A 10-Course New Year's Eve Dinner

These days time feels like it is going by even faster than I can ever remember. I feel like I need to start documenting things that happen throughout the year a bit more, so I intend to share a few more bits and pieces on this blog in 2014. I'm horrible at keeping a journal, I haven't scrapbooked in ya-EARS and the only thing I keep up with consistently these days is taking pictures that I don't organize unless I blog about them. \o/

This past Near Year's Eve I celebrated with Sean's brother and his wife who just had a baby-- little Finn. We decided to get dressed up, stay in, and cook a 10-course meal together. The meal took about 4 hours to eat and drink the wine paired with everything, but it was SO MUCH FUN. I'm pretty sure the whole thing started with the fact that someone wanted to use their new wedding china. :P

The gentlemen got all dressed up in tuxes... Even babeh Finn. :)

Paul, Sean's brother, did a bit of research in planning the menu and paired wines with each dish. It was really fun to see how wines paired with different foods and cheeses. One thing I also learned is that in some cookbooks, there are planned menus for certain styles of dinners. A spring luncheon, a New Year's Day brunch, an October picnic-- all in a cookbook. Who knew? Seems like there *are* things that you can learn outside the internet. ;) Below is each course we had in our NYE dinner.

Course #1: Cheese, salami, prosciutto, capicola, and cocktails.

We discovered the Grace Kelly cocktail at the Manhattan Inn in Greenpoint when Paul and Kelsi came to visit in January 2013. They couldn't find the recipe anywhere online and have been fiddling with it until they got it just right. :)

Course #2: Pumpkin soup.

Course #3: Blue cheese salad with apples and walnuts.

Course #4: Sweet potato gnocchi.

Course #5: Lemon sorbet, a palate cleanser. :)

Course #6: Salmon filet on a bed of wild rice.

Course #7: Filet mignon, popovers, and garlic potatoes.

Course #8: Fresh pineapple. (Another palate cleanser.)

Course #9: Crème brûlée.

Torches...

Course #10: Cheese, dark chocolate, honey, and port

While this kind of thing would be a bit more work to pull off in NYC without a dishwasher, it was so fun to pretend we were in Downton Abbey for a night. If you've got a rainy slow weekend, I definitely recommend trying a multiple-course meal. It's something I'll remember for a while. :)