[Wayner]

I'm staying home with the bride tonight and we are still mulling around the diner plans. We'll whip something up, just not sure just what yet.

Do you have any ideas or plans, favorite New Years Eve meal?

Wayner

[Brown]

A Romantic dinner for two. Tenderloin of beef with a red wine reduction sauce with green peppercorns. Asparagus roasted in the oven  [400F for 25-30 minutes ] sprinkled with a Parmesan and bread crumb [ mixed together ] and drizzled with olive oil.
   For the beef heat a cast iron skillet to very hot season meat with S&P and put a 1 Tlb butter in pan until it browns a bit then  brown the meat on all sides about 2 minutes per side [ 8 min total for 4 sides then put pan with meat in oven and finish for 20 to 25 min for med rare longer if desired.
    If you do not want beef a rack of Lamb will do fine as well. For lamb heat pan same but coat Lamb with olive oil [ lightly ] and brown 8 min. then place rack on baking sheet in oven for 30 minutes for med rare.
  For dessert chocolate truffles and strawberries marinated in orange liquor.

enjoy.

[MaxCast]

Tonight we are doing home made pizzas (no tip stress tonight  ) with four kids and three adults.  Smores on the fire for a late night snack.
Tomorrow is my son's birthday.  He ordered steak and crab legs.  Got a whole loin on sale for $3.99/#. 


If it were just me and my lady we'd have filets and lobster tails on the grill.

[Jampot]

Wayner and all,

Today just happens to be the wedding anniversary of my daughter and son in law here in NY, and we have been visiting for the holidays.

Grandma (mrs. jampot) will make dinner for them - their request is for beef wellington without the pate, and we have a couple of modest but highly recommended bottles of red to have with it.

I must put the hedgehog potatoes to soak in salty water while I think about it....

Take a selection of nicely rounded potatoes and peel and half them so they will sit flat on the cut face. Slice regular cuts in the rounded top, almost all the way through, at regular intervals - about an eighth of an inch (at home I use an egg slicer as a guide and it gets the cuts nice and even and stops the knife going all the way through). Soak in salted water (best overnight) to open up the gaps and then roast.

Kids love 'em

Bon appetite and a happy new year everyone

Jim

[dmatt]

Wayner,

We had many inlaws in town through Sunday last week so we celebrated New Years on Saturday. 

• Appetizers of smoked trout with Granny Smith apples and horseradish creme fraiche on pumpernickel squares (with a brut Champagne).  Easy to make and tasty.
  
  
• Dinner of grilled lamb rib chops (cut a rack of lamb into individual chops) rubbed with garlic, rosemary, olive oil, salt and pepper.  I prefer grilling individual chops to roasting a rack of lamb -- the presentation is not as dramatic, but I think the ratio of seared flesh to tender meat is better.  Served with spinach sauteed with pine nuts and golden raisins and skillet roasted new potatoes (more olive oil and rosemary).  A nice pinot noir.  Also easy to make and tasty.
  
  
• Salad consisted of baby greens and baked goat cheese (individual cheese rounds marinated in olive oil and thyme, rolled in herbed bread crumbs).  Relatively easy to make and tasty. 
  
  
• Dessert was ginger creme brulee.  Tasty plus you get to use a blow torch (next best thing to a BBQ indoors).

Last night I butterflied a beef tenderloin and stuffed it with pine nuts, parsley, garlic, and gorgonzola, then rolled/tied it and roasted.  We'll be eating that cold tonight.

Bon appetit and happy New Year.

David

[Wayner]

dmatt,

Thumbs up on the Pinot!

Are you from NY?

Wayner 

[turkey]

I'm staying home with the bride tonight and we are still mulling around the diner plans. We'll whip something up, just not sure just what yet.

Do you have any ideas or plans, favorite New Years Eve meal?

Pork and sauerkraut on mashed potatoes, and sides of collard greens and black-eyed peas.

Then 12 grapes at midnight.

[BobM]

I'm staying home with the bride tonight and we are still mulling around the diner plans. We'll whip something up, just not sure just what yet.

Do you have any ideas or plans, favorite New Years Eve meal?

Pork and sauerkraut on mashed potatoes, and sides of collard greens and black-eyed peas.

Then 12 grapes at midnight.

This sounds like a mix of several different cultural traditions. But I'm most curious about the 12 grapes (I asume you mean real grapes and not a whole lot of wine, right?).

Bob

[dmatt]

Wayner,

Other coast my friend, half way between LA and San Diego.

Pinot and lamb are one of the great pairings, along with pinot and mushrooms, and pinot and salmon.  I have also found that it works with either tubes or solid state.

I was lucky enough to open some nice Santa Rita Hills and Santa Lucia Highlands PN over the holidays.  House guests are always a good excuse to open wine.

Cheers!

David

RE the 12 grapes -- are we talking port?

[TheChairGuy]

Pork and sauerkraut on mashed potatoes, and sides of collard greens and black-eyed peas.

Then 12 grapes at midnight.

No....turkey?  

John

[Folsom]

Cooking together is way better for a "romantic" night. It develops a relationship and coordination which is great for later, .

[dmatt]

Or maybe when Turkey says 12 grapes, he really means 12 grapes

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve_Grapes

[turkey]

I'm staying home with the bride tonight and we are still mulling around the diner plans. We'll whip something up, just not sure just what yet.

Do you have any ideas or plans, favorite New Years Eve meal?

Pork and sauerkraut on mashed potatoes, and sides of collard greens and black-eyed peas.

Then 12 grapes at midnight.

This sounds like a mix of several different cultural traditions. But I'm most curious about the 12 grapes (I asume you mean real grapes and not a whole lot of wine, right?).

Bob

Yes, it's a blend of at least 3.

Grapes are eaten in Spain for New Years, and also in most Hispanic countries I think.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=grapes+for+new+years&btnG=Google+Search&aq=f&oq=

[BobM]

A grape with each stroke of the bell! They better be real small grapes, or you better be able to swallow them whole. I guess the "lucky year" part of this tradition is that you don't choke to death trying to complete it.  

Enjoy,
Bob

[MaxCast]

Cooking together is way better for a "romantic" night. It develops a relationship and coordination which is great for later, .

Unless you cook with just your apron on  aa

[turkey]

Pork and sauerkraut on mashed potatoes, and sides of collard greens and black-eyed peas.

Then 12 grapes at midnight.

No....turkey?  

John

I suspect that turkey is bad luck on New Years, just like chicken.

Wild Turkey is ok though.

[turkey]

A grape with each stroke of the bell! They better be real small grapes, or you better be able to swallow them whole. I guess the "lucky year" part of this tradition is that you don't choke to death trying to complete it.  

Enjoy,
Bob

We always get the seedless ones, and they go down pretty easily. It's a tradition from my wife's family, and they just start eating the grapes at the first stroke and finish all of them before the last stroke.

[dmatt]

Cooking together is way better for a "romantic" night. It develops a relationship and coordination which is great for later, .

Unless you cook with just your apron on  aa

Be careful.  Depends on how you are cooking.  Frying and sauteeing, like soldering, are best done clothed.  Otherwise you run the risk of spoiling the mood and trying to explain to the ER doc how you got a third degree burn in that location

[Wayner]

Are all of you guys drinking? This is way too funny  aa

[satfrat]

I'll be having a homemade chicken pot pie that a neighbor gave me today along with an all sugar-free Angelfood cake topped with sliced strawberry's & CoolWhip.

BUT tomorrow I've got a turkey(capon) with all the trimmings (stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cramberry jelly, squash, creamed boiled onions, rolls) and for dessert the Vermont Maple Walnut pie that I was going to bring to Phil's NY RAVE and yes,,, it's got TONS of sugar that'll have me in a sugar coma to start the new year.


Cheers,
Robin