with lots of champagne and good wines.  To me, that's a sure winner since I am cooking the meal and I can always count on Veuve Cliquot and a good Bordeaux to see me through.  I learned long ago that a good time can never be planned...it just happens.

When I was much, much younger, my husband and I would either go sailing in the Caribbean or spend the night with close friends in Vermont where we rented a ski house. Those were the best New Year's I've ever had.  Later in life, when I became a party of one, it was much easier to count on a good evening if I hosted the dinner and didn't have to wait around to be asked to a party.  I knew how to cook...I collected great wines! You can't imagine how popular I soon became for, after all, nobody ever wants to host a New Years Party.

For some reason, to me, New Year's Eve is Duck A L'Orange and Chocolate Mousse.  Last year, Chestnut Soup was added to the list of must haves and just recently, I found a recipe for Brussel Sprouts from Marc Bittman that really complements the rest of the meal.  A 1990 Chateau Margaux accompanied the meal the last time we had it, but any Margaux should do the trick.  If friends volunteer to bring something, make it a good Champagne and serve it with cocktails.  Make sure you save some for midnight!

The wonderful thing about this menu is that it is versatile enough for a more formal dinner or a casual affair in the country or on the slopes...but definitely not on a sailboat!


New Year's Eve Menu

Gougeres

Pate de Foie Gras With Toast Points

Veuve Cliquot Champagne

*************


Some of the recipes are already in the blog.  Others will come early in the week


Photo: My New Year's Table 2000

Note:  Silverware should never be placed on top of a napkin!  On this evening the napkin was on top of the plate service but I rearranged like this so I could show the service plates in the photo.

1 comment:

  1. That's a lovely menu and well-thought out pairing. Am I invited? :)

    Happy New Year!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for visiting Lindaraxa. Your comments are much appreciated.

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.