Sure, some kitchens still have leftovers from Christmas Eve dinner or Christmas food, but the rhythm of the holidays doesn’t stop! Although we have a few days of certain calm, we must not lose sight of the other great celebration with which we will say goodbye to the year. Do you need original ideas for New Year’s Eve dinner?
In my house we have improvised a little each year without repeating the menu, and for some reason it has always been the day to experiment with different recipes. I think the last dinner of the year is perfect for surprise with different dishes and different flavors, a good way to welcome the new year with renewed air and desire to try new things. To inspire you a bit, here are many ideas with which to give variety to your menus.
Appetizers
In how many households do you eat leftovers on New Years? In my house it does not fail, usually during late breakfast-brunch or aperitif hours linked to lunchtime. The body will not be there for many jogs, so it is not a bad idea to prepare New Years Eve nibbles with a view to plenty for the next day.
The Pâtés, dipping sauces and spreads they are my favorite option. With them you can prepare canapés for dinner and save everything that is left over for the next day. There are also options for all tastes, from a surprisingly tasty vegan mushroom pâté, to the ever-successful hummus – whose leftovers we can make delicious sandwiches – to the festive chicken and apple pâté sautéed with port jelly, whose recipe complete we leave you below:
Chicken and apple pate with port jelly
We will begin cleaning veins and tissues of the livers chicken, we put them in a bowl with a little milk while we prepare the rest of the ingredients. We continue to mince the onion and cut the peeled apple into cubes. We also chop the small bacon and dry the livers that we will cut into pieces. In a frying pan we add the oil and sauté the onion over low heat until it becomes transparent and takes color. We then add the minced bacon, sauté for two minutes and add the apple cubes, sautéing it for five minutes over medium heat. Add the liver to the pan, cook them for eight minutes, we pour the brandy and half the port, Flambé with a lighter and let everything cook together so that it reduces for five minutes. We put this sauce in a blender glass, add the liquid cream and spices, season and blend with the hand mixer, adding little by little the pieces of butter at room temperature. We beat until a very fine paste is left. We let it cool in the fridge. We put the pasta in a mold leaving a small upper space that we will fill with the port jelly. To make this, we put the gelatin sheets in plenty of cold water to hydrate for ten minutes. We heat the Port that we had reserved and add the drained gelatin sheets, mix until we see them dissolved. Let it warm for a few minutes and pour it over the pate. We cool until the whole solidifies.
More appetizer ideas
Starters and first courses
The first course – or starter, it depends on how we plan the menu – also offers a great field for innovation. If at home the main one is immovable, yes they can let us play to surprise with the previous dish. The ideal would be to balance meat and fish according to the menu, although preparing a good salad is not a bad idea either, colorful and fresh. For example, this light Couscous, Mango and Mint Salad is sure to be received with enthusiasm.
Fish dishes
There are delusions who are disappointed to hear that there is fish as the star dish in a party menu. We cannot let the marine option have a reputation for being boring, so I suggest you vary traditional recipes with others that have an exotic or more original point. Why not cook, for example, a tasty sweet and sour salmon? Or you can cheer up with these proposals:
Meat dishes
Those who prefer to opt for meat in the main dish have a lot to choose from, although the grace is in present something different from what we would take the rest of the year. With good raw materials, a special dressing and a good presentation, we have already traveled almost all the way. For example, with the ossobuco in a red berry sauce in Porto, a very Christmas meat that, however, is rarely lavished on the less traditional ones.
Desserts and sweets
And finally we come to the climax, the sweet spot that will frame the New Year’s Eve menu. Here again we have a whole world of options, but as always I recommend desserts in small portions and that are fresh and light. Of course also we can throw the house out the window and leave everyone with their mouths open taking out the best white chocolate cake in the world.
Remember to leave room for the grapes and a piece of nougat, although since we are original we can change the tradition and follow the rhythm of the chimes with whatever we want. Either way, I hope you succeed with your New Year’s Eve menu.
More Christmas recipes
Directly to the Palate we love these parties and we have thousands of recipes for you to be sure to hit your Christmas meals.
Don’t miss our special with the 215 best Christmas recipes and 16 special menus. And if you need ideas for specific dishes, here is a good starting point:
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