A New Year's Eve Feast

A New Year's Eve dinner should be decadent! 
Len made his signature batch of martinis.  He  washes the inside of the glass with a little Gran Marnier and places them in the freezer.  When the guests arrive, he adds their preference of spirits, vodka or gin.
I served steak tartar with a different twist; minced and fried garlic, wasabi, radish sprouts, worchestershire sauce, a little Malton salt and hand-chopped sirloin.
Our friends, Jocelyn and Sean, brought Calvisius Classic Oscietra Caviar, a fabulous Italian caviar that was featured in a Saveur Magazine (Regal Roe: Calvisius Caviar from Italy - Saveur.com).  I made grated sweet potato and chopped scallion pancakes as the vessel to serve the caviar on.
With time to spare, I decided to make bite size Gruyere Jalapeno Souffles as the third appetizer.  Mmmm, we were in hog heaven.

I was inspired by Susan, my sister-in-law, who had found a great deal on a tablecloth for her New Year's Eve dinner.  With a little searching, I found one too and also at a great price.  I polished up the pewter and glass candlesticks, pulled out my silver and good china and set a festive table for the evening.
We started with a Tomato Bisque that had 1/4" diced pieces of cucumber in it that was topped with a square of puff pastry, then baked until the pastry was perfectly golden.  I served the soup tureens on my pewter chargers that I had bought years ago in San Miguel de Allende from my friend, Salvador, who owns a spectacular pewter store and factory, FUNART.

For a refreshing salad, I served a orange and grapefruit terrine on top of a bed of arugula topped with julienned beets, sliced radishes and an olive oil and orange juice vinaigrette.

As if we have not had enough decadent food, for the main course, we dined on sauteed Sweetbreads and Chantrelle mushrooms in a light sherry, cream sauce.  Len poured my favorite wines from Spain:  a 2004 Numanthia and a 2005 Aalto. 

Jocelyn is toasting in the New Year!

We finished the meal with a warm Lemon Buttermilk Pudding Cakes topped with fresh raspberries and blueberries.

Perfectly sublime...  What a way to go! 

Wishing everyone the best in 2011.