Liz’s birthday is on New Year’s Eve (apparently her folks really wanted to claim the deduction ASAP), and since we generally prefer not to go out when it’s going to be a suicidal drunkfest on the highways, we tend to stay in and fix up something tasty to enjoy. This year, as part of her birthday present, Liz wanted me to plan, purchase, and prepare dinner; I’ve picked up enough from her that I was able to crank out the following tasty feast with only her minimal assistance and advice:
Cheese Platter
- Brillat Savarin, France
- Langres, France
- Chimay la Biere, Belgium
- Pate of foie gras with black truffles
- Toast points and provencale water crackers
- Wine: NV Casteller Cava, Spain
Salad
- Mesculin greens
- Crisped pancetta
- Pomegranite
- Crumbled bleu cheese
- Crumbled pecans
- Balsamic vinagrette dressing
Main Course
- Long bone veal chops
- Rosemary roasted fingerling potatoes
- Wine: 2001 Clos de L’lovac, Priorat
Dessert
- Bananas Foster
- Mitchell’s vanilla ice cream
- Wine: NV Bonny Doon Muscat Vin De Glacier
Bubbles Redux
(For properly ringing in the New Year)
- 1996 Gosset-Brabant, Ay, Champagne
Everything turned out just about as perfect as could be (yay) and I didn’t manage to burn down the house with the Bananas Foster (double yay), so I’m feeling pretty darn good about the whole thing.
- Mood:accomplished
Tags: birthday food holidays liz wine5 CommentsPrint This Post
5 responses so far ↓
Yummy. You may actually tempt us back to Cleveland in wintertime with such a spread…that is if you are up to cooking for a crowd.
Mmmmm…making me hungry…
Dang, that sounds amazing! Suitably ambitious for the occasion of a birthday dinner/NYE celebration, and delicious to boot.
Did you get all of your goodies (barring the wine) from the West Point Market?
Almost all of it came from the West Point Market, with a few exceptions… The Cava and Champagne were already in the house, as were the rum and other liquors used in the bananas Foster. Already had the pecans, pomegranite, and pancetta. The rosemary for the potatoes came from the rosemary “tree” that we picked up at Heinan’s as a sort of baby Christmas tree for the mantle above the fireplace. The dressing for the salad was just whipped up with the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and some other herbaceous things we had on hand. And the Mitchell’s ice cream was obviously from Mitchell’s.
If by “a crowd” you mean you and Mike, then yes, I think I could cope with that. We had my parents in town for the birthday feast, so that whole thing was for four.