the ultimate NYE menu

is effortlessly elegant

We were supposed to have a fun New Years Eve dinner party up in San Francisco with friends, but since I’ll be in the “mandatory mask” stage of my COVID quarantine, we’re opting to spend it alone at home. Just like every other freaking holiday in 2020/2021. It’s fine, I’m fine, everything’s fine!

If you are one of the lucky few who does not have Omicron right now, might I suggest a double dose of Vitamin C (just kidding I’m not a doctor don’t listen to anything I say), and the following dinner party menu for NYE? It is the perfect combination of New Years Eve elegance and ease so that you can actually enjoy yourself instead of running around cooking all night long. “Effortless” might be a strong word — but you truly should be able to do most of the cooking before your guests arrive so that you can actually enjoy yourself.

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caro’s perfect NYE dinner party menu that she would be cooking with friends if she didn’t have freaking COVID

cocktails

Pitcher of Martinis // 3 cups of gin or vodka + 3/4 cup dry vermouth + 3/4 cup water + 8 dashes bitters (optional but I dig it). Stir together in a pitcher and chill. Serve with lemon and orange twists (use a vegetable peeler to peel big strips of zest), olive juice for those who want ‘em dirty, blue cheese stuffed olives (buy pitted Castelvetrano olives and the fanciest blue cheese you can find and get to work), and cocktail onions so that everyone can DIY their own martini. This makes about 6 martinis, FYI — so double or triple the recipe accordingly! Make this as far as 24 hours in advance.

appetizers

Fancy Piggies // assemble up to 24 hours in advance and wrap in plastic wrap right on the baking sheet, but bake them just as your guests are arriving. Slide them onto a platter where a bowl of Dijonaise is already waiting. You could serve the fanciest appetizer in the world, but the pigs in a blanket will disappear first.

Potato Chips + Creme Fraiche + Caviar // Classic and elegant. Set out a big pretty bowl with the fanciest plain potato chips you can find, a little bowl of creme fraiche, and the caviar straight out of the tin. Chip + dollop of creme fraiche + dollop of caviar! I let guests do it themselves, but you can also pre-make each bite and serve it like a canapé. Caviar is expensive but it’s NYE and you don’t have COVID so live a little!

Hand Salad // I read about the idea of serving a “hand salad” in Bon Appetit like 7 years ago and it really stuck with me. It got a ton of internet hate, but I think it’s hilarious and fun. Nothing annoys me more than having to wash dishes, so I am not the type to bust out salad plates and dinner plates. But, I always want to offer my dinner guests some vegetables and greens, and sometimes the salad can’t go on the same plate as the entree, like here where we are serving grits that would run into the salad and get yucky. So — serve a hand salad! Ie a massive platter of romaine leaves, crudites, and different thick dressings (just use storebought to make things easy) that you can dip it all into. You could either serve this before dinner like an appetizer, or put a couple platters of hand salad out on the dinner table like a centerpiece and let people dig in during dinner!

dinner

Short ribs and grits — the recipe from last Sunday! You can make the short ribs up to 3 days in advance and just refrigerate them right in the pot. Warm them in a 350°F oven with the lid on for 30 minutes before serving. You can go ahead and blend the sauce ahead of time and add the ribs back to the blended sauce. You can also make your grits ahead of time — just reheat them with a splash of water or milk when you’re ready to serve. This is truly the easiest meal that looks so fahn-cy!

short ribs and grits

dessert

Call me juvenile, but we’re wrapping this dinner party up with a fancy Funfetti cake (recipe by Sally’s Baking Addiction). I mean, look at it! It looks like confetti exploding everywhere — if that doesn’t say HAPPY NEW YEARS, I don’t know what does. If baking stresses you out, make the Pot de Creme that I sent out last week — I promise they are ridiculously easy. If you go with the cake, buy some sparklers, light ‘em up like you’re at a Las Vegas nightclub, and prepare to chow down on the tastiest, most nostalgic cake of all time.

photo from Sally’s Baking Addiction