For some years now, my wife and I have avoided the hurly-burly of public celebrations on New Year’s Eve. Instead, we dress up and–in the company of one to three other couples–cook and eat our way to and through the magic timeline into the future.
At first, we did the entire meal ourselves. But over time, our guests insisted on participating and a game plan evolved that involved everyone. I call it “good luck” instead of “potluck” and recommend it to people who enjoy making food and wine the centerpieces of a celebration.
Here’s how it works:
This is a celebration, so extend the menu to four courses or more. Keeping the guests’ talents and interests in mind, negotiate a sequence of dishes.
In this instance, before going to the dining table we begin with appetizers, purchased or prepared by a guest and served at room temperature. (A refinement on the plan allows for the possibility of having appetizers at one couple’s home and moving elsewhere for the remainder of the meal.) Three is a good number. Preparations utilizing cold poached mussels, vegetable spreads and cured ham are appropriate. But with a full-scale meal ahead, avoid rich cheese or pastry items as well as any nibbles that require last- minute cooking. Champagne or another sparkling wine will provide a bubbly beginning.
Once seated, serve soup or pasta that has been prepared–or finished by one person while the others talk and sip in the kitchen or elsewhere. For this menu, we’ll splurge with black truffle risotto, accompanied by a rich Italian red wine.
The standard .75 liter wine bottle yields six pours of approximately four ounces. If multiple courses are planned for eight guests, reduce the pour to three ounces. Allow three ounces, or even two, for sweet wines to be served with appetizers or desserts. Serving water as well as wine (in separate glasses) is appropriate.
Allow for a break in eating while someone (the same or another cook, such as the host, hostess or a guest) finishes the main course. The choice here is duck breast with a teriyaki glaze. Since the first course was a starch, the duck needs only something colorful for an accompaniment, broccolini, for instance, or steamed baby bok choy. Serve a California merlot or an Australian shiraz.
After another break, present a cheese course. Serve only one or two. This raises the possibility of pouring a showcase wine and of slowing things down if the meal has gone too fast. If you are uncertain about what cheeses to choose, consult with a salesperson. A good many wine shops have developed first-rate cheese selections and deli counters that offer pates, smoked fish and other “gourmet” appetizers. Dessert can be served before or after the New Year’s moment. A room-temperature fruit tart, made ahead or purchased, is an easy dessert to serve. Offer a demi-sec (slightly sweet) sparkler and be sure glasses are topped off for the toast to welcome the New Year. Hot coffee should be near at hand.
There’s more to a party than food, of course. Non-cooks can participate by providing flowers and table decorations. If one or more of the guests collects wine, the evening provides a fine opportunity to share a prize bottle or two.
Finally, there is the question of whether or not to hire helpers. In our home, we’ve done dinners with and without help. Experience, bolstered by age and common sense, has convinced us that haing help is desirable when the party includes more than four persons. The services of a trained cook would cost dearly on this night, if one could be found. It is enough, we have concluded, that the helper clean and keep horizontal surfaces clear.
The recipes that follow are for four persons, but can be multiplied by 1-1/2 or 2 to serve six or eight.
BLACK TRUFFLE RISOTTO
Four or eight servings
If using fresh truffle, bury it under rice in a jar with a tight-fitting lid and refrigerate for three days.
1/2 ounce black truffle, fresh preferred
3 1/2 cups rich veal stock
5 pieces dried porcini mushrooms, cleaned and patted dry
1 1/2 tablespoons butter, unsalted preferred
2 shallots, minced
1 cup Italian rice such as Arborio
1/4 cup dry or sparkling white wine
2 tablespoons creme fraiche
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and white pepper, optional
1. Cut the truffle into 1/8-inch slices. Reserve a few pieces for garnish.
2. Bring stock to a boil in a saucepan. Add porcini and simmer 5 minutes. Reduce heat to a bare simmer, add truffle and cook an additional 5 minutes. Transfer truffle and porcini pieces to a cutting board with a slotted spoon. Chop coarsely and set aside. (Recipe may be made ahead to this point.) To continue, warm stock over low heat.
3. In a clean, heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter over medium-low heat. Add shallots and cook, stirring often, until translucent, 2 to 3 minutes. Add rice and stir another minute.
4. Add the wine and stir until evaporated. Add the stock, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring frequently. Add more stock as each addition is absorbed, reserving 1/4 cup to add at the end. Continue until rice is al dente (barely firm to the tooth) and creamy, about 17 minutes cooking time. Add the reserved broth and cook another minute.
5. Stir in the remaining butter, creme fraiche, chopped porcini and truffles, and cheese. Remove risotto from heat and season to taste with salt and white pepper if desired. Portion into soup plates or bowls and garnish each portion with reserved truffle, cut as desired.
TERIYAKI DUCK
Four servings
4 Pekin (Long Island) duck breasts or
2 mallard breasts (1 1/2-2 pounds total)
Freshly ground pepper
2/3 cup dark soy sauce, Japanese preferred
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
4 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon dark sesame oil, Japanese preferred
2/3 cup sake or dry white wine
1 scallion, green top discarded, sliced thin
1. Score the fatty side of the duck breasts in a crisscross pattern and season on both sides with pepper. Refrigerate them, covered, until an hour before you are ready to cook.
2. Heat a saute pan over medium-high heat and saute the duck breasts, skin side down, about 8 minutes for the Pekin breasts and 10 to 14 minutes for the mallard, then pour off the fat.
3. Combine the soy, vinegar, sugar, sesame oil and sake in a small saucepan and bring the mixture to a simmer. Pour half the mixture (the other half will be used as the sauce) into the saute pan with the duck breasts and reduce it over high heat to create a glaze–move the duck breasts around in the sauce as it reduces–about 2 minutes. Turn the breasts over and continue cooking on the fleshy side, about 1 minute. If the glaze starts to get too thick–you don’t want to burn it–add 1 tablespoon water to the hot pan. Add the scallion to the teriyaki sauce remaining in the saucepan and simmer for 1 minute longer.
4. Slice the duck breasts crosswise and arrange the slices on heated serving plates. Spoon the sauce over the duck and serve. If the sauce has cooled off, reheat it.
Fennel comes to the feast
Anise-flavored fennel, a favorite winter and spring vegetable in the south of France and Italy, is well-suited to accompany a main dish when cooked and can be used raw in soups, salads and eaten as an appetizer with dips. Here are two recipes–a side dish that utilizes sweet vermouth instead of sugar with cider vinegar, and a pasta dish that showcases fennel’s subtle, haunting flavor. Tip: to enhance this flavor in a cooked dish, grind a small amount of dried fennel seeds and add them to the dish. –William Rice
SWEET AND SOUR FENNEL
Four servings
2 fennel bulbs, about 8 ounces each
2 tablespoons butter
Salt and white pepper to taste
1/4 cup sweet vermouth
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup chicken or vegetable broth
1. Cut stalks off the fennel bulbs and reserve green fronds. Remove tough outer layer from the bulbs and discard. Cut remaining bulbs into 1/2-inch dice. Chop enough fennel fronds to yield 1/2 cup.
2. In a saucepan, over medium heat, cook the fennel in the butter for 5 minutes, stirring often. Season with salt and pepper. Add the vermouth, vinegar and broth. (If necessary, add enough extra broth to just cover the fennel.) Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer until the liquid has almost evaporated and thickened to a glaze.
3. Adjust seasoning and fold in chopped fronds to taste. Serve with roast pork, ham or duck.
FENNEL WITH TAGLIATELLE AND MUSSELS
Four modest servings
1 fennel bulb, stems and tough outer layer removed and discarded; enough feathery fronds chopped to yield 1/2 cup
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 medium onion, sliced thin crosswise
1 large clove garlic, finely chopped
1 medium tomato, seeded and diced
Salt to taste and 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup whipping cream
1 pound mussels, rinsed and beards removed, if any
8 ounces dried tagliatelle
1. Cut fennel bulb into a 1/2-inch dice. In a medium skillet over medium heat, cook fennel and onion in olive oil until soft, about 10 minutes. Add garlic, tomato, salt and pepper and cook until tomato softens. Add cream and simmer until sauce thickens.
2. Meanwhile, place mussels in a large saucepan with 1 inch of water. Bring water to a boil, cover pan and simmer until shells open, 4 to 6 minutes. When cool enough to handle, remove mussels from shells. (Recipe may be done ahead to this point; to continue, reheat sauce.)
3. Add shelled mussels to the fennel sauce. Alternatively, keep mussels warm and add them to the dish in their shells just before serving.
4. Cook tagliatelle by package directions to al dente stage. Drain, transfer to skillet and toss. Add chopped fronds as desired and salt and pepper to taste. If sauce is too thick, thin with mussel broth. Portion into warm bowls, garnish with reserved mussels in the shell and serve.
