New Year’s Eats
I’m humbled by all the recaps and recipe round ups and best-of-2010s out there among food blogs – I even managed to pull together a list last year on the eve of 2010 – but this year, I’m too busy digesting. My gut is in full protest. (It was totally worth it.) I haven’t even managed to get through one book this holiday, and the pile of clean laundry has been turned into a cozy bed/nest by the dog. Tomorrow is going to bring one mighty hefty dose of Sundaynightitis. On the upside, there’s lots of room for improvement in January.
Last night – New Year’s Eve – we finally managed to have Mike’s mom and sister over for dinner to open the gifts that have been torturing W under the tree since Christmas. I made a leg of lamb with potatoes in the slow cooker (they had never tried lamb before – fortunately it went over well) and a big salad, and a chocolate cream pie. And after they left we went next door – I highly recommend making friends with your neighbours for the ultimate in easy New Year’s Eve outings – particularly if you have a five your old boy and they have a twelve year old with friends and a basement full of video games – and if you can swing a next door neighbour who also happens to be a chef? That just drives your property value straight up.
I wasn’t even allowed to bring anything, food-wise. Wade made (don’t you think that should be the name of his catering business? Wade Made?) pork ribs in the smoker, and chicken wings and drumettes, lamb kofta, crostini with Romano cheese and skillet-pickled mushrooms, two kinds of cheese fondue (one made of goat cheese), a hot rock on which we cooked thin slices of marinated bison, and a veritable vat of bagna cauda with an enormous platter of roasted veg. There were cheese platters, bowls of spiced nuts and caramel fondue with chunks of apple, cake and mini donuts. All in quantities that did not reflect the number of people over. (Totally in our favour.)
As you can imagine, I ushered out the old year a little more indulgently than I meant to. I blame the champagne. And the pitchers of Cosmopolitans. And S for pouring them. (Tip: if you add a splash of ginger ale, it’s like a grown-up Shirley Temple. We dubbed them Dirty Shirleys.)
Today also marks three years here! Three! How can that be? I have all of you to thank for making that happen. Thank you.
January 02 2011 | leftovers | 26 Comments »
