Help with New Year's Eve menu?

[Dave Muscato]

Hey folks,

I don't have a gig this NYE, and apparently la Famiglia is getting together for a nice dinner tomorrow night. Mia mother asked me to make a tenderloin for the meat (see link), and I have a blank check on the rest. This should be fun

For the antipasti, I am thinking probably provolone, artichoke hearts, salami or prosciutto, and maybe some pesto to spread, and I have some getting-stale plain bagels I could cut into chips, drizzle with olive oil, and toast, as well. Or, I could also do a bruschetta with fresh mozzarella, or something juicier like melon and eggplant and olives. What do you think?

After that I was thinking either a soup, or risotto... We eat a lot of pasta and I'm a little tired of it. I don't often make soup and could use some suggestions if I go that route.

Then would be the tenderloin, and some kind of salad or vegetable along with it. I could do a caprese salad, which I know my mom likes, or something more Sicilian like a salad with oranges and walnuts and maybe some goat cheese. The tenderloin recipe has a crimini mushroom & shallot sauce, so I thought something fruity and fresh might be a nice contrast. Do you think citrus and shallots could work together, or is that asking for trouble?

After that would be coffee and dessert. There are so many ways to go on this... I could do something basic like biscotti for the coffee and some gelati, or something more fun like tiramisu or zucotto (one of my favorites), or just some kind of pastries or cookies. Suggestions welcome.

I have wine to go with most anything but I'm always open to suggestions there, too.

Thanks for your thoughts!

Whole tenderloin in a crimini & shallot sauce:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/davemuscato/2666371657/

[baba]

Don't forget the olives with the antipasti. Sun dried tomatoes if you want another strong flavor.

If not the bruschetta, you could slice some roma tomatoes, top with buffalo mozarella, a bit of fresh basil, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and lightly salt. It's a little lighter than the bruschetta since you skip the starch.

Go with the soup. Butternut squash? A simple minestrone?

I'm one of the few that don't like fruit in my salad, but the salad you suggest is a favorite of my wife (along with rasberry vinegarette). If you want something to stand up to the shrooms and shallots, why not a fresh caesar? Plenty of lemon juice will keep it fresh, but the fresh garlic/parmesiano funk will cut through.

Tiramisu, gelato, and coffee.

[Dave Muscato]

I'm a big fan of butternut squash soup, too, but I wonder if it might be a little thick & warm (as opposed to hearty) for mid-meal, but minestrone sounds good.

Caesar salad... great idea. I think I'll do that as well. Thanks!

Any other suggestions, guys?

[baba]

How about a nice digestivo to back up dessert? Limoncello is usually a crowd pleaser. Something a litte more robust like Borsci San Marzano (my favorite) would be nice.

[Dave Muscato]

I do have some port (just Warre's Otima 10) but I wouldn't mind getting something else. Limoncello's a great idea, but I don't have nearly enough time to make any. Can you buy that commercially? (I live in Columbia, Missouri, don't forget! LOL). I will see if I can find some Borsci at one of the wine shops here.

[baba]

Dave, a couple more posts and I'll be showing up at your door for dinner! Take pics of the dinner.

Limoncello is a little hard to find, but call around to a couple wine specialty shops and you'll come across it. I like it COLD.

[standupright]

hmmmm.....menu ideas.

for starters

pancetta wrapped dates saute'd in olive oil
endive, triple cream brie, candied pecan, drizzled with balsamic syrup
ensalata crapese is always a winner in my book (i know you mentioned it)
prosciutto and fruit (melon, apple, grape, whatever)

if you can find some fresh chanterelles, i'd highly recommend adding them to the sauce for the pork.

if risotto is too heavy, you could always do an herbed vegetable cous-cous

here is my recipe -
On to the cous cous
1/2 cup cous cous
3 plum (roma) tomatoes chopped
8 chopped crimini mushrooms
1/2 yellow onion chopped
1 cup dry white wine
1 tblsp crushed red pepper
4 cloves garlic crushed
salt
pepper
olive oil
butter
chicken stock
parsely

and with the pork i served it with from my foodblog



as for a veg to serve with the pork maybe something simple like garlic and rosemary roasted fingerling potatoes. or brown sugar and garlic braised carrots.

[steve21]

My NYE menu is Infected Mushroom

[ElMon]

Can't go wrong with Gnocci (Gnochi??), which are, in my white-boy non-Italian translation, referred to simply as 'Tasty Italian Potato Dumplings Drenched with Red Gravy'. Man, Italy really taught the world how to eat IMO.

[Dave Muscato]

Thanks for the tips, everybody! We decided to reschedule for a night when my brother isn't working, so probably this weekend. I will post pics when we get to that. I might be back here for more advice the day of, too, haha. Thanks!