Happy 2016! It may sound cliché, but man, I love the fresh feeling of the New Year. 2015 is a year I'm very proud of and I wanted to spend the evening celebrating it by doing something fun. Since we had some family in town, we debated going out and reserving a table at one of our favorite restaurants to enjoy a quiet (kid-free) dinner. Most restaurants have a fixed menu on NYE with wine pairings that the chef has spent time researching and preparing; generally pretty expensive.
After discussing the idea with Matt and our guests, we came up with a better idea: wait until Walter to goes to sleep (7:30) and enjoy an equally as good five course meal at home! As parents, all we wish to achieve in going out to eat is to be able to eat our meal slowly (or even eat the meal at all) without a toddler asking you questions, dropping food, and taking most of our attention. This can be done at home!
Since Matt and I love prepping and cooking our own food, we figured this would be way more fun too. We were able to select exactly what we wanted to eat verses finding a menu that fit us. Five courses can sound intimidating, but we spent the morning grocery shopping, spent nap time wisely prepping, and when company came- the serving & cooking was timed and done accordingly. In eating this much food, portions were also scaled down and spanned over a period of four hours. We made an entire night of it and it truly made midnight come faster than we had expected! It was fun!
Our New Years Eve Menu:
Butternut Squash Soup
Spinach Apple and Feta Salad
Shrimp Tacos
Bacon Wrapped Filet & Twice Baked Potato
Mocha Icebox Cake
Butternut Squash & Coconut Milk Soup
This course totally took care of itself... yes, I used the crock pot! In making so many meals, I wanted at least two courses that could be done totally ahead of time. This soup was prepped in the morning, left to cook all day, and then quickly blended before serving.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups vegetable stock
-1 carrot, peeled and diced
-1 granny smith, apple cored and diced
-1 large butternut squash, peeled seeded and diced
-1 yellow onion, diced
-1 sprig fresh sage
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne
-1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
-1/2 cup coconut milk
Directions:
1. Toss all ingredients in the crock pot (except for coconut milk). Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
2. Use an immersion blender to blend all ingredients- or transfer it to a regular blender. Blend until smooth and then stir in coconut milk.
3. Plate while hot and sprinkle with cinnamon.
Spinach Salad:
This is another course that was totally prepped ahead of time and filled with simple ingredients.
Ingredients:
-baby spinach
-crumbled feta
-dried cranberries
-sliced gala apples (or honey crisp)
-walnuts, roasted at 350 for 10 minutes (makes a huge difference in flavor)
-Greek vinaigrette - make your salad dressing- it's easy
-cracked black pepper to top
Shrimp Tacos:
After soup and salad, we had a brief intermission while I cooked the shrimp and assembled the tacos. In a skillet over the stove, shrimp only takes a matter of 5-6 minutes to fully cook.
Ingredients:
-2 pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1/2 teaspoon smoke paprika
-1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
-salt and pepper to taste
-pico de gallo (Trader Joe's)
-cilantro vinaigrette (Trader Joe's)
-lime wedges
-shredded cabbage
-corn tortillas
-cilantro for garnish
Directions:
-Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet.
-Add shrimp once oil is hot, sprinkle the shrimp with paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Sauté 5-6 minutes until fully cooked. (pink and slightly curled)
- Arrange shrimp, pico, cilantro vinaigrette, cabbage, and cilantro on the corn tortilla. Serve with lime wedge. (Can add jalapeños if you like a kick)
Bacon Wrapped Filet + Twice Baked Potatoes:
After shrimp tacos, we left the table for a significant "food break". This allowed Matt time to fire up the grill and bring it up to temperature. We cut and wrapped the filets earlier in the day so they were ready to place on the grill. I also fully prepared the potatoes during Walter's nap time so they were ready to go from the fridge straight to the oven! Matt and the guys headed out to the deck where he grilled the filets along with a cast-iron skillet filled with mushrooms and shaved red onions.
Filet Ingredients:
-6 four ounce filets
-6 strips of bacon
-butchers twine
-pack of button mushrooms
-1/2 red onion thinly sliced
Directions:
-Selecting the right cut of meat is important - for this recipe we went with narrow NY Strips that were 1"- 1-1/2" thick and about 7" long
-Cut each steak in half - this will give two 4-5oz steaks per strip
-Lightly massage the steaks giving you the ability to form them into round medallions
-Wrap the medallions with a single strip of bacon and secure with butchers twine
-Grill temp is another important step - you want a high-heat grill surface (450-500 degrees fahrenheit) to quickly sear the steaks as soon as they are placed on the grill.
-Just before you throw the bacon wrapped filets on the grill, season with salt and pepper on both sides
-Place the steaks on the grill for 4-5 minutes per side to achieve an internal temperature of 145-150 degrees fahrenheit (mid-rare-meduim). If you want it rare drop that time down to 2 min per side, and if you want it cooked all the way through just make something else...(kidding). A fully cooked steak may have to be left on the grill cooking indirect for 15 additional minutes after you initially sear the filet on both sides.
Twice-Baked-Potato Ingredients:
-8 yukon gold potatoes, washed
-3 tablespoons canola oil
-6 tablespoons salted butter
-1 cup bacon bits (fry your own!)
-1 cup sour cream
-1 cup cheddar cheese, plus more for topping
-1/2 cup milk ( I used 2%)
-2 teaspoons kosher salt
-5 green onions, chopped
-Freshly ground black pepper
Directions:
-Preheat the oven to 400F.
-Place the potatoes on a baking sheet. Rub them with the canola oil and bake for 1 hour.
-With a sharp knife, cut each potato in half lengthwise. Using a spoon, scrape out the insides into the mixing bowl, being careful not to tear the shell. Leave a small rim of potato intact for support. Place the potato skins back on the sheet, hole side up.
-Mash the potatoes with the butter, bacon and sour cream. Add the cheese, milk, salt, green onions black pepper and mash together. (I prefer them to be chunky- and have texture- so don't mash too smooth)
-Lower oven temp to 350F.
-Fill the shells with the filling, top with cheese, and bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden on top. **At this point I didn't do the final bake, I covered the filled shells with plastic wrap and placed them in the fridge. I saved the last "bronzing bake time" for later that night, just before we ate them. I just pulled them out of the fridge and placed them right in the oven when the steaks were grilling.**
Mocha-Icebox "Cake":
After an hour of visiting and watching some musical performances (Busta Rhymes was my favorite- haha *flashback to 2000*), we watched the ball drop and cheers-ed to the New Year! Before we parted ways to find our pillows (all parents of young children are lucky to make it to midnight), I served up slices of this Mocha-Icebox Cake.
Many of my friends rave about Ina Garten's (my idol) Icebox Cake. Since it requires zero baking and I could make it all ahead of time and serve it cold, I figured tonight was the perfect night to try it out. Our cousin Sara is gluten-intolerant, so I centered our food selections around that fact as well. I used gluten free Tate Cookies (found at Taste Unlimited or Whole Foods) for this recipe. I followed her exact instructions to the recipe except I froze the cake instead of refrigerating it... it was soooo good this way and I definitely recommend it.
Click here for the link to her recipe.
While so much focus is usually thrown on celebrating the Eve of the New Year, last year Matt and I began the tradition of hosting a mid-morning brunch -best meal of the day and first meal of the year! We had family and friends gather at our house, all bringing their favorite brunch item to share. We had local donuts, coffee, mimosas, egg casseroles, apple muffins... you name it.
^^ Same flowers from last night.. left on the tablecloth and reused for the morning :-)
^^ Matt and my dad supervising the bacon & sausage. If Matt had it his way, charcoal grilling would take place for every meal of the day.
Needless to say, we had a great spread and it was all gone by the end of the morning!
It must run in our blood because breakfast is also W's favorite meal of the day! This kid can eat and so can his cousins!
With full tummies, the kiddos were ready to play and create! Grateful for this art table full of things to keep them busy!
Walter with his Abuela and Grandma- quite possibly his favorite people!
This morning left me full of food and love! Being surrounded by these people I love truly sets the tone for how I want to enter this new season and exciting year ahead.
Early this year we will welcome our new baby boy, Cooper, into the world. Days later, I'll graduate with my Fine Arts degree in Drawing and Design. I can't wait to accomplish these goals that I am so passionate for. I am most excited to watch my two boys grow together as brothers with the love of my life! Of course life has its every day challenges, and I have a long list of things I need and want to improve and work on this year. Above all, I am walking into 2016 with a load of blessings that are about to unfold and I still have to pinch myself at the fact that I'm going to be the mommy to TWO boys! My little guy fuels my ambitions and I can't yet quite comprehend the fact of having another bundle of joy!
Before I get too emotional ;-)... Happy New Year! Make it a GREAT one.
xo,
Monica
