New year's dining12 23 16

NEW YEAR’S DINING a blank slate media / litmor publications special section • december 23, 2016

32 NEW YEAR’S DINING GUIDE • News Times Newspapers, Friday, December 23, 2016

Ring in the New Year with festive party ideas A

lthough New Year's Eve parties tend to be similar from year to year, hosts can explore the many ways to make their celebrations stand out from those of years past. This handy guide provides ideas to your get creative juices flowing. · Establish a color palette. Many people equate New Year's Eve with the gold and silver hues of champagne.

However, you can use any festive color for your party. Use the same colors on everything from invitations to dinnerware to take-home favors. · Encourage guest input. Guests understand the cost of hosting and the amount of planning necessary to throw a festive party, and many will likely reach out to ask what they can do or bring. Figure out in advance which aspects of the party you want your guests to take care of so you have a ready answer when the inquiries start rolling in.

· Keep musical tastes in mind. A fun party usually includes an array of familiar songs and music that appeals to the masses. When compiling a party playlist, choose songs guests are sure to know and love. Mix these in with a few of your favorites. You can even ask guests to provide the names of three favorite songs when they RSVP. · Dim the lights. Bright lights can make guests feel intimidated and awkward. Set the mood by turning off overhead lights, opting for ambient lighting instead. For a fun effect, string holiday lights around the room or use a portable disco ball to spread sparkling colors on the floor and ceiling. Candles are another option for intimate affairs, but should be avoided as a safety measure if you're having a large crowd. · Set out New Year's fill-in-the-blank cards. Encourage guest participation with an entertaining idea. Print out small cards that guests have to

complete. Phrases like, "The bad habit I want to quit is ___" or "____ was the silliest thing I did last year," can be fun to do and share. Guests can take turns guessing whose card is being read.

martinis or vanilla cake-flavored vodka mixers, may be the right flavor for your affair. As the host, you should remember to provide non-alcoholic alternatives as well.

· Have the party catered. Unless you want to spend the evening in and out of the kitchen, invest in catering.

Guests of a late party won't expect a three course meal. However, platters of sandwiches, appetizers and other little munchies will fit the bill. Remember, caterers may book up fast this time of year, so be sure to reserve service well in advance of your party.

· Consider more substantial food after midnight. Encourage guests to eat more and drink less once the clock has struck midnight. Casseroles and other baked dishes are easy to make in advance and have on hand. A breakfast buffet of pancakes, toast and omelets also will fill guests up with something more substantial than chips and dips.

· Create a specialty drink. In addition to toasting champagne or sparkling wine, serve a specialty drink creation. This can be a beverage that ties into your color scheme or the theme of the party.

Dessert drinks, such as chocolate

New Year's Eve parties are a great way to reflect on the last year and look forward to a new one, and hosts can take steps to make their parties memorable for all the right reasons.

News Times Newspapers, Friday, December 23, 2016 • NEW YEAR’S DINING GUIDE

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34 NEW YEAR’S DINING GUIDE • News Times Newspapers, Friday, December 23, 2016

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Eco friendly ways to ring in the New Year

Replacing traditional champagne with an organic alternative is one way for hosts to throw an eco-friendly New Year’s Eve party this year. new year is on the horizon and men and women across the globe are readying their New Year’s resolutions. In recent years, more and more men and women have resolved to adopt a more eco-

A

friendly lifestyle in the year ahead.

But you don’t have to wait until the new calendar year to go green. In fact, New Year’s revelers can turn their New Year’s Eve party into an eco-friendly affair in a variety of ways.

Forgo paper products. New Year’s Eve festivities typically feature lots of food and beverages, and hosts can use this to get a head start on their resolutions. Instead of serving food on paper plates and beverages in disposable paper, plastic or foam cups, use reusable glassware or even plastic cups and plates that can be washed and reused. In addition, replace paper napkins with cloth napkins that can be used more than once.

When forgoing paper products, don’t forget to abandon traditional invitations for e-vites. Invite guests via e-mail or through social networking sites instead of sending out traditional paper invitations that needlessly use paper and need to be transported.

Embrace eco-friendly beverages.

Adult beverages are a big part of many New Year’s Eve parties, and even these beverages can be ecofriendly. The growing popularity of craft breweries, or microbreweries, has made it easy for party hosts to serve eco-friendly drinks. Purchase your party’s beer supply from a local microbrewery to cut down on the beer’s carbon footprint. Buying locally

reduces reliance on transportation to get items from the manufacturer into your refrigerator, which in turn reduces fuel consumption and pollution.

But beer isn’t the only way to make your beverage menu more ecofriendly. Hosts can replace traditional vodka with organic vodka and traditional wine with biodynamic wine.

When the time comes to toast the past year and ring in the new one, do so with champagne or sparkling wine made from organic grapes.

Encourage guests to recycle throughout the night. When guests arrive, explain to them that the night will be an eco-friendly affair. Set up a separate trash receptacle for recyclable items, including bottles and cans. Think of ways to use discarded wine and champagne bottles as decorative items, be it for table settings or vases to hold fresh flowers. And when recycling, don’t overlook the smaller items. Corks from wine bottles can be recycled and reused for a variety of products, including flooring tiles, building insulation and sports equipment.

Donate food at the end of the night. Hosts often have food leftover at the end of the night. Rather than discarding all those leftovers, donate them to a local food bank or homeless shelter. Make these arrangements in advance so the following morning you can donate the leftovers before they spoil.

New Year’s Eve is one of the most festive nights of the year. And with a few simple steps, hosts can make their gathering as eco-friendly as it is enjoyable.

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36 NEW YEAR’S DINING GUIDE • News Times Newspapers, Friday, December 23, 2016

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News Times Newspapers, Friday, December 23, 2016 • NEW YEAR’S DINING GUIDE

Go gourmet for your New Year's Soirée

ew Year's celebrations wouldn't be the same without food and, of course, drinks. But while you may already have the champagne on ice for when the clock strikes 12, you may not already have plans in place with regard to feeding your guests as you ring in a new year.

N

If you really want to send the year out in flavorful style, consider the following recipe for "Cocktail Dates" from Bob Blumer's "Surreal Gourmet Bites: Showstoppers and Conversation Starters" (Chronicle Books).

Cocktail Dates Yields 12 bites 12 large dried Medjool dates 1 4-ounce chunk Parmigiano Reggiano cheese 6 slices bacon, cut in half widthwise Preheat oven to 350 F. Insert a bamboo skewer or a similar facsimile in the bottom of the date until the pointy tip rests on the bottom of the pit. Push the pit out of the stem side.

Reserve dates.

Using your sharpest knife, cut Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese into 1/4-inch slices. Cut those slices into 1/4-x-1-inch pieces (the resulting 1-inch pieces should be approximately the same diameter as a pencil). Cut the tip of each piece at a 45-degree angle.

Leading with the pointy end, stuff a stick of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese into the pit hole of each date.

Wrap each date with a slice of bacon.

Set dates on a baking sheet, seam-sides down, and skewer each with a toothpick to hold bacon in place.

Bake for approximately 20 minutes, or until bacon is crispy. Caution: These cocktail dates are like molten lava when they come out of the oven. Let cool for a few minutes before serving.

Note: Mejdool dates or any other dried date can usually be found in Mediterranean stores or specialty food stores.

Note: Dates can be stuffed and wrapped up to 24 hours in advance

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38 NEW YEAR’S DINING GUIDE • News Times Newspapers, Friday, December 23, 2016

New Year's Eve activities for adults and children N

ew Year's Eve is one of the most festive nights of the year, when friends and families gather to count down the waning moments of the year as they anticipate the fun times ahead in the year to come.

While adults tend to look forward to New Year's Eve festivities more than children, there are ways parents can ring in the New Year with their kids.

youngsters, who can take chances trying to break the pinata once the clock strikes midnight or earlier if they aren't likely to still be awake by the time the new year begins.

• Make predictions for the year to come. Another fun and wholesome New Year's Eve activity parents can enjoy with their children is making predictions for the year to come. Ask young sports fans to predict which teams will win championships in their respective leagues while encouraging other youngsters to share their predictions on awards shows or other popular social events for the coming year. Younger kids might not be able to make such specific predictions, so ask them to write down what they hope to see happen in the new year.

• Invite kids into the kitchen. New Year's Eve festivities often include food, so why not invite youngsters into the kitchen to cook alongside you? Kids may not be interested in preparing the main course, but let youngsters get involved when baking the night's more delectable treats, like cookies and cakes. Little ones can choose their favorite treats and then help Mom and Dad prepare those treats for guests coming over to join in the festivities. Decorate cakes and cookies with a New Year's Eve theme.

• Pick funny resolutions out of a hat.

New Year's resolutions are a big part of the holiday, and families who want to add some fun to this tradition can sit down and write their own funny resolutions. Keep the resolutions you write down to yourself, place each person's ideas in a hat and then pick them out before the kids go to bed or right after the clock strikes midnight,

whichever happens to come first.

• Make a New Year's pinata. Many people love to watch the ball drop from Time's Square in New York City on New Year's Eve. Celebrants can bring

a taste of this beloved tradition into their own homes come New Year's Eve by creating a pinata that looks exactly like the ball in Time's Square.

Fill the ball with treats and games for

• Ring in the new year under the stars. Families who live in warm climates might want to forgo television countdowns in favor of spending the final hours of the year under the stars.

A New Year's Eve camping trip is a great way for families to bond and spend time together at the end of what is often a hectic time of year. Instead of hoisting champagne or sparkling cider at the stroke of midnight, share some s'mores and hot chocolate around the campfire as everyone gazes up at the stars.

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40 NEW YEAR’S DINING GUIDE • News Times Newspapers, Friday, December 23, 2016

Bounce back from New Year’s Eve revelry N

ew Year's parties are synonymous with many things, including champagne toasts come the stroke of midnight. While New Year's Eve is a festive occasion, the tendency to overindulge in alcohol leaves many people feeling groggy come the first of January.

Bloody Marys have long been said to help make hangovers more bearable.

This New Year's, you and your fellow revelers can recover thanks to the following recipe for "Gino the Ram's Special Spicy Bloody Marys" courtesy of Jackie Collins' "The Lucky Santangelo Cookbook" (St. Martin's Press).

1

2 5 3 2 1

and coarsely chopped medium red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and coarsely chopped tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice cups tomato or V8 juice tablespoons peeled and grated fresh horseradish teaspoons celery salt teaspoon freshly ground black pepper Hot sauce, to taste Lime wedges and celery ribs, for serving

Yields 6 to 8 drinks

In a 1-quart glass measure, combine the vodka with the onion, pressed garlic, jalapeños, habañero, bell pepper, lemon juice, and hot sauce.

Using an immersion blender, purée the mixture until smooth.

2 1/2 cups chilled vodka 1/2 cup chopped onion 2 small garlic cloves, pressed with a sturdy garlic press 2 small jalapeños, stemmed, seeded and coarsely chopped 1 habañero or Scotch bonnet pepper, stemmed, seeded

In a large pitcher (at least 1/2-gallon capacity), combine the vodka mixture with the tomato juice, grated horseradish, celery salt, and black pepper and stir vigorously to blend.

Strain into ice-filled tall glasses and serve with the lime wedges and celery ribs.

Gino the Ram's Special Spicy Bloody Marys

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42 NEW YEAR’S DINING GUIDE • News Times Newspapers, Friday, December 23, 2016

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