A Global Kitchen

     For the past several years I have participated in an interesting culinary New Year's Eve event.  Instead of making reservations and going out to an expensive restaurant to be squeezed into a cramped dining room and hurried through a meal, 6 couples decided to create our own meal and enjoy it in the spacious leisure of a home.  Each year we choose a theme for the dinner and then go to work preparing, slicing and dicing, cooking and baking, all the while enjoying each other's company and catching up with each other.  Then at the appointed hour after a sumptuous dinner we gather in the Great Room to watch the ball drop in Times Square before heading off to our respective homes.

     This year we decided on the theme "Around the World on New Year's Eve."  Here is the proposed menu that we will prepare:

Appetizer

Croustades au Duxelles

(Provence)

 

First Course

Shrimp and Smoked Oyster Chowder

(New Orleans)

 

Second Course

Insalata

(Calabria)

 

Main Course

Grilled Lamb Chops

(New South Wales)

 

Barbecued Short Ribs with Hoisin Sauce

(Asian Rim)

 

Accompaniments

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

(Belgium)

 

Istrian Potatoes

(Croatia)

 

Desserts

4 Berry Crumb Pie

(The Heartland)

 

a la carte Sour Cream Chocolate Cake

(San Francisco)

 

Artisanal Cookies

(Germany)

 

Hot and Cold Beverages of one's choosing

 

It's going to be a fun evening.  The most difficult part will be trying to stay awake until midnight after eating all that food!!!

 

Best Wishes for a happy, healthy

and prosperous New Year!

 

Vinny