New Year's Day Night

Not to be outdone by the drinking on New Year's Day, Mom invited us over for a New Year's / Belated Chanukah dinner. Cooking was in full effect when we arrived, but Sissy and I brought our own contributions as well.

Traditional New Year's Day foods are a must for me, so I brought some collard greens (for luck) and black-eyed peas (for wealth). I wasn't sure how to cook them, so I basically just heated them up on the stove. Any recipes for the future are greatly appreciated!

Pork is also a known New Year's Day food, although I am not sure why. To try something a bit different, Mom made us ham-wrapped asparagus. Now this is an easy & cheaper alternative to something like prosciutto, and it was especially good with a little bit of lemon squeezed on. I would definitely make these for a party in the future, but might add something to hold it together, like a cream cheese (lemon-flavored, even).

For the actual meal, we had baked salmon, cooked with wine, balsamic vinegar, mushrooms, tomatoes, capers, and a few spritzes of olive oil. Perfectly cooked, flaked with a fork, it was rich & delicious.

To celebrate Chanukah, Mom also made latkes from scratch. According to the Wikipedia entry, latkes are tradition on this holiday because “the oil for cooking the latkes is reminiscent of the oil from the Hanukkah story that kept the Second Temple of ancient Israel lit with a long-lasting flame that is celebrated as a miracle. “

We used a mixture of regular & sweet potatoes, which gives them a sweeter flavor than using regular only. We did cheat a little, because we tried to bake them, rather than fry them. There was a bit of olive oil sprayed on though. Although very tasty, they were a little “mushy” because of the baking. Next time, I would possibly slow-cook them longer, then flash broil at the end to achieve the crispy outside texture.

After dinner were two dessert treats, one planned and one surprised. Mom and Sissy had taken a chocolate cooking class and learned to make truffles. For our special dinner, Mom handmade an assortment of plain and liqueur-flavored chocolate truffles, blissfully rolled in crushed oreos or cocoa powder. She had even made labels so we could tell them all apart. Among the Chambourd, Grand Marnier, and plain options, my favorite were the Kahlua flavored ones. They brought something a little extra milky and creamy to the bitterness of dark chocolate.

For the surprise, Sissy had brought back our favorite kind of cake from New Orleans, doberge from Gambino’s. Made of layers upon layers of yellow cake with chocolate pudding in between each, it is topped by a unique hardened fudgy layer of chocolate. We eat it whenever we can get our hands on it.

After presents and coffee with Baily’s, Kahlua, and/or Godiva liqueur, we said our goodnights and thank you’s and headed home for our first night’s sleep of the new year.