Who else hates New Year’s Eve? Anyone? I never could figure out what I was supposed to be doing on this, the most Amateur of Amateur Nights. Times Square was never an option, dinner out was always an overpriced snooze, and staying at home to cook a romantic meal just resulted in overwhelming levels of drunkenness as I tried one mixed drink experiment after another. Bad news all around.
So we started hunkering down at our friend Bryan’s house in Boston six years ago and it’s worked out incredibly well. It’s such a great compromise: All I have to do is cook lots of food, I don’t have to drive anywhere, and the party just happens around me with a rotating, crazy, always amusing cast of regular characters.
After the first year’s ad hoc affair where I cooked a few random appetizers and munchies, we started assigning ethnic themes to the party food. As the crowds grew from seven to now more than 70 people, we of course couldn’t leave well enough alone, and the tradition got a little more elaborate every time.
In 2005, Bryan decided we should attempt paella, despite having way-too-small skillets incapable of holding enough rice to feed 20 people. (A nor’easter at the last minute left us with a lot of leftovers anyway.) In 2006, the Chinese Year of the Pig—Bryan’s favorite animal—gave us inspiration for a few Asian courses. In 2007, Bryan and his boyfriend LeeMichael’s gut-renovation condo in the South End necessitated a few trips to IKEA, so we hosted a Swedish-themed party influenced by the frugal retailer. Last year, in honor of Bryan and LeeMichael’s upcoming wedding, we celebrated the food of the Netherlands, the first country to legalize gay marriage.
Even before the first Dutch oliebollen and oudejaarspot were set on the table in 2008, I made an executive decision to take a year off from obscure culinary challenges. 2009 would be simple and delicious: an Italian feast. Having an entire year to prepare and a massive library of recipes from which to choose, I couldn’t resist going a little nuts (so much for simplicity) and make as much as I could from scratch—breads, pastas, sauces, ricotta. Had I thought of it earlier, I would have even tried homemade mozzarella for the first time.
The final menu was gut-busting:
- Arancini with Gruyere and Parmesan
- Handmade grissini
- Antipasta with marinated olives and artichokes, lupini beans, chianti salami, black pepper salami, and pepperoni
- Bruschetta bar with handmade ciabatta and fresh ricotta, pesto, sundried tomato relish, and balsamic ceci beans (the traditional amuse at Babbo)
- Grandma Barber’s meatballs and sauce
- Caesar salad with rocket
- Orecchiette Bolognese
- Baked gnocchi with marinara and fresh mozzarella
- Chocolate salami
- Cranberry-almond biscotti
- Sesame cookies
- Polenta-rosemary pound cake with mascarpone cream
Desserts can sometimes be a stretch depending on the country we’re “visiting” that year, but Italy posed no issues. One of the more experimental buffet components, however, was the chocolate salami. Don’t freak out—there’s absolutely no meat involved. Melted chocolate, almonds, dried fruits, and crushed vanilla wafers make a cookie log that when sliced, look unnervingly like a traditional salami. Disturbingly named, but universally adored by the champagne set!
Chocolate Salami
Makes two foot-long pieces
- 1/2 pound (8 oz.) semisweet chocolate, chopped
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 6 tablespoons sugar
- 3 oz. chopped almonds
- 7 oz. vanilla wafers, coarsely crushed
- 1/2 cup raisins or dried cherries
- 3 teaspoons candied orange peel
- 2 egg yolks
Melt the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl placed over a pan of simmering water until smooth. Add the sugar, almonds, vanilla wafers, raisins, and orange peel and mix well. Remove from heat and thoroughly incorporate the egg yolks. Let cool 10 minutes.
Divide the mixture in half onto two large sheets of waxed paper and form into cylinders. Wrap the waxed paper tightly around the “salami” and twist each end to seal. Refrigerate for at least two hours or until the salami is fully chilled. Slice into thick rounds to serve.
Polenta-Rosemary Pound Cake with Mascarpone Cream
Makes 1 loaf
- 1 3/4 cups cake flour
- 1/2 cup polenta
- kosher salt
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 6 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 cup honey
- 3 tablespoons water
- 2 rosemary sprigs
- 1 cup (8 oz.) mascarpone
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon sugar
Preheat the oven to 325˚, and butter and flour a loaf pan.
Mix the flour, polenta, and salt in a small bowl and set aside. Cream the butter and sugar together in your stand mixer or with an electric mixer for 3 minutes or until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, making sure each is well incorporated into the batter before adding the next. Stir in the vanilla and lemon juice, then add the dry ingredients slowly just until incorporated.
Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake for about an hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake’s center comes out with barely any crumbs attached. Cool out of the pan on a rack.
While the cake is baking, simmer the honey, water, and rosemary in a saucepan for about 2 minutes, then remove from the heat, cover and steep for 15 minutes. Remove the rosemary.
After the cake has cooled on the rack for 10 minutes, poke holes in the top and sides with a bamboo skewer or other thin utensil, then liberally brush the cake with the rosemary syrup, pausing to let it fully absorb before adding more. (You may have some left over to serve alongside.)
Whisk the mascarpone, heavy cream, and sugar together and chill for an hour before serving alongside slices of the cake.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
I feel like we should sign a contract or something that says when Casey is an even bigger-time and more famous celebrity cyber chef that we continue to get her services on NYE at our current rates into perpetuity! She is a phenomenal asset and her food makes the party happen. Clearly she outdid herself this year.
As noted above, the Chocolate salami was to die for… The handmade orecchiette bolognese was also stunning…but if I were you, I would start begging for the recipes for the cranberry-almond biscotti and polenta-rosemary pound cake with mascarpone cream…the leftovers from those two divine creations will keep my new year dieting resolutions at bay for days to come!
Damn, girl!
Yeah, this was outstanding. The most I’ve ever eaten at one of these New Year’s parties.
this is amazing. The orecchiette looks so delicious, as do the biscotti- wow, wow, wow. well done, as usual
you are julie from julie and julia.
happy new year. xo
Aw, LeeMichael, I will ALWAYS cook for you for free. And just for you, I’ve updated the post to add the biscotti and pound cake recipes. An extra treat for the New Year!
As the host (i.e. – the one supplying the real estate (my specialty)) and the only other person to be at EVERY New Year’s bash besides Dan and Casey, this girl blew it out this year. I second Lisa – DAMN GIRL!!!
I can’t wait for Epcot!!!
this all sounds so amazing, but where to start? bryan, casey, give us the ultimate dish. what was the best???
How do I get on the waiting list for this party? Fabulous