I’m not hugely enamored with the idea of big New Year’s Eve celebrations. I certainly don’t need an excuse to drink Champagne – any old Wednesday night is reason enough for me.

We hosted a New Year’s Eve party a few years ago, and it was great fun. We made tapas, drank lots of sparkling wine, and toasted the New Year with friends. The guests left by a reasonable 1:00 AM, and I was up until about 3 AM doing dishes. On New Year’s Day the post-revelry cleaning continued for a few hours. That part is not so bad, it is after all, part of being a host.

My husband made several attempts to rally on New Year’s Day. Hours before, while I was busy hosting and getting tapas to the table and topping off champagne, I failed to notice that he was doing an extremely fine job at entertaining the guests, exactly as a host should. Having a great time, enjoying the champagne. It should have been a red flag when after the guests left, as I was putting away the food and clearing the living room of dishes and champagne flutes, he poured himself a tall bourbon and decided that it was a good idea to smoke a cigar outside on the porch – at 2 AM. Why not!?

He got out of bed around 5:30 PM New Year’s Day. It was dark outside. Not a great way to start the New Year.

We have all endured the repercussions of over-indulging in it’s many forms. I have had my share of what-was-I-thinking and how-did-this-happen day-afters. Thankfully, they have become fewer and farther between as I age. Perhaps a testament to wisdom gained over the years, but probably not.

A holiday dedicated to getting hammered (and I realize that New Year’s Eve is not the only one) just doesn’t make sense to me. Even if it is on high-quality booze. Champagne is the sneakiest of inebriators – the carbon dioxide in sparkling wine accelerates the absorption of alcohol, leading to more rapid and severe intoxication. I am a huge proponent of wine consumption, and I am especially fond of Champagne. It’s celebratory. It’s sensorial. It tastes good. I am also a huge proponent of feeling well the next day, especially if that day represents newness.

As in the past few years, I bought two bottles of Champagne to celebrate the change of 2008 to 2009. We will have one tonight to toast the successes of 2008. We will have the second one in 2009. Not to be opened at midnight, but with our mid-afternoon New Year’s Day lunch, a nod to starting the year with good food and good wine.

Will we have Champagne left in our glasses at midnight? Probably not. On any other night, I would have finished my herbal tea well over an hour prior and my husband would have to wake me for the countdown. And there’s always next Wednesday (or Monday, or Thursday…), to drink more Champagne. I think tonight, however, I may open the late-harvest apple cider that a friend gave me for Christmas to welcome 2009 at midnight. We do, after all, have a lot to celebrate this year. Cheers!

Bon Annee!

It’s hard to believe I never tasted a Brussels’ sprout until I was in my late twenties; so I never had the chance to dislike them, though I was well aware of their maligned reputation. My husband recalls disliking the bitter vegetable, but recently informed me that he would love to enjoy them more often. Choose small, tightly closed sprouts without any brown or yellow spots.

Method 1 – sauteed

This recipe is adapted from Williams-Sonoma. It can be adjusted to accommodate a few or many sprouts.

Rinse and trim the sprouts, removing any brown spots and outer leaves as necessary. Trim the stem and cut a 1/8-inch “x” into the bottom.

Boil the sprouts in salted water for 5 minutes.

Plunge into ice-water to stop the cooking. Once cooled, drain the sprouts. They can be refrigerated until needed, up to a few hours.

Heat fat (butter, oil, lard/bacon grease, or a combination) over medium-high heat. Use approximately 1 Tbsp per serving. Butter will start to brown. If using oil, be sure to choose one with a high smoke point (refined olive or canola should work fine). I prefer butter with a small amount of oil or bacon grease added to raise the smoke point.

Add sprouts, toss to coat with the fat. Let cook on one side for 2-3 minutes, they should be browning. Turn the sprouts and let cook for 2-3 minutes more until nicely browned.

Remove from heat. Squeeze a lemon wedge over the sprouts, and season with lots of salt and pepper.

Serve immediately.

Method 2 – roasted

Preheat oven to 450F.

Rinse and trim the sprouts, removing any brown spots and outer leaves as necessary. Leave them whole or cut them in half depending on size and desired creaminess.

Toss in a roasting pan with extra virgin olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper.

Roast for 25-30 minutes, keeping an eye on them for browning.

Once they start to brown, remove them from the oven. Taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper if necessary.

Serve them as is, or toss them with butter while still hot.

This method yields sprouts that are almost creamy in the center (when the sprouts are halved), where in the sauteed variation the sprouts retain a bit of crunch. They are delicious either way.

Bon appétit!

Wine pairing: On their own, I would pair these Brussels’ sprouts with a crisp white to contrast with the fat in each of the above preparations. The more vegetal components of the sprouts themselves would pair nicely with a Sauvignon blanc. Chardonnay or Chenin blanc would be lovely as well. Of course, most would be serving these along side other dishes, and the sprouts will happily pair with just about anything. Cheers!

Creamy, decadent, comfort food:

Saute 1-2 finely minced shallots in 1/2 Tbsp each butter and olive oil over medium heat until fragrant and soft, about 2-3 minutes.

Add 1 cup Arborrio rice, stir to coat with the fat, and continue to cook for 1-2 minutes.

Add 1/4-1/2 cup dry white wine and stir until it evaporates.

Add 3-4 cups warm turkey stock, 1/2 cup at a time with constant stirring, waiting until each additional evaporates before adding the next. If your stock is highly concentrated, you can dilute it with water in the saucepan you use to keep it warm.

Add fresh chopped herbs (sage, thyme, parsley) and pepper towards the end of the stock additions. The rice should be tender and chewy, not crunchy or mushy, and should be bound by its creamy starches from all the stirring.

After all the stock has been absorbed (about 20-30 mintutes), add 1 cup grated Peccorino-Romano or Parmiggiano-Reggiano and stir to combine.

Serve warm.

Bon appétit!

Wine pairing: This dish would pair nicely with a wide range of whites and reds. I would choose a medium to full bodied white – Chardonnay, for example, can be either based on vinification methods, or a medium-bodied red. Any of the Bordeaux varietals – Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, or Petit Verdot (listed in general order of phenolic content) would be lovely, as would a Pinot noir.

Method 1 – Blanch and saute:

Blanch in boiling, salted water for 2-7 mintures, depending on thickness of stem and desired crunchiness (usually 4-5 min works for 1-cm thickness).

Immediately move to ice water. Once cool, drain thoroughly.

Heat 2-3 tsp butter and/or olive oil in saute pan over medium heat, add a finely minced shallot and saute for 2-3 min until soft and fragrant.

Add asparagus and toss with shallots until hot.

Season with sea salt and freshly-cracked pepper.

Variation to method 1:

After asparagus is blanched and cooled, wrap with proscuitto and either serve cold or place on grill until proscuitto is cripsy. Season with sea salt and grated orange peel (this variation is thanks to my friend Pam!). If grilling, be sure to only briefly blanch to bring out the green color but not lose the structure of the stem for grilling.

Method 2 – oven-roast:

Drizzle asparagus with olive oil and season with salt and pepper in roasting pan.

Place in 450F oven for about 10 min (watch carefully!), occassionally stirring them to prevent sticking and encourage even browning.

Let cool slightly, drizzle with balsalmic vinegar and serve with a few curls of Peccorino-Romano.

You can also pan-roast them on the stove-top over med-high heat to achieve similar results.

Bon Appetit!

Wine pairing: I like Sauvignon blanc with asparagus – either an old world or new world style. A Vouvray (Chenin blanc) would also be nice. Viognier woul be a lovely pairing with the cold prosciutto-wrapped asparagus, and consider a Pinot grigio with the grilled version. Cheers!

Delicious served with red meat or poultry.

Dissolve 1 cup sugar in 1 cup red wine or ruby port in a saucepan over medium heat.

Add one cinnamon stick, the zest of 1 orange or 2 clementines/tangerines, and 12 ounces fresh cranberries.

Increase heat, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer until the cranberries pop and the sauce is thickened, about 15-20 minutes.

Serve warm, room temperature, or chilled.

Bon appétit!

Wine pairing: Choose wines that have good fruit character on the palate for making and pairing with this dish (avoid wines with earthy or mineral-dominant profiles). I have made this dish with Ruby Port, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Shiraz. Think new world wines from California, Oregon, Autralia, and New Zealand, as well as some young wines from France. Cheers!

Our favorite use of leftover turkey after Thanksgiving:

After a couple of days of leftovers and sandwiches, remove all the remaining meat from the carcass/bones and rough chop or shred it. Save the bones for stock.

Dice one onion, 2 carrots, 2 celery ribs, and one large or 2 small potatoes. Mince 2 cloves garlic.

Saute the prepared vegetables in 1 Tbsp olive oil and 1 Tbsp butter for 5-10 min until soft. Season with salt and pepper.

Stir 2 Tbsp flour into the vegetables and cook for 1-2 minutes.

Add 2-3 cups water or poultry stock and a bouquet garni (bay leaf, thyme, parsley). Bring to a boil; reduce heat to a simmer for about 30 minutes to thoroughly cook the vegetables and reduce the volume of liquid.

Remove the bouquet garni, stir in the turkey, 1 cup rinsed frozen peas, and 1 cup rinsed frozen corn. Season and let cook through for 5 minutes.

Transfer to baking dish and cover with prepared pastry. Poke holes in top of pastry with a fork and bake in 350F oven for 1 hour.

Pastry:

Mix 3/4 cup wheat flour, 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, and 1 tsp salt. Cut 8 Tbsp (1 stick) butter into small pieces and incorporate into flour with your fingers until the mixture is like sand (sabler). Add ice water 1 Tbsp at a time until dough comes together. Knead briefly by pressing the dough under the palm of your hand and pushing across counter to flatten the layers of fat (frasier). Chill briefly or use immediately. Roll out and place over filling to be baked, tucking edges in the sides of the baking dish.

Bon appétit!

Wine Pairing: This is a pretty rich dish. To cut the richness, I like a dry Rose, a lightly oaked dry white wine, or a medium-bodied red that is not too-fruit driven. A Spanish, Italian, or Southern French red would do the trick. Cheers!

A favorite delicious and healthy pizza:

Preheat oven to 500F.

Cover Pizza dough generously with olive oil and grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. Season with salt and pepper.

Place dough in oven and reduce heat to 475F. Bake until lightly browned and crisp, 7-10 min.

While crust is baking, rough chop several types of lettuce (romaine, green and red leaf, radicchio, endive, etc.) and toss with vinaigrette.

Serve salade on top of pizza crust with additional Parmigiano-Reggiano (and some chopped fresh tomatoes in summer).

Bon appétit!

Wine Pairing: We recently enjoyed this pizza with a $9 screw cap Corbieres from South of France. A similar rustic table wine is recommended – Cotes du Rhone, Chianti, or Rose would pair well. Cheers!

This recipe makes enough dough for two thin-crust oven pizzas. The recipe can be easily doubled and frozen for easy weeknight meals.

dissolve 2.5 tsp (1 packet) yeast in 1 cup warm water for 5 minutes until foamy

mix 1.25 cups whole wheat flour, 1.25 cups bread (or all-purpose) flour, 1 tsp salt, and optional 1-2 tsp dried herbs.

Add the dissolved yeast and mix on low speed in mixer with dough hook (or by hand with extra kneading) for several minutes to knead. Add extra warm water as necessary to get dough to come together. After some kneading it should be smooth and elastic.

Coat dough with olive oil, cover with a towel, and let rise for 1 hour in a warm place.

Divide dough in two. Roll out, top, and bake in a preheated 500F oven reduced to 475F once the pizza is added for 10-15 minutes.

Bon Appetit!