HOLIDAYS
HOLIDAYS
What could be better than a night filled with champagne, friends and merriment? The following day filled with more of the same! Save your friends from a day of couch-potato behavior by throwing a lavish New Year's brunch complete with mimosas and a gorgeous spread of food.
Help eliminate a hangover by offering up plenty of traditional brunch foods in miniature. Foods to include on your brunch menu are mini pancakes, gourmet grilled cheese, tasty blinis and a spread of fresh-baked croissants.
Mini Blueberry Pancakes with Raspberry Drizzle
On a griddle, make mini blueberry pancakes. Fill a pastry bag with a softened stick of butter, and pipe out a small flourish of butter on top of each mini pancake. Arrange all the pancakes neatly on a long platter, and drizzle a mixture of raspberry sauce and maple syrup lightly over the top. The color will look fabulous against the pancakes and the plate, and all guests have to do is pick up the pancake and enjoy it.
Mini Blueberry Pancakes with Raspberry Drizzle
On a griddle, make mini blueberry pancakes. Fill a pastry bag with a softened stick of butter, and pipe out a small flourish of butter on top of each mini pancake. Arrange all the pancakes neatly on a long platter, and drizzle a mixture of raspberry sauce and maple syrup lightly over the top. The color will look fabulous against the pancakes and the plate, and all guests have to do is pick up the pancake and enjoy it.
In a frying pan or a griddle, make grilled cheese sandwiches (don’t forget to butter the grilling surface) on wheat bread with the crust cut off. Jazz up the sandwiches by using gruyere for your cheese, and thinly slice ripe heirloom tomatoes to put inside the sandwich. Slice a regular-sized grilled cheese triangle into three smaller triangles, and arrange them stacked on a three-tiered platter for guests to nibble on.
These take about an hour to make from start to finish, but the effort is well worth it. They look as spectacular as they taste, and they will knock your guest’s socks off. Once they are done, arrange them sparsely on large platters so guests can easily grab one without knocking any over.
Recipe courtesy of Epicurious
Ingredients
- 1 Whole hard-boiled large egg, finely chopped
- 2 Tbsp Sour Cream
- 1 Tbsp Finely chopped chives
- 2 Tbsp Buckwheat Flour
- 3 Tablespoon All-purpose flour
- 1 Tsp sugar
- 1/8 Tsp baking soda
- 1/8 Tsp salt
- 1/4 Cup whole milk
- 1 Whole large egg, separated
- 1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled, divided
- 1/4 Lbs thinly sliced smoked salmon at room temp
- 2 Oz trout caviar
Steps
- Make egg salad:Stir together all ingredients (hard-boiled large chopped egg, sour cream, and chives) and a pinch of salt.
- Make blini:Whisk together dry ingredients in a bowl. Add milk and yolk and whisk until smooth.
- Beat egg white with a clean whisk in another bowl until it just holds soft peaks. Fold into batter along with 2 tablespoons melted butter.
- Brush a 12-inch nonstick skillet with some of remaining melted butter, then heat over medium heat until hot. Working in batches of 6 or 7, drop 1 level tablespoon batter per pancake into skillet and cook until bubbles appear on surface and undersides are golden, 45 seconds to 1 minute. Flip over and cook 1 minute more. Brush blini on both sides with some of remaining melted butter, then transfer to a plate and keep warm, covered with foil. Brush skillet with butter between batches.
- Fill tortes:Drape smoked salmon on 6 blini and top with egg salad. Spoon caviar onto 6 more blini, then stack on egg-salad-topped blini.
- Cooks' note:Egg salad can be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Bring to cool room temperature before using.
Keep with the mini theme and bake a few batches of Williams Sonoma mini croissants for your guests. Arrange the croissants stacked on a platter and place mini bowls of various spreads next to them for guests to choose from. Include a few varieties of jam (in the miniature glass jars, if possible), Nutella or other hazlenut spread, a roasted tomato or red pepper spread, and butter.
Since you are still ringing in the New Year, champagne-based drinks are the perfect choice. Mimosas are de riguer and Bellinis are another popular favorite to serve. For those avoiding more alcohol, create a juice and water bar.
Juice and Water Bar Setup
Fill three large apothecary-style drink dispensers with juice, each with a different type. For your water bar, buy the largest size glass bottles of different varieties of sparkling and still water. Place these on ice in a large champagne bucket for an upscale look. Make sure to place plenty of glasses on the juice and water bar so guests can hydrate as needed.
New Year's Eve
Cocktails
Cocktails
Good Fortune New
Year's Eve Party
Year's Eve Party
New Year's Eve
Nostalgia: An
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Nostalgia: An
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