(This is actually last year's blog from
A Fabulously Good Life but since the PB and I are doing exactly the same thing this year thought I'd post it again!)
***
Happy New Year everyone!
This year's blog is going to be a little different because everything I said last year remains true.
If you need a little inspiration and/or can't handle another commercial with Valerie Bertinelli waxing rhapsodic about Jenny Craig, go ahead, give last year's New Year's blog a read (it's a favourite of mine)
Just click
The Ride of Your Life. But do stick around for this one too.
Because I've decided to share a little of our New Year's Eve with you.
Cheers!
The PB and I mutually agree this year was one of the nicest we've had in a very long time.
Still not better than our first together, December 31, 1988, when we partied up a storm at our favourite Irish pub, Sgt. O'Flaretty's.
The PB apparently fell in love when I started up a conga line and danced on over.
I took the plastic leigh I was wearing around my neck put it around his neck and asked the classic question:
"Wanna get leighed?"
Which didn't end up happening that night - hey, we were only newly dating - but the thrill of the question was enough to hook him.
Twenty years later I'm still adding bait.
This year with really great food!
As I said yesterday, we were originally going to dine in a nice restaurant.
But the more I thought about it, the more I realized the only place I really wanted to be this year is home.
Every year on New Year's Day we attend a large party hosted by very good friends. It's one of those things we look forward to year after year. Our friend Doug roasts two turkeys and a ham and puts out a spread that is the utmost in fabulosity.
So with that on the agenda, I wanted to start a tradition that would be just for the Poolboy and I. One we could look forward to every new year's eve.
One of the nicest surprises about this particular blog is that it's gotten me into finding amazing recipes and trying them. I've stretched past the limits of my usual repertoire food wise and in doing so have had the opportunity to gain a little more confidence in the kitchen.
Such is the case with tonight's menu - something I know I wouldn't have tackled a year or two ago, but now that I have, and I can see what a simple meal it actually is, I'm super excited because this is a fabulous signature dish for any cook:
Cioppino (full recipe at the end of the blog)
I started the Ciopinno the night before after finding a recipe on the
Epicurious website. It was fun reading reviews from other cooks and realizing the recipe is really just a starting point. Ciopinno is a personal thing and can and should be adapted to suit your tastes.
I adapted the recipe a bit and will share my version with you along with a link to the original.
Here's
the originalMy adaptation will follow at the end of the blog.
I made the stew ahead of time then refrigerated it overnight which intensified the flavours a lot.
Meanwhile, TH had to work last night until 10 pm. So the PB and I put Across The Universe on before he had to pick him up.
It's one of my favourites of 2008.
***
When the PB went to pick TH up, I mixed myself a martini - or what I dubbed my Greentini.
To make:
1 and half ounces of mandarin vodka
1/2 ounces blue curaco
1 cup orange juice
1/2 fresh key lime
Shake, shake, skake and
Allegria!
I also mixed up
Maui Blue's a favourite drink recipe from Jinx's Great Martini Blog.
And then I got to work turning the living room into a holiday inspired bistro...
I really encourage everyone to think outside the box when it comes to creating special moments.
With a little ingenuity and imagination, it's amazing how a room can be transformed to become something entirely new. The table is a little outdoor table I keep on my deck - swathed in a table cloth it takes on a whole new look.
And that's the secret to style at home: Great accesories.
I'm always on the lookout for interesting and inexpensive things I can use to change up the look of a room.
Whether they be table cloths, throw cushions, different kinds of candles, or using old things in new ways all add interest and charm.
So when the Poolboy came home, he was impressed.
And touched that I went to that kind of trouble for him.
But if not for him, who else?
In my advanced age I find the things I used to do for "company" are that much more appreciated when incorporated into our day to day lives.
We enjoyed a martini together, and then at 11:30 began putting the cioppino together.
Serve cioppino immediately in large soup bowls with crusty bread.
And don't forget the dessert!
Chocolate Panna Cotta with Amaretto Whipped Cream
***
I learned this year that creating a new tradition for New Year's Eve - one that suited our lifestyle, tastes, and the things we enjoy - was a way of creating some of the change I've been craving.
By changing my living room, trying new recipes, and having fun with the PB shopping for the seafood and putting it all together, we created an experience that was every bit as memorable in its own way as that first New Year's Eve, the time I went white water rafting, or even my trip to New Orleans.
What I have come to discover is that it's not life's experiences that make moments memorable. It's the people we share them with. And the passion and care we take in appreciating and enhancing the details.
From my house to yours this first Thursday of 2009, here's wishing all of you A Fabulously Good Life.
Onward Ho!
Love,
Maven
***
New Year's Eve Cioppino* 4 large garlic cloves, minced
* 2 medium onions, finely chopped
* 2 stalks celery with leaves finely chopped
* 1 bay leaf or
* 1 teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled
* 1 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes (add more or less of this ingredient depending on your taste for spicy foods. I was worried it was going to be too spicy as I added the full teaspoon, but when it all came together with the seafood it was perfect for us)
* 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
* 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
* 1/4 cup olive oil
* 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch dice
* 2 tablespoons tomato paste
* 1 1/2 cups dry red wine
* 2 (28- to 32-ounces) cans diced tomatoes
* 2 cups chicken broth
* 1 (1-pound) Alaskan king crab legs
* 4 jumbo shrimp
* 1/2 bag large frozen shrimp, thawed
* 1 pound halibut fillets, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
* 3/4 pound large frozen sea scallops, thawed
* 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
* 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil
Cook garlic, onions, celery, bay leaf, oregano, and red pepper flakes with salt and pepper in oil in an 8-quart heavy pot over moderate heat, stirring, until onions are softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in red pepper and tomato paste and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add wine and boil until reduced by about half, 5 to 6 minutes. Add tomatoes with their juice, chicken broth and simmer, covered, 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Bring your broth up to a simmer.
While broth is simmering, hack crab leg through shell into 2- to 3-inch pieces with a large heavy knife. Add crab pieces to stew and simmer, covered about ten minutes. Lightly season fish fillets, shrimp, and scallops with salt and add to stew, then simmer, covered, until just cooked through, about 5 minutes. Discard bay leaf, gently stir in parsley and basil.
Serve with crusty bread and enjoy!
***
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