NEW YEAR’S EVE EASE
Medley of simple dishes like Chesapeake Bay Hot Crab Dip is fitting way to say goodbye to 2020.
Are we tired of cooking yet? ■ Between the stay-at-home orders this year, constant daily meals with limited access to restaurant fare, and of course, fixing food for all the recent holidays, it’s hardly surprising that many of us are burning
out on cooking. ■ Yet, with New Year’s Eve fast approaching, there’s good reason to prepare one more holiday celebration. If you’re anything like me, you’re more than ready to bid farewell to 2020, with fervent celebratory wishes for better days ahead.
Assembling a New Year’s Eve spread, especially since it’s just for our own families or pods, can be simple and relatively quick. When I’ve reached the limit of my culinary creativity, I usually fix a few favorite, tried-andtrue dishes and supplement them by visiting Trader Joe’s; a gourmet grocer such as Gelson’s, Whole Foods or Bristol Farms; or the gourmet or deli section of my regular market.
This year for New Year’s homemade fare, I decided to indulge my craving for crabmeat by making Chesapeake Bay Hot Crab Dip, which I’ve “slimmed down” with lower-calorie ingredients, served with crackers or thinly sliced French bread. I’ll also roast a batch of spiced walnuts and prepare a tray of stuffed mushrooms.
The beauty of stuffed mushrooms is the dish’s versatility: You can vary the filling however you please. I’ve always preferred using a modified French duxelles mixture, made of chopped shallots or onions and mushrooms, plus a little garlic, butter, chopped parsley and seasoning. To make the filling more substantial, you can incorporate chopped ham or even sausage. Replacing the butter with olive oil renders the dish vegan.
Those three dishes on their own aren’t enough to make a meal. Since my husband and I are seafood eaters, I’ll add a plate of shrimp, which I either buy raw and boil with salt and seafood seasoning or purchase precooked from the fish counter or freezer chest. Serve them with purchased cocktail sauce — which I often enhance with extra horseradish — and lemon slices. Or try romesco sauce (sometimes available in the market among the chilled dips and sauces) or make your own.
If shrimp is not your thing, consider serving a bowl of hot meatballs along with your favorite sauce. Again, find meatballs in the freezer section.
This year, we’ve socialized via Zoom for both wine tastings and happy hours. That’s how I discovered the bounty of the hors d’oeuvres section in my local TJ’s. Some of my favorites include pork or chicken shu mai, gyoza (available filled with shrimp, chicken, pork or vegetables), plus spinach-filled spanakopita. Many stores also offer special prepared dishes just for the holiday season, fresh or frozen.
You can also assemble a tray of meats and cheeses. Prosciutto is always an appealing option, along with salamis, Parma ham and other cured meats. Arrange your cheeses either with the sliced meats or on a separate platter, depending upon the size of your spread. Choose three or four different types of cheeses. Include a hard cheese, such as a good-quality cheddar, a Toscano or Asiago; a soft cheese such as a Boursin or goat cheese, either f lavored or plain; a blue cheese, such as gorgonzola, Cambozola (an excellent blend of Camembert and gorgonzola) or an English Stilton; plus a cheese with an edible rind, such as Camembert or Brie. Chunks of French baguette or other good quality bread or a basket of crackers, with a generous garnish of fresh fruit, make perfect accompaniments.
Other options include any of the many f lavors of hummus or store-bought dips such as salmon, tapenade or bruschetta, accom
panied by pita, French bread or crackers, along with a selection of cut vegetables.
Prosciutto also forms a delicious salty contrast to fresh vegetables or fruits when wrapped around lightly cooked but firm asparagus spears or chunks of fresh cantaloupe or honeydew melon.
For snacking, if you don’t make spiced nuts, delicious store-bought options include Marcona or guara almonds or lightly salted mixed nuts. And don’t forget to add a bowl of pitted olives, perhaps a festive mixture of green and black.
Now, what to drink? Bubbly is always appropriate for the midnight toast. We often drink sparkling wines for special occasions, or even to accompany a meal. Most wine and liquor stores and supermarkets offer plentiful choices. You
don’t need to buy French Champagne to experience a good sparkler.
If you do want a true Champagne — legally made only in the Champagne region of France — expect to spend at least $40 and upward. Vintage Champagne costs considerably more. Reliable choices include Taittinger, Joseph Perrier, Louis Roederer, Bollinger, Henriot or Veuve-Clicquot.
California produces excellent sparkling wine, many from French Champagne houses’ California vineyards, with the better quality wines made using the traditional methode champagnoise technique. Best of all is the price: You can buy a good California sparkler for under $20-$25, sometimes less than $15. Our favorites include Chandon and Mumm Cuvée Napa (both of which produce appealing brut rosés
that pair well with a wide range of foods), Piper-Sonoma, Roederer Estate, Domaine Carneros and Gloria Ferrer. Other excellent choices include Schramsberg, Iron Horse, Scharffenberger and J Vineyards.
For a dry bubbly to drink with food, be sure to look for the designation “brut” on the label, whatever the origin of the bubbly. “Extra
Dry” in sparkling wine parlance means sweet, which is fine to accompany a dessert, but not for general drinking.
This has been a tough year for most of us. That’s ample reason to celebrate the arrival of a fresh year with a tasty but easy spread of good food and a refreshing bottle of bubbly.