Cooking with Wine

It’s easy to find a good wine to drink while you cook; in fact, it’s often easier than knowing which wine to cook with.

That’s because when listed as an ingredient, wine is often suggested in the most generic terms. When a recipe says, “1 cup dry white wine,” you’re left to wonder: “Will anything from $5 to $25 do?” and “Can the recipe yield equally flavorful results with either a California Chardonnay or French Sancerre?”

Here are guidelines to help you make the best pick of wine to cook with.

If a recipe calls for dry white wine, the best all-around choice is a quality American Sauvignon Blanc.

This wine will be very dry and offer a fresh light herbal tilt that will enhance nearly any dish.

If the dish has bold or spicy flavors, go for a more aromatic white wine.

Gewurztraminer, Riesling, and Viognier all have dynamic fruity flavors and exotic floral aromas that counterbalance heavily spiced dishes.

If a recipe calls for dry red wine, consider the heartiness of the dish.

A long-simmered leg of lamb or beef roast calls for a correspondingly hearty wine, such as a Petite Syrah or a Zinfandel. A lighter dish might call for a less powerful red?think Pinot Noir or Chianti.

Get to know Port, Sherry, Madeira, and Marsala wine.

These are among the best wines good cooks can have on hand. They pack the most intense flavors and?because they’re fortified with a little more alcohol than table wine?have the longest life on the pantry shelf.

Port has a rich sweetness and depth that’s especially good in meat-based casseroles.
Sherry’s complex roasted nutty flavors can enhance just about any soup, stew, or sautéed dish. Two styles of Sherry that work best are Amontillado or Oloroso.
Madeira can be mesmerizingly lush with toffee-caramel notes. Use the medium-rich style known as Bual, a touch of which will transform ordinary sautèed mushrooms. And Marsala’s light caramel-like fruitiness is an integral part of Mediterranean sautès, many of which bear the wine’s name in their titles.

Avoid using a cooking wine.

Clearly there are far better choices than so-called “cooking Sherry” or other liquids commonly billed as “cooking wine.” These are made of a thin, cheap base wine to which salt and food coloring have been added.

Never cook with a wine you wouldn’t drink.

A poor quality wine with sour or bitter flavors will only contribute those flavors to the dish. Julia Child once said, “If you do not have a good wine to use, it is far better to omit it, for a poor one can spoil a simple dish and utterly debase a noble one.” It’s worth the investment to buy a quality wine. Just don’t forget to sip a little as you stir.

What Happens to the Alcohol?
Conventional wisdom holds that after a few minutes of cooking, the alcohol in wine evaporates. That’s not exactly the case. Research from the USDA shows that 85 percent of the alcohol remains after wine is added to a boiling liquid and then removed from the heat. The longer a dish is cooked, however, the less alcohol remains. If a food is baked or simmered 15 minutes, 40 percent of the alcohol will remain; after one hour, only 25 percent remains; after 2 1/2 hours, just 5 percent.

But since wine does not have a large amount of alcohol to begin with (generally 12 to 14 percent), the final amount of alcohol in a dish is not a problem for most people.

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Stir-frying Vegetables

You’ve decided to a prepare a healthy stir-fry from scratch, using ingredients you have on hand.

Not sure whether a certain vegetable is a good candidate for stir-frying?

It all comes down to the density and moisture level of the vegetable.

High moisture vegetables that are not too hard, like zucchini, sweet peppers, spinach and mung bean sprouts, can be quickly stir-fried at high heat without the addition of extra liquid.
Denser, low moisture vegetables like broccoli and carrots, on the other hand, require more cooking time. Most recipes call for the vegetables to be stir-fried briefly and then boiled in a liquid such as chicken broth.

Another option is to briefly blanch the vegetables prior to stir-frying.

Many vegetables fall somewhere between these two extremes. Snow peas (also called sugar peas and snap peas) have medium moisture levels and thickness – they can be stir-fried dry or finished in a sauce. Asparagus, on the other hand, is a high moisture vegetable but relatively hard and thick – liquid is usually added.

More Tips on Stir-frying Vegetables:

For all vegetables, cut them into uniform size before stir-frying. This ensures that they will cook evenly.

Be sure the vegetables are thoroughly drained before stir-frying. (A good tip is to wash the vegetables and leave them to drain earlier in the day). Wet vegetables can ruin a stir-fry.
On the other hand, if vegetables become too dry during stir-frying, they can burn. To prevent this, splash them with a bit of Chinese rice wine, dry sherry, or water while stir-frying.

Keep moving the vegetables during stir-frying. This also helps prevent them burning.

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Mashed Potatoes

The use of “floury” types of potato is usually recommended for mashed potatoes, although “waxy” potatoes are sometimes used for a different texture.

Butter, vegetable oil, milk or cream are usually added to improve flavor and texture, and the potatoes are seasoned with salt and pepper, and any other desired herbs and spices. Popular ingredients and seasonings include: garlic, cheese, bacon bits, sour cream, crisp onion or spring onion, mustard, spices such as nutmeg, chopped herbs such as parsley or rosemary, white turnip, and wasabi.

A French variation of mashed potatoes adds egg yolk for pommes duchesse; piped through a pastry tube into wavy ribbons and rosettes, brushed with butter and lightly browned.

In low-calorie or non-dairy variations, milk, cream, and butter may be replaced by soup stock or broth. Aloo Bharta, an Indian sub-continent variation, uses chopped onions, mustard (oil, paste or seeds), chili pepper, coriander leaves and other spices.

Mashed Potatoes Preparation

Potatoes are generally, though not always, completely peeled before cooking them in preparation for mashing. Both heat and kinetic energy can burst the walls of the starch grains in the potato, releasing amylose, which traps water, imparting an undesired “gluey” consistency in the same way that starch adds thickness to foods such as gravy and custard. To avoid this, potatoes must not be cooked at a high temperature for too long. Whole or chunked potatoes receive considerably more heat on the outside by the time enough heat penetrates to cook the center, overcooking the outside; thinly slicing the potatoes allows a consistent amount of heat throughout. Heston Blumenthal recommends cooking the sliced potatoes for 40 minutes at a controlled temperature of 70 °C.[2] To avoid the need for temperature control, the sliced potatoes can be boiled until just cooked (10 to 12 minutes), testing constantly.

If a food processor or similar is used for mashed potatoes, it will mechanically break the starch grains, releasing amylose and giving an unpleasant gluey consistency.

Potatoes are best mashed before adding butter, etc., as the butter or liquid lubricates the lumps of potato, making them more difficult to break up.

Culinary uses for mashed potatoes

Mashed potatoes can be served together with other dishes, or can be an ingredient of various other dishes, including shepherd’s and cottage pie, pierogi, colcannon, dumplings, potato croquettes, gnocchi, etc.

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Cooking Tilapia

It is given that baking is the most popular form of cooking tilapia; however, many people are not aware of the proper way of baking tilapia in order to get the most out of it.

In order to be well acquainted with the proper cooking of tilapia, it is good to start by introducing three types of methods to bake tilapia. The first is with the use of garlic and olive oil.

The ingredients are: four tilapia fillets, four cloves of crushed garlic, a chopped onion, three tablespoons of olive oil, and a quarter teaspoon of cayenne pepper.

Before cooking the fillets, make sure to pat them dry first.

Afterwards, rub the fish with garlic and then organize them in a bowl. Add olive oil and top with onion. Then place the tilapia inside the refrigerator for six to eight hours.

Preheat the oven to 175° Celsius or 350° Fahrenheit.

While you are preheating the oven, remove the tilapia from the refrigerator and arrange onto a baking dish.

At this point, pour the remaining marinade onto the fish and season with a quarter teaspoon of white pepper and a quarter teaspoon of cayenne black pepper. Once done, place the baking dish with the tilapia inside the oven and cook it for 30 minutes. After cooking, serve immediately while it is still hot.

The second baking method for tilapia is the “easy baked” tilapia.

Preheat the oven to 400° Fahrenheit. Prepare four tilapia fillets, one and a half teaspoons of garlic powder, a pinch of salt, three tablespoons of melted butter, three tablespoons of lemon juice, half a teaspoon of dried oregano, a pinch of paprika and two tablespoons of drained capers. After preparing all your ingredients, place the fish onto a baking dish followed by mixing lemon juice, garlic powder, salt and butter into a container. This time, you can pour the added mixture of oregano, paprika and capers. Bake the fish for 20 to 30 minutes. You can serve the baked tilapia with rice or as is, especially if you are on a low-carb diet.

The third method of baking tilapia is the Hudson’s baked tilapia with dill sauce.

For this baking method, you need four ounces of tilapia fillets, pepper, salt, one tablespoon of any seasoning powder, a quarter cup of mayonnaise, half a cup of sour cream, one lemon sliced thinly, half a quarter teaspoon on garlic powder, two tablespoons of chopped fresh dill and one teaspoon of fresh lemon juice.

First, preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit or 175° Celsius. After that, grease the baking dish lightly. Follow by seasoning the fillets with salt, pepper, and seasoning powder according to taste. Once you are done, arrange the fillets into a single layer on the baking dish. Now, place the sliced lemons over the fillets. It is recommended that you use only two slices for every piece of fillet to make sure that it covers most of the surface. At this time, you can start baking the fillets for 15 to 20 minutes uncovered. If the fish can be easily flaked with a fork, remove it from the oven. While the fillets are still inside the oven, prepare a mixture of sour cream, lemon juice, mayonnaise, garlic powder and dill in a bowl.

When the tilapia is cooked, serve it together with the sauce.

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Indoor Grilling

With indoor grilling, you can whip up healthy grilled food no matter what the weather.

After a summer enjoying your favorite grilled foods, it’s hard to give them up, isn’t it? You can get a nice grilled flavor without the outdoors fuss with favorite the indoor grill.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve no doubt heard of at least one particular brand of indoor grill — the George Foreman grills. These two-sided electric grills have detachable, nonstick plates (top and bottom) with raised edges that make the traditional grill marks. This type of grill has been around for about 10 years, each year bringing new models and new improvements.

If you’re looking to do indoor grilling, there are basically two things you need to know: whether it makes a difference to you if the temperature is adjustable (some grills have only one heat setting), and how much grilling space you need.

Some grills have enough space to cook for four, others with enough to prepare just two servings.

There are two styles of electric grills to choose from: The open grill, on which the food is cooked from the bottom and needs to be flipped, and the contact grill, where the lid cooks the topside of the food. Here are some details about both:

1. Open Grill Style. If you get this type of indoor grill, make sure you choose one that comes with a lid (most of them do).

It gives you more indoor grilling options and keeps the smoke and steam contained.

Some examples of the open grill are the DeLonghi Alfredo Healthy Grill BG24 and the DeLonghi Perfecto Indoor Grill, the Sanyo Smokeless Indoor Grill, and the BonJour Power 1800 Reversible Grill and Griddle.

2. Contact Grill Style. Make sure the top and bottom grill pieces detach easily so you can easily wash them by hand or in the dishwasher. And here’s a bonus: a contact grill easily doubles as a panini sandwich maker. Some brands include Cuisinart Griddler GR-4, George Foreman, Hamilton Beach MealMaker Express Grill, and the Krups Universal Grill and Panini Maker.

The contact grill is particularly good at cooking:

fish fillets
steaks
pork chops
hamburgers
vegetables

Is Indoor Grilling Safer?

You may have read that outdoor grills can produce chemicals (heterocyclic amines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) that increase your risk of certain cancers. And the smoke from burning coals and dripping fat just add to the danger.

Think about it — using an indoor electric grill eliminates the burning coals, the smoke, and the dripping fat that cause those nasty flare-ups.

Is Indoor Grilling Healthier?

Most contact grills are designed with a slant so liquids drip from the food, off the grill, and into a tray. But I’ve found that it’s mostly watery juices from the meat or vegetables I’m grilling that end up dripping off. If you start with lean meat, there will be precious little fat collecting in the tray.

And I’ve got to say if you’re grilling meat with some visible fat in an outdoor grill, the same amount of “fat” is probably going to drip off there, too. There just isn’t a tray to show you how much liquid melted off.

Indoor Grilling Recipes

Here are a handful of recipes to help you think outside the indoor grilling box. There’s a rub for pork chops, an easy rendition of an old favorite (chicken Parmesan), and a new way to cook up portabella mushrooms.

Sweet & Spicy Pork Chops

You’ll have about 5 teaspoons of the rub left over for another time. If you don’t want to use Splenda Brown Sugar Blend, use 2 tablespoons firmly packed dark brown sugar instead.

So, what do you think; can indoor grilling be for you? YES!

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About Kale

Kale freezes well and actually tastes sweeter and more flavourful after being exposed to a frost.

Tender kale greens can provide an intense addition to salads, particularly when combined with other such strongly flavoured ingredients as dry-roasted peanuts, tamari-roasted almonds, red pepper flakes, or an Asian-style dressing.

In the Netherlands it is very frequently used in a winter dish (a stamppot), as a traditional Dutch dish called boerenkool.

In Ireland kale is mixed with mashed potatoes to make the traditional dish colcannon.

It is popular on Halloween when it is sometimes served with sausages. Small coins are sometimes hidden inside as prizes.

Kale is a very popular vegetable in China, Taiwan, and Vietnam, where it is commonly stir-fried with beef.[citation needed]

A traditional Portuguese soup, caldo verde, combines pureed potatoes, diced kale, olive oil, broth, and, generally, sliced cooked spicy sausage.

Under the name of couve, kale is also popular in Brazil, in caldo verde, or as a vegetable dish, often cooked with carne seca (shredded dried beef). When chopped and stir-fried, couve accompanies Brazil’s national dish, feijoada.

In East Africa, it is an essential ingredient in making a stew for ugali, which is almost always eaten with kale. Kale is also eaten throughout southeastern Africa, where it is typically boiled with coconut milk and ground peanuts and is served with rice or boiled cornmeal.
A bundle of organic kale

A whole culture around kale has developed in north-western Germany around the towns of Bremen, Oldenburg and Hannover.

There, most social clubs of any kind will have a Grünkohlfahrt (“kale tour”) sometime between October and February, visiting a country inn to consume large quantities of boiled kale, Kassler, Mettwurst and schnapps. These tours are often combined with a game of Boßeln. Most communities in the area have a yearly kale festival which includes naming a “kale king” (or queen).

Curly kale is used in Denmark and Holland, Sweden, to make (grøn-)langkål, an obligatory dish on the julbord in the region, and is commonly served together with the Christmas ham (Sweden, Holland).

The kale is used to make a stew of minced boiled kale, stock, cream, pepper and salt that is simmered together slowly for a few hours. In Scotland, kale provided such a base for a traditional diet that the word in dialect Scots is synonymous with food. To be “off one’s kail” is to feel too ill to eat.

In Montenegro collards, locally known as rashtan is a favorite vegetable. It is particularly popular in winter, cooked with smoked mutton (kastradina) and potatoes.

In the Southern United States, Kale is often served braised, either alone or mixed with other greens, such as Collard, Mustard, or Turnip.

Kale is a very good source of iron, calcium, vitamin C, vitamin K and Carotenoids (which provide vitamin A). In Japan, kale juice (known as aojiru) is a popular dietary supplement.

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Easy Tofu

Basil Tofu

- 5 green onions, minced
- 6 or 8 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 package firm low-fat tofu, well-drained, sliced and marinated in soy sauce
- 1 cup fresh basil, chopped
- 1 teaspoon crushed chili pepper sauce (sambal oelek)
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
cooked brown rice

Cook onions and garlic in water or stock or vinegar until tender. Add marinated tofu and cook another 5-10 minutes. Stir in basil, chili pepper sauce and soy sauce and heat through. Serve over brown rice.

Braised Tofu

- 1 pound tofu, firm, cubed
- assorted veggies, broccoli, carrot, mushroom…
- flowerets, zucchini

Tofu Sauce Mixture

- Tamari
- Rice Vinegar
- ginger
- garlic powder 3/4 teas.
- garlic salt 1 teas.
- Marinate tofu in sauce mixture for one hour or more (preferably longer).
Braise tofu by adding some sauce mixture in frying pan and lay pieces flat in pan and then cook.
turn over half way through.
Cook tofu until liquid is pretty much gone.
Put it all together and eat.
Yummy!

Ginger Tofu

- 1 lb of firm tofu
- 1 1/2 ts of fresh, grated ginger
- 1 t of roasted sesame oil
- 1 minced garlic clove
- 2 tb of tamari
- 1 1/4 c of water
- 1 1/2 tb of arrowroot

Slice the tofu into small rectangles of 1/4–1/2-inch thickness and place them in a shallow dish or baking pan.

Mix together the ginger, sesame oil, garlic, tamari and water.
Pour this mixture over the tofu and let it marinate for at least 30 minutes.
(If desired, the tofu may be placed in the refrigerator to marinate for several hours or overnight).

Remove the marinated tofu from the liquid, reserving the liquid to make the sauce.
Place the tofu on a well-oiled cookie sheet and bake at 375 deg for 35-40 minutes, or until the desired crispness is reached (the longer the tofu bakes the firmer and crisper it becomes).

To make the sauce, mix the arrowroot with the marinade.
Place the mixture in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.
Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened.

Ginger Tofu may be served with or without the sauce.

With the sauce, serve it over a bed of rice, millet, buckwheat, or pasta.
Add your favorite stir-fried veggies and you have a colorful or nutritious meal.
Ginger Tofu may also be added to a vegetable stew.

Grilled Tofu

Serving Size : 8

- 1 lb of firm tofu
- 1/4 c of orange juice
- 2 ts of low-sodium soy sauce
- Cold and Spicy Noodles, see recipe

Tofu, once pressed, grills beautifully.

Slice the block of tofu in half, then slice each half into four thick slabs. Place a double layer of paper towels on a cutting board set over the sink. Arrange tofu in one layer on the cutting board, then top with a clean dishtowel. Place a second board on top, then a 4 to 5 pound weight, such as a thick phone book or heavy pot. Let press 20 minutes.

Uncover tofu and place in one layer in a shallow baking dish. Drizzle with orange juice and soy sauce. Marinate at room temperature 20 minutes.

Broil or grill over hot coals until lightly browned, turning once. Serve with Cold and Spicy Noodles.

Herbed Tofu In White Wine Sauce / Pasta Recipe

Serving Size: 1

- 2 T of soy margarine
- 1/2 T of flour
- 1/2 c of soy milk
- 1/2 c of white wine
- 1 Wedge of onion left in one Piece (I can’t tolerate much Onion, so I Used about a 4cm x 2cm Wedge)
- 1 d of ground cloves
- 1 d of salt
- Some water
- 1/2 lb Or so herbed tofu, cubed (about 1.5 cm cubes)
- Your favorite pasta, enough

For two servings

Melt margarine in pan and wisk in flour. Cool a bit and then wisk in wine and (soy)milk. Add onion, cloves, and salt to sauce and stir over low heat until sauce is slightly thickened. If it gets too thick, add some water. Add tofu and simmer while you cook the pasta. Serve tofu and sauce over pasta, giving the onion to the person who likes them more.

Sauteed Firm Tofu

Serving Size : 4

- 24 oz Firm tofu
- 2 tb Oil
- 1/2 ts Salt
- 1 sm Onions — sliced thin
- 6 md Mushrooms — sliced
- 1 sm Carrot — cut into matchsticks
- 2 md Peppers, bell, green -sliced thin
- 1 tb Sake
- 1 1/2 tb Soy sauce
- 1 t Ginger — grated
- 1 tb Sugar, granulated
- 1 tb water
- 1 t Cornstarch — dissolved in 3 T water

Cut tofu crosswise into pieces the shape of French-fried potatoes. Heat a wok, coat with oil & sprinkle on the salt. Add onion, then the mushrooms, stir frying each over high heat for about 30 seconds. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add carrot, green pepper & tofu in that order, sauteeing each for about 1 minute. Reduce heat to low & add sake, soy sauce, ginger, sugar & water. Simmer for 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in dissolved cornstarch & simmer 30 seconds for another 30 seconds. Shurtleff & Aoyagi, “The Book of Tofu”

Stir-Fried Asian Tofu

Serving Size : 4

- 8 oz firm tofu, — drained and weighted for 30 minutes
- 1/2 ts grated tangerine or lemon zest
- 2 TB orange juice
- Salt and pepper
- 2 TB hoisin sauce
- 1 TB rice wine vinegar
- 1 TB low sodium soy sauce 1/2 ts sugar
- 1 ts cornstarch
- 1 TB each vegetable and sesame oil
- 1 lg clove garlic, — minced Quarter-size piece fresh ginger, — minced
- 4 oz mushrooms, — stemmed and thinly sliced mushrooms
- 3 c 3/4-inch broccoli florets
- Salt and crushed red pepper

Cut the tofu into 3/4-inch squares and marinate in citrus zest and juice; season with salt and pepper. Combine hoisin, rice vinegar, soy sauce, sugar and cornstarch; reserve for later. In a 12-inch skillet heat vegetable and sesame oils until very hot. Add garlic and ginger and stir fry for 10 seconds. Add mushrooms and broccoli, some water, cover and steam for 2 minutes or until mushrooms and broccoli begin to get tender. Add tofu. Stir hoisin sauce to recombine cornstarch and add to skillet. Cover and simmer 30 seconds to a minute to thicken. Season with salt and crushed red pepper.

So many easy ways to fix tofu, so little time!

Yield: 2 servings

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Why You Should Remodel Your Kitchen

There are a number of reasons why you might wish to remodel your kitchen, but later decide not to.

Are you a homeowner? If so, have you ever thought about remodeling your kitchen before? While a fairly large number of homeowners think about remodeling their kitchen, not everyone makes the decision to do so. One of those reasons is the uncertainty. It is not uncommon for you and other homeowners to be wondering whether or not you really need to have your kitchen remodeled. While there is always a chance that you may not, there is also a chance that a kitchen remodeling project is just what you, your home, and your kitchen needs.

One of the most obvious reasons why you should remodel your kitchen is if you want to.

While a large number of individuals wonder whether or not they should, the uncertainty most commonly has to do with spending the extra money. If you have the extra money and you want to remodel your kitchen, you should. If you are interested in remodeling your kitchen, there is a good chance that you may be unhappy with your current kitchen. Since your home, particularly your kitchen, is something that you spend the majority of your time in, you will want to make sure that it is warm, welcoming, and inviting. If your current kitchen scheme makes you feel uncomfortable or if you just want to change it, go right ahead, you could benefit from doing so, a number of different ways.

In addition to knowing for sure that you should remodel your kitchen, there are other homeowners who want a change, but don’t necessarily know what that change should be.

When this feeling is present, many homeowners automatically assume that they should purchase a new home, because they are no longer satisfied with the one that they live in. If you want to purchase a new home, go right ahead, the decision is yours to make. However, before you start searching for a new home, one that actually peaks your interest, you may want to think about changing your home around a little bit. By remodeling your home, you could easily spice up your home or even make it feel like something new. As an experiment to see how to goes, you may want to first try remodeling your kitchen.

Another fairly oblivious reason, why it may be a good idea to remodel your kitchen, is if your kitchen needs repairs

Although it is possible to fix a broken cupboard or replace a few kitchen floor tiles, you may want to do more than that. The perfect time to remodel your kitchen is when you have work in your kitchen that you need to do anyways. Even if you do not decide to remodel your whole kitchen, you can focus on a particular part of it, such as your countertops or floor, if you wish. If your kitchen has missing floor tiles or broken cupboards, you are still advised to do those repairs, especially if they may be putting you or your family in danger, safety wise.

If all of the above mentioned reasons weren’t enough, there is one more reason why you should remodel your kitchen.

That reason is one that could bring you money, sometime in the future. One of the greatest reasons why you should remodel your kitchen is because it is likely to increase the overall value of your home. Any time that a home is remodeled, as long as the remodeling job was successful, the home’s value increases. This means that if you make the decision to sell your home in the future, you could easily get more money for your home than you paid for it. Depending on how long it has been since your repairs were done and how they were paid for, you could easily get a full return on your investment, which was your decision to remodel your kitchen.

As you can easily see, there are a number of different reasons why you should want to or at least want to remodel your kitchen;it is a good idea to keep the above mentioned points in mind.

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New Year’s Eve Party Ideas

New Year’s Eve Decorations

Creating “vice stations” with all the indulgences people tend to give up in their New Year’s resolution is a cool, easy way to decorate for your party. Fill a candy table with clear glass jars of colorful candies and scoopers and bags where guests can fill their own.

For a cookie and dessert buffet, load platters of different size and heights with your favorite desserts on another table. If video games are your guilty pleasure, set up a gaming area. And if your goal is to quit smoking in the New Year, set up a retro smoking area (outside and away from non-smokers, natch) with upscale ashtrays and cigarette holders.

Here are more ways to spark your creativity however you choose to spend the holiday:

Wild New Year’s Eve Cocktail Party

Since you’re not planning a sit-down affair, you have room to adorn tables with funky hats, party poppers, tiaras, noisemakers and streamers. And since New Year’s is second only to Valentine’s Day in kisses, leave baskets of mints in your bathroom to get everybody ready for action.

Start your party with a bang by putting a large bowl of party poppers by the front door. As they arrive, guests get a gift and a great conversation starter. Not only do they have to look for someone to open the popper with, they’re then armed with the corny joke and goofy party hat usually packed inside.

Snack bowls placed strategically around your home are handy for keeping guests munching without having to fight the crowds at a snack table. Fill some bowls with confetti and place them within easy throwing reach for midnight.

Glitzy New Year’s Eve Dinner Party

As guests arrive, greet them from the cold with a room lit by candles. Blowing out the candles when it’s time to eat not only gives guests a clear signal to sit down at the table, it also hides any mess in that area.

Set your table with shimmering black-and-silver accessories — napkins, napkin holders, chargers, runners and vases. These set an elegant, old-Hollywood tone and are easy to coordinate with your all-white basics. Use a decorative clock as your centerpiece. This clever finishing touch is holiday-appropriate and helps ensure that you don’t miss the countdown.

Get the group excited for the ball drop by artfully displaying party hats and noise makers around your TV area. Keep your guests comfortable with lots of floor pillows if there aren’t enough seats.

Sophisticated New Year’s Day Brunch

A fancy but low-key brunch on New Year’s Day is a great way to welcome the brand-new year. Tasteful, understated decorations in icy-cool silver tones are a welcome break from the glitziness of the night before.

Although sparkling wine is the signature drink of the previous evening, splurge on nice champagne glasses for your brunch (plastic is fine, especially if you’ve invited a lot of people). Whether you use them for mimosas or just straight juice, a nice glass makes everything taste better.

Make your buffet table the focal point by dressing it with a silver tablecloth. A sprinkling of silver stars on the table or a tiara or horn incorporated into a flower arrangement are a nice, subtle reminder of the holiday.

For visual interest, put your dishes in bowls and platters of varying heights. Not only will each dish stand out better, you’ll be able to fit more on the table, and guests will have an easier time reaching dishes simultaneously.

Champagne

Sparkling wine is a must on New Year’s Eve, but do you know the basics on bubblies?

Our Champagne primer will tell you everything you need to know before you pop the cork.

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Activities

You can’t just sing “Auld Lang Syne” all night and wait for the ball to drop. To get your guests mingling, plan a poker tournament or crank up the Wii.

Organized activities that are fun both to watch and play are a great way for guests to get to know each other, which frees up the party hosts from having to make introductions and keep people entertained.

Food

Fortunately, sparkling wine pairs with everything, so your New Year’s menu is limited only by your imagination. Each of these three inspiring menus is a decadent way to take you from the old year and into the new.

New Year’s Day brunch

You can never have enough champagne. In addition to classic eye-openers like mimosas, dress your dishes in champagne sauces and vinaigrettes made with champagne vinegar.

Southern tradition dictates that eating black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day will bring you luck and prosperity for the whole year. If you serve black-eyed peas with delicious jerk pork, your guests will feel very lucky indeed.
Decadent dinner party

You know you’re going to try to eat healthfully in the New Year, so live it up before then. New Year’s is the night to indulge in all of your favorite gutbombs. When you’re planning your party menu, think of all the foods that make guests go “Oooh” when you bust them out. Be sure to satisfy all sorts of cravings — from salty and sweet to sour and spicy, in any number of magical combinations.

Crowd-pleasing snacks don’t have to be complicated: An assortment of chips with bowls of creamy and spicy dips start the night off right. For dinner, indulge in favorites like mac and cheese, fried chicken, buffalo wings and mashed potatoes with gravy.

When it comes to dessert, think bold combinations and splashy presentation, like a multi-layer ice cream cake, an over-the-top trifle, frosted brownies and banana splits.

Wash it down with a spiked milkshake cocktail. To make, add coffee liqueur to a chocolate shake, and spice up a vanilla milkshake with vanilla vodka or a shot of rum.
Cocktails & hors d’oeuvres

A dollop of caviar goes a long way to adding great fishy flavor and sophistication to your menu.

Skewers made with meat and/or vegetables are easy to eat and to serve. Leave out a bowl or glass where guests can deposit the wooden skewers after licking them clean.

Chocolate is never wrong, especially when it’s flavored with nuts or coconut and rolled up into a delicious truffle.

New Years Eve Drinks

Juice up your sparkling wine with these champagne cocktails. A Kir Royale is the perfect twist for bumping up your bubbly.
Kir Royale

5 parts champagne
1 part crème de cassis

Pour crème de cassis first, then top with champagne.

So there you have a few ideas to make your New Year’s Eve party lots of fun!

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Cocktails for a New Years Eve Party

In planning a New Years Eve party, one of the most exciting items is the selection of cocktails for the party.

New Years Eve is a holiday which is largely associated with alcohol consumption. Those who attend these parties are likely to expect an array of interesting cocktails to celebrate the coming of the New Year and many hosts are more than willing to oblige their guests with an assortment of delicious and interesting cocktails.

When planning a New Years Eve party which will include children, it is important to plan on serving a wide variety of non alcoholic beverages in addition to the alcoholic cocktails for the adults.

This is important because it will prevent the children from being envious of the interesting beverages the adults are drinking. It will also prevent the children from being curious about the drinks the adults are enjoying and attempting to sneak a taste of these beverages. Non alcoholic cocktails are also considered mocktails and can often be created to look just like the real beverages in a wide variety of colors, flavors and textures. Beverages such as the pina coloda, margarita and a variety of martinis can all be made in non alcoholic versions.

In planning cocktails for a New Years Eve party, you should consider offering a wide variety of beverages throughout the night.

This could include both hot, cold drinks and even frozen drinks. One of the most popular cocktail options for a New Years Eve party is punch which is served from a punch bowl. This festive cocktail is typically sweet and contains ingredients such as fruit juices, lemon lime soda and an array of alcoholic ingredients such as vodka and rum. Some hosts may even include champagne in the punch mixture. Adding a scoop or two of sherbet to the punch bowl also helps to cool the beverage and adds an additional layer of taste and texture to the mixture.

Another popular option of a New Years Eve party is to offer one signature cocktail throughout the evening. This can be an item such as a Martini created specifically for the occasion with a seasonal feeling. An eggnog martini is an example of a beverage which is a great deal of fun as well as appropriate for the season. Champagne cocktails are also appropriate for a New Years Eve party. You can create a simply champagne cocktail by combining champagne with sweet vermouth and grenadine.

Hot cocktails are also popular options for a New Years Eve party.

Spiked coffees and hot chocolates are always popular but for a more festive cocktail consider creating drinks with a hot cider base. You can create a luxurious hot chocolate cocktail by combining a butterscotch flavored liqueur with rich hot chocolate. An example of a hot beverage which is also quite festive is a hot cider spiced with cranberry juice and rum. Although hot cocktails are extremely popular, most guests will likely only drink one or two hot cocktails during the evening. Conversely they are likely to consumer significantly more cold cocktails during the course of the evening. For this reason, it is recommended to provide both hot and cold cocktails during your New Years Eve party.
You should begin distributing the champagne a few minutes before midnight to ensure everyone has their glass in hand to make a toast and take a sip of the bubbly champagne at midnight. Offering the champagne in an elegant glass and including a strawberry in the glass can create a more elegant presentation. You should also use a fine champagne. During the evening, you may have served alcohols which fit your budget, but it is worthwhile to splurge on a more expensive champagne for the toast at midnight.

Regardless of the type of cocktails you decide to serve throughout the evening, it is customary to offer champagne cocktails at midnight.

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