Romantic, upscale New Year's Dinner for 2
Rather than going out for an overpriced dinner for New Year's Eve, my boyfriend and I have tentatively decided that we'll celebrate at home with a fantastic dinner. The cost of ingredients isn't an issue, because I figure we'll still spend less than we'd spend at a restaurant, and we're both good cooks, so I don't think we'd be challenged by most recipes. That said, I'd love to hear your suggestions for a dream dinner for 2!
(I should also note: I'm from the NE United States, he's French, so neither of us have foods that are culturally associated with NYE except for champagne and foie gras.)
I'm not sure if we'll do a traditional meal, or a series of smaller plates.
Things I'm contemplating:
Starters:
Caviar and blinis
Foie gras
Jamón Ibérico de bellota
Entree:
Seafood paella (incl. lobster, shrimp, mussels and clams)*
or
Beef Wellington or Salmon Wellington (would need a side for this)
or
Bouillabaisse*
Alternate dish ideas if we went for a few smaller plates and skipped the entree:
Cheese souffle or Raclette
and
Some kind of salad
and
Some kind of light meat course--maybe baby lamb chops?
(though as I write this, I realize that the 3 would make a full plate for an entree course, but we'll probably be grazing over the course of several hours and would stagger these 3 dishes)
Bread:
Cook's Illustrated no-knead bread v 2.0
Dessert:
Raspberry and dark chocolate semi freddo
Our wine collection is strong, so I don't think we'll have to buy any wine.
(*The only downside to paella or bouillabaisse is that we're probably leaving town on Jan. 1, and I'd hate to throw away what are usually fantastic leftovers!)
Add a comment:
Previewing your comment:
HTML Hints
Some HTML is OK: <a href="URL">link</a>, <strong>strong</strong>, <em>em</em>
Comment Guidelines
Post whatever you want, just keep it seriously about eats, seriously. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. Learn more at our Comment Policy page.
If you see something not so nice, please, report an inappropriate comment.
Start Talking!
Need a question answered? Have advice to share? Start a Talk topic now!
Sign up to get your questions answered and share advice.
3 Comments:
We're on the same page. We usually have a party on NY's eve, but since this has been such a horrible year for us (the worst in over 20 years), we decided to go it alone and see this crappy year out with a personal feast of seafood and filet mignon. We'll have crabcakes, sea scallops, snow crab legs, salmon or sea bass and the filet mignon. I'll open up a really good wine and try to forget 2008....
jonfoxx at 2:01PM on 12/14/08
i was going to say surf and turf. lobster for sure.
nightmoon at 9:32PM on 12/14/08
Thanks for the suggestions so far!
I somewhat deliberately omitted lobsters as the centerpiece of a dish. My great grandfather was a lobsterman, so I come from a family that believes if lobster has been out of the ocean for more than 24 hours, it's not worth eating. Living in Chicago, that means I never eat lobster at home, but get it frequently when visiting family on the East Coast. (We also believe that lobster tastes best when eaten with cold beer, fresh corn, coleslaw and New Jersey tomatoes on a hot summer's day! Given the mess I make while eating it, there's a good argument for enjoying lobster while dressed in a t-shirt and shorts.)
chgoeditor at 9:48PM on 12/14/08