PrintWhat are some Traditional New Year's foods?
I'm having friends over for dinner on New Year's Eve. I'm thinking global here! I want to plan a menu of traditional New Year's foods. I'm thinking of noodles, donuts, eggs benedict... and of course champagne. I was thinking of doing individually made pizzas.
Keeping in mind that I am vegetarian but my guests are not. There will 4 people eating total.
Any ideas or even what you've had before or are planning to make.
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11 Comments:
We've adopted an American (Southern?) habit of eating black-eyed peas. It's supposed to bring good luck in the New Year.
Not my favorite bean, but vinegar helps.
TikiPundit at 10:00AM on 12/28/07
Our New Years eve menu surfaced last night.
I am going with the nibbles menu
Baked Brie en croute
shrimp on skewers
crab cakes
spanikopita triangles
7 layer dip with tortilla chips
Tiramisu
lots of cosmos and bubbily wine, beer of course
JerzeeTomato at 10:24AM on 12/28/07
TikiPundit is right. You can't have a New Year's celebration without black-eyed peas! If we're having a lot of company, we use tiny dishes to pass them around in. The idea isn't that you're serving them as a main dish or even a side; you're just supposed to have a bite or two for good luck. We just throw them in the crockpot that morning and let them cook down all day with some saltpork and assorted spices. Easy and good luck for the New Year!
Our other New Year's tradition is really good caviar. As a matter of fact, we've started serving the two types of caviar at our New Year's shindigs -- Texas caviar (which is made from black-eyed peas) and good Sevruga caviar. Just make sure to serve the real caviar with the right dishes and utensils so the taste isn't spoiled (we use mother-of-pearl dishes/spoons, but you can use wood). :)
sheeats at 11:22AM on 12/28/07
There is a list of global traditional foods for New Years at The Sustainable Table .
One of my favorites is the tradition of the twelve grapes . A friend told me of this many years ago, the only difference in her description and the one described here online was that she said twelves wishes for the New Year were to be made, one as each grape was swallowed.
Karen Resta at 11:41AM on 12/28/07
I make lentil soup and cornbread.
schnitzel at 1:10PM on 12/28/07
When I lived in Spain we did the "twelve grapes at midnight" thing, and it was really fun. The way that we did it was that we ate one for each dong of the bell when it tolled in the 12am of the new year. It's very funny to try to watch people eat that fast and everyone winds up with loads of fat grapes in their mouths, but it's really fun!
Traveller at 1:30PM on 12/28/07
here's a link to a recent article in epicurious that gives a bunch of ideas- hope this helps!
http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/holidays/newyearsday/luckyfoods
bisbee at 5:07PM on 12/28/07
sheeats, would like to see a recipe for Texas caviar. Never heard of that before but it could add some originality to the black-eyed peas tradition!
TikiPundit at 6:29PM on 12/29/07
For New Years (and Christmas), Tourtiere is traditional in French-Canadian families. I have made a recipe I found on Allrecipes.com a number of times and everyone who has tasted it loves it (and I use store-bought pastry). The recipe can be found at:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Meat-Pie-Tourtiere/Detail.aspx
The pie tastes much better if you use a combination of meats (such as 1/2 lb pork, 1/2 lb veal, and 1/2 beef, or simply 1/2 lb beef and 1 lb pork as I usually do). Also, the pie will not serve many more than four, unless there are other mains being served. This should be served with the best chili sauce you can find (Heinz will do in a pinch, but make sure it is their chunky-style variety with peppers and onions) and sweet gherkins, as the intense meatiness of the pie needs the sweet and sour crispness of the condiments (as foie gras does). Works really well on a buffet with basically anything, and although the cooking time is long, it is pretty much hands off.
Good luck with your dinner!
keansor at 2:22AM on 12/30/07
Forgot to mention that pickled beets are also a traditional accompaniments to Tourtiere. They have the same sweet/sour/crisp quality as the chili sauce and gherkins, and as an added plus, they look really pretty on the table. Home-made quick pickled beets are not hard to make...let me know if you want my recipe.
keansor at 2:28AM on 12/30/07
Update: I had to let go of my big dreams for a global new years feast. Instead, I made lemony arugula and goat cheese pizza, a beet and brie salad and a raspberry trifle. French 75's and rum and cokes to drink!
Happy new year!
watchforbears at 9:12PM on 12/31/07