A New Year's Eve Feast

Are we really ten days into 2009 already? I have a lot of catching up to do! First and foremost since I never got around to posting about Thanksgiving dinner, I want to give a call out to my favorite sister-in-law for making the most amazing whole wheat cinnamon buns from scratch; she has...I mean makes the best buns. I'll have her on for a guest post later this year and we'll share the recipe with you, so keep on reading.

Now on to New Year's Eve. I've done New York City and gone to big parties but strangely enough I've never been to First Night in Boston - I don't think I'm missing much. I think once you've been to Manhattan for New Year's Eve the only way to go bigger is to go to Hong Kong, Sydney or maybe Rio de Janeiro. So until we make it to the other side of the world and can celebrate NYE in shorts and t-shirts south of the equator, J and I will keep it intimate with a few friends and lots of good food and wine.

This year J and I had a couple friends over and we cooked up a feast! Steamed lobsters, a tenderloin roast, warm potato salad, roasted asparagus, and lots of great wine. I whipped up a quick horseradish sauce with wasabi mayo and fresh horseradish for the roast beef and melted some of my favorite unsalted butter from Kate's for the lobsters. I picked up the lobsters for $5.99 a lb. and steamed them for 15 minutes.

We also poured a couple different wines to enjoy during dinner. For the beef, a big, bold Chilean cabernet sauvignon - 2003 Concha y Toro Marques de Casa Concha - and for enjoying with the lobster, a local vidal blanc from Greenvale Vineyards in southern Rhode Island. We also uncorked a great French champagne (Duval Leroy Brut Cuvee Paris) at midnight that my friends at Fifth Ave Liquors in Framingham recommended.

Have a happy and healthy 2009 and please keep on reading! Cheers!