New Year's Eve 2023 & New Year's Day 2024

 

New Year's Eve was mixed and had us reminiscing and delving into some festive leftovers, cheese and crackers, olives, and meats with the addition of veggie spring rolls, vegetable samosas, deviled eggs, almonds, Welsh Cakes and a spicy Bhuja mix. A selection of my baking and chocolates sweetened the savoury and was followed by champagne. A light and lovely way to say goodbye to 2023!

New Year's Day saw us relaxing under slightly sunny skies with a bit of coolness to the air. Dinner had a refreshing and comforting start to the new year as we tucked into a bowl of creamy chicken stew, not the usual dinner however change is good. Hearty warmth soothed our soul and fuelled our walk. Setting the new year off on the right foot.   

New Year's Eve 2022 & New Year's Day 2023

 

New Year's Eve was casual and festive and what better way to send off the last day of the year than with a massive platter of nachos. Layers of corn chips, cheese, refried beans, peppers, hot peppers, olives and tomatoes were nibbled and noshed and dipped in guacamole, salsa and sour cream by all with such celebratory flair. Followed later with champagne and nibbles. It was a perfect way to say goodbye to 2022!  

New Year's Day was sunny and bright, which is a positive way to start the New Year. Our dinner was less formal... or traditional however it did have some holiday signatures such as glazed ham and stuffing along with a jasmine wild rice trio and peas. A more robust happy go lucky plate to welcome 2023.

New Year's Eve 2021 and New Year's Day 2022

 

New Years Eve was reflective and quiet. A simple snackette of vegetable spring rolls, carrot sticks and cherry tomatoes, devilled eggs, assorted meats and cheeses, dried fruit and nuts, olives, homemade hummus and pretzels, salty nibbles, chocolates and mince pies started our celebrations and toasted turkey sandwiches and champagne followed nicely. Although the city cancelled the fireworks display, periodically throughout the evening leading up to midnight you could hear fireworks going off throughout the city. We saw it to midnight and beyond recollecting the moments of the year that was and welcoming the start of a new year with fresh eyes. 

New Year's Day was equally reflective and quiet. The sunny skies that started the day seemed promising. We broke from our traditional ham dinner to enjoy a simple dinner of oven roasted chicken, seasoned rice, a spicy kale salad and carrots. Dessert was a seasonal whisky sponge cake. An evening walk was pleasant as the plummeting icy temperatures eased slightly making it a comfortable and refreshing winter walk. 

Peace, Happiness and Health and Happy New Year to all!  

New Year's Eve 2020 & New Year's Day 2021

New Year's Eve: We enjoyed what seems to be our tradition... the ploughman's; with a few additions like hard boiled eggs and teriyaki chicken wings. Mulled wine and non alcoholic fizz to wash it all down. A relaxing fare to say goodbye to the year.

New Year's Day: We welcomed the day with a more light and continental feel; I made blueberry oat bran muffins and cheddar cornmeal muffins, added fresh and dried fruit and nuts on the side. A fit combination for all. 

New Year's Day: Dinner was oven roasted ham, just like our turkey, was free with points, steamed rice, sweet corn and my stuffing that was leftover from Christmas and steamed carrots. I forgot to add the steam carrots to my plate before I took the photo. 

  

It was a quiet and reflective New Years for the most part; random fireworks went off and shouts of Happy New Year to all rang out throughout the neighbouring streets from doorsteps and balconies. It seems as though everyone was doing their best to put the year that was, behind and look forward with peace and positivity.  - JD   

     

New Year's Eve 2017 & New Year's Day 2018

New Year's Eve we took a lighter approach and enjoyed oven baked herbed salmon with mushroom couscous and steamed carrots. 

It is all about balance... dessert was leftover ginger cake soaked in rum with lashing of custard. Champagne flowed hours later to ring in the New Year!   

Buttery sweet scones with raspberry chia seed jam and fresh fruit brought New Year's Day brunch together nicely and carried us through to dinner. 

As the plummeting temperatures of the past few days... minus 40!, started to rise towards zero, New Year's Day dinner was a comforting bowl of slow cooker stew. 

Followed by a decadent selection of Fortnum & Mason's Glacé Fruit for dessert. Sweet and indulgent worth sharing. It is all about balance.  

Hope everyone had a wonderful time ringing in the New Year and are looking forward to 2018 and what it will bring. We are! - JD 

New Year's Eve 2016 & New Year's Day 2017

We started New Year's Eve off with an early cocktail... the Ritz Bijou. Mellow with a crisp bite. Will post the recipe soon.  

Dinner was light; a ploughman's with plenty of options that carried us until the stroke of midnight. 

New Year's Day was cool and quiet and the California Gimlet was our pre-dinner cocktail. A solid vitamin C shot with a kick. Again, I will post the recipe soon.   

Dinner was slow cooker ham doused with apple bourbon barbeque sauce and surrounded by sliced apple and onion rings, buttery mashed potatoes and steamed brussel sprouts with a dash of white wine vinegar.  

Forgot to mention that our Christmas Fortnum & Mason order complimented our holiday nibbling and noshing.

Happy New Year, everyone! - JD 

Cheesy Leeks

Adding cheese to any dish makes it an instant hit. And this simple cheesy leek dish is tasty. Making it an excellent addtion to any comfort food list. 

Cheesy Leeks
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4 leeks
25g (1 oz) butter
25g (1 oz) plain all purpose flour
300ml (1/2 pint) milk
125g (5 oz) grated old/mature Cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon grainy mustard
salt and pepper to taste 

First, you want to pre-heat the oven's grill to high. Cut the leeks in half and cooking in boiling water for about 3-4 minutes. 

Drain the leeks and put in a oven-proof baking dish. 

In a small/medium saucepan melt the butter over lotto medium heat then add the flour and cook for 1 minute. Gradually add the milk, stirring until it has thickened.

Stir in 100g (4 oz) of the grated Cheddar cheese and one tablespoon of mustard. Season with salt and pepper if you like. Then pour over the leeks and top with the remaining cheese. 

Place in the oven and grill under high for about 5 minutes. Until everything is bubbling nicely. 

Notes: You can try adding swiss or blue cheese. The cheese sauce is a great basic sauce that can serve many cheesy purposes, like macaroni and cheese, cheesy broccoli and cauliflower.

The cheesy leeks were the side dish for our New Years Day dinner of sweet glazed ham with oven roasted potatoes, carrots, and celery. 

Hope everyone had a great New Year's Eve. We did and celebrated rightfully so...

Happy New Year everyone! - JD