New Years Eve Traditions

Bonus points to anyone who can immediately identify which movie this line is from, it’s one of my favourites of all time.

“It’s 106 miles to Chicago, we’ve got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it’s dark and we’re wearing sunglasses.”

Many people have food related traditions associated with New Years Eve. Unfortunately, when I was younger I frequently became sick around holiday time and would therefore miss out on the festivities. I recall quite a few New Years Eves spent feverish and lying on the couch. As a result, my New Years Eve tradition was not food related but rather an activity that was conducive to lying on the couch in agony. I would watch The Blues Brothers with Dad and count the number of cars that crashed during the chase scene. Even though we don’t own the movie, The Blues Brothers is one of those classic movies that is always on TV, (much to Mom’s chagrin) and it was regularly played on New Years Eve. Mom does not share our love of The Blues Brothers, but like with most other things, she puts up with it, (and us) with patience and grace and lets us watch our movie, time and time again.

One of my favourite scenes from The Blues Brothers, is when they play Everybody Needs Somebody to Love. Although I’ll deny it if you ask me later, this song makes me want to dance. Just hearing it puts me in a good mood and I especially like listening to it in the kitchen, preferably when I’m alone so I can dance when no one’s watching.

This year I’ll be working on New Years Eve so there’s no time to start any food related traditions but I thought I might offer a couple sweet and savoury suggestions in case anyone’s still looking for New Years nibbles.

Fantasy-ish Fudge from 101 Cookbooks. Heidi calls this fudge “so good, but oh-sooo bad” and I’d call it perfect for anyone with an extreme sweet tooth. New Years is always an excuse for gluttony before everyone resolves to lose ten pounds and hit the gym in January, so you might as well add fudge to the dessert tray. Cut the squares small though or you may end up in a sugar coma.

Chocolate Dipped Peppermint Marshmallows from Baking Bites. I had tried making marshmallows in the past, with varied success but Nicole’s recipe yielded consistently good results, (so long as you like marshmallows). I made a few batches of these, both dipped and plain and gave them away for Christmas. The chocolate dipped were always more popular than the plain ones and in case you happen to end up with leftovers, they keep extremely well. http://bakingbites.com/2008/11/chocolate-covered-homemade-marshmallows/

Spanakopitas from Gourmet via Epicurious. I don’t actually use a recipe anymore when I make spanakopita but this recipe from Gourmet seems about right. Basically any combination of spinach, feta, herbs, spices and maybe some nuts works for me. Phyllo dough is a pain to work with but it’s usually a guest pleasing appetizer so I guess that makes it worth the trouble.

Smoked Salmon on Potato Pancakes with Sour Cream and Dill. I made these one night when I needed a quick appetizer and although they weren’t the easiest things to eat, (unless you’re good at taking really big bites) they were pretty tasty. Next time I’d make them smaller.

Happy New Year everyone and please remember people, that no matter who you are and what you do to live, thrive and survive, there are still some things that make us all the same. You, me them, everybody, everybody! Everybody needs somebody to love, someone to love!

And food to eat! ;)