I need help to plan a New Year's Eve Brexit dinner.
December 10, 2018 3:40 AM Subscribe
For the last few years we've hosted a dinner party on new year's eve for a few friends. The numbers vary between 6 and 12 depending on who's around. Each year I try to cook something that pushes my capabilities and is insanely stressful. This year I want to up my game. I want to serve around 10 dishes, each being a signature dish from a different European country.
The dishes need to complement each other if possible. I'm thinking of a couple of stews, some fried crispy stuff, some salads etc.
So far I'm thinking of doing a Greek salad, Cornish pasties, some kind of schnitzel, goulash, ravioli, but I'm open to any other suggestions. I'd particularly like some suggestions for eastern European dishes, hot or cold. If it can be cooked now and frozen that would be great but I'm OK with cooking stuff from scratch while the guests are eating.
There's a good selection of Polish and Lithuanian grocery stores around here so ingredients should not be a problem.
The dishes need to complement each other if possible. I'm thinking of a couple of stews, some fried crispy stuff, some salads etc.
So far I'm thinking of doing a Greek salad, Cornish pasties, some kind of schnitzel, goulash, ravioli, but I'm open to any other suggestions. I'd particularly like some suggestions for eastern European dishes, hot or cold. If it can be cooked now and frozen that would be great but I'm OK with cooking stuff from scratch while the guests are eating.
There's a good selection of Polish and Lithuanian grocery stores around here so ingredients should not be a problem.
If you can get the right kind of pears (Gieser Wildeman) then stewed pears would be pretty great for the Netherlands. Can be frozen, or stewed for several hours while festivities are ongoing. Smells lovely!
posted by Too-Ticky at 4:11 AM on December 10, 2018
posted by Too-Ticky at 4:11 AM on December 10, 2018
Haha, I came in to recommend borscht, as something that can push your capabilities and be insanely stressful. From the wikipedia article I've linked:
What helped familiarize Western Europe with borscht was the practice of Russian emperors, as well as Russian and Polish aristocrats, to employ celebrated French chefs, who later presented their own versions of the dish as a foreign curiosity back in France. One of the first French chefs to do so was Marie-Antoine Carême, who worked briefly for Emperor Alexander I in 1819.[120] In his take on borscht, the original Russian soup served only as inspiration for an extravagant haute cuisine dish with an air of eastern exoticism.[121] Apart from vegetables and beet sour, his recipe calls for a roast chicken, a fried chicken, a duck, a piece of veal, an oxtail, a marrow bone, one pound of bacon, and six large sausages, and suggests serving with beef quenelles, deviled eggs and croûtons.[15] Auguste Escoffier, Carême's apprentice, who was mostly fascinated by the soup's vivid ruby-red color, simplified his master's recipe, while also securing the place of potage bortsch ("borscht soup") in French cuisine.[122] Urbain Dubois and Émile Bernard, both of whom had been employed at Polish aristocratic courts, presented borscht to the French public as a Polish soup; their cookbook, La cuisine classique, published in 1856, contains a borscht recipe under the descriptive name, potage au jus de betteraves à la polonaise ("Polish-style beet-juice soup"),[123] which had been changed to potage barsch à la polonaise by the third edition in 1868.[124]
Actually, I'm thinking a lot about making the Carême version soon. It's like a cooking marathon, and you end up with the most beautiful clear and bright red broth. All the meats are put in the bottom of the terrine and then you decorate with the quenelles, eggs and heart-shaped croutons. It works very well at a meal with many different servings, lots of champagne and vodka.
posted by mumimor at 4:16 AM on December 10, 2018
What helped familiarize Western Europe with borscht was the practice of Russian emperors, as well as Russian and Polish aristocrats, to employ celebrated French chefs, who later presented their own versions of the dish as a foreign curiosity back in France. One of the first French chefs to do so was Marie-Antoine Carême, who worked briefly for Emperor Alexander I in 1819.[120] In his take on borscht, the original Russian soup served only as inspiration for an extravagant haute cuisine dish with an air of eastern exoticism.[121] Apart from vegetables and beet sour, his recipe calls for a roast chicken, a fried chicken, a duck, a piece of veal, an oxtail, a marrow bone, one pound of bacon, and six large sausages, and suggests serving with beef quenelles, deviled eggs and croûtons.[15] Auguste Escoffier, Carême's apprentice, who was mostly fascinated by the soup's vivid ruby-red color, simplified his master's recipe, while also securing the place of potage bortsch ("borscht soup") in French cuisine.[122] Urbain Dubois and Émile Bernard, both of whom had been employed at Polish aristocratic courts, presented borscht to the French public as a Polish soup; their cookbook, La cuisine classique, published in 1856, contains a borscht recipe under the descriptive name, potage au jus de betteraves à la polonaise ("Polish-style beet-juice soup"),[123] which had been changed to potage barsch à la polonaise by the third edition in 1868.[124]
Actually, I'm thinking a lot about making the Carême version soon. It's like a cooking marathon, and you end up with the most beautiful clear and bright red broth. All the meats are put in the bottom of the terrine and then you decorate with the quenelles, eggs and heart-shaped croutons. It works very well at a meal with many different servings, lots of champagne and vodka.
posted by mumimor at 4:16 AM on December 10, 2018
If you can find it or make it, definitely serve Hungarian liptauer with appetizers. It's a spicy paprika-y cheese spread with all kinds of flavors going on. Perfect on rye with a little smoked fish or sausage and a pickle.
posted by Mizu at 4:21 AM on December 10, 2018
posted by Mizu at 4:21 AM on December 10, 2018
For New Year's in Poland bigos would be traditional - this recipe looks decent except replace cabbage with sauerkraut, triple the wild mushrooms, don't feel constrained about the meat (I'd skip bacon and venison, add good stewing pork, and at least two kinds of kielbasa - krakowska and lisiecka would be good) and stew it for at least four hours. Get good dark rye bread (razowiec) to go with it.
Variations on Oliver salad are common in Eastern Europe, but most recipes I've been able to find for the Polish vegetable salad that's an absolute staple of any celebration (meatless Oliver basically) are profoundly weird and unacceptable - mustard?? no potatoes??? celery sticks????? This one is basic but decent except way more pepper and bit of salt. And beans instead of peas, but my family is definitely in the minority there.
The traditional winter filling for pierogi is sauerkraut, onion and wild mushrooms stewed together. The traditional cake would be makowiec.
(In conclusion: English-language recipes for traditional Polish dishes are profoundly disturbed. I've heard Anne Applebaum's cookbook is quite good, if you can get it from a library it might be a better bet than what's available online.)
posted by I claim sanctuary at 4:47 AM on December 10, 2018 [2 favorites]
Variations on Oliver salad are common in Eastern Europe, but most recipes I've been able to find for the Polish vegetable salad that's an absolute staple of any celebration (meatless Oliver basically) are profoundly weird and unacceptable - mustard?? no potatoes??? celery sticks????? This one is basic but decent except way more pepper and bit of salt. And beans instead of peas, but my family is definitely in the minority there.
The traditional winter filling for pierogi is sauerkraut, onion and wild mushrooms stewed together. The traditional cake would be makowiec.
(In conclusion: English-language recipes for traditional Polish dishes are profoundly disturbed. I've heard Anne Applebaum's cookbook is quite good, if you can get it from a library it might be a better bet than what's available online.)
posted by I claim sanctuary at 4:47 AM on December 10, 2018 [2 favorites]
Waterzooi would be a great representative dish from the lowlands. I prefer the chicken version for guests, but it’s a touch less authentic.
posted by frumiousb at 4:58 AM on December 10, 2018
posted by frumiousb at 4:58 AM on December 10, 2018
Spanakopita (Greece) is surprisingly easy to make. It can be frozen uncooked and then popped in the oven the day of the party.
posted by googly at 5:44 AM on December 10, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by googly at 5:44 AM on December 10, 2018 [2 favorites]
Gravlax (Cured Salmon) from Sweden can be made ahead and it's dead easy and delicious.
posted by Ferrari328 at 6:06 AM on December 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Ferrari328 at 6:06 AM on December 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
I've been to Russian New Year's Eve parties where shuba was served. It's a cold layered salad with herring, beets, potatoes, carrots, hard-boiled egg, parsley, and mayonnaise. It's a fair amount of work but can be made ahead and is visually stunning. It's also delicious (if, you know, you like beets and herring).
posted by aws17576 at 8:58 AM on December 10, 2018
posted by aws17576 at 8:58 AM on December 10, 2018
Arroz con pollo for Spain?
posted by heathrowga at 9:23 AM on December 10, 2018
posted by heathrowga at 9:23 AM on December 10, 2018
Start with your oven, stove and fridge space. Decide how many items you can reasonably heat or cook on the stove before the meal- say four, and how many in the oven, say two. That means you will need to come up with at least four that can be stored and served cold.
Figure out what serving and cooking dishes are available. You can't heat up borsht and heat up stew in the same pot.
The use of slow cookers, rice cookers, instant pots and the microwave can be included in this calculation, but leave yourself some unused space and dishes and appliances. For example if you can plug in three things before blowing a fuse and plan on three things and then discover that you also want to boil a kettle to make tea, your plans can devolve in include standing in the basement with a party guest in an evening gown trying to help you move the cabinet that you took out of the living room to make space for the guests from in front of the circuit breaker box. So make sure to allow yourself some room to change plans.
Do not plan to heat up the desert while people are eating, make sure that you can sit down yourself and not have to run back and forth. You can plan to have a partner entertain the guests after the main courses while you are in the kitchen rapidly heating the brandy to flambe something.
Start with something cold for appetizers. Serve two cold desserts or a cold dessert and one that was warming in the oven during the meal, and which does well both warm or hot, should dinner take longer than expected.
Make sure you know what you are serving for beverages and what they will take to include at the right temperature too. Consider an ice chest full of ice for things like bottles of champagne, so as to not need to use the fridge.
Make as many things as possible be things that can be made in advance and some of them things that can be made well in advance like those kinds of cookies best served stale.
Cheat and add some extra panache with things that are cultural and delicious but which can be bought ready to serve, such as cheeses and cold cuts, fancy pastry, pickles, etc.
Choose your dishes around these logistics. Three dishes made in pots, two dishes made in ovens, one dish made in a slow cooker, four cold dishes. Look up three nice things made in pots and figure out your theme from how they go together, such as if they are all vegan, or all include fish, or all include garlic.
Also try making a list of varieties: one fish, one roast beast, one pancake etc.
posted by Jane the Brown at 9:33 AM on December 10, 2018 [2 favorites]
Figure out what serving and cooking dishes are available. You can't heat up borsht and heat up stew in the same pot.
The use of slow cookers, rice cookers, instant pots and the microwave can be included in this calculation, but leave yourself some unused space and dishes and appliances. For example if you can plug in three things before blowing a fuse and plan on three things and then discover that you also want to boil a kettle to make tea, your plans can devolve in include standing in the basement with a party guest in an evening gown trying to help you move the cabinet that you took out of the living room to make space for the guests from in front of the circuit breaker box. So make sure to allow yourself some room to change plans.
Do not plan to heat up the desert while people are eating, make sure that you can sit down yourself and not have to run back and forth. You can plan to have a partner entertain the guests after the main courses while you are in the kitchen rapidly heating the brandy to flambe something.
Start with something cold for appetizers. Serve two cold desserts or a cold dessert and one that was warming in the oven during the meal, and which does well both warm or hot, should dinner take longer than expected.
Make sure you know what you are serving for beverages and what they will take to include at the right temperature too. Consider an ice chest full of ice for things like bottles of champagne, so as to not need to use the fridge.
Make as many things as possible be things that can be made in advance and some of them things that can be made well in advance like those kinds of cookies best served stale.
Cheat and add some extra panache with things that are cultural and delicious but which can be bought ready to serve, such as cheeses and cold cuts, fancy pastry, pickles, etc.
Choose your dishes around these logistics. Three dishes made in pots, two dishes made in ovens, one dish made in a slow cooker, four cold dishes. Look up three nice things made in pots and figure out your theme from how they go together, such as if they are all vegan, or all include fish, or all include garlic.
Also try making a list of varieties: one fish, one roast beast, one pancake etc.
posted by Jane the Brown at 9:33 AM on December 10, 2018 [2 favorites]
Fondue is an iconic dish of Switzerland and can be made somewhat in advance and held in a double boiler or (ideally) a fondue set. Very heavy, though, even if you use vegetables instead of bread, so keep the portions small.
posted by wnissen at 1:48 PM on December 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by wnissen at 1:48 PM on December 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
Sarma is a traditional NY dish in several Balkan countries, two of which are in the EU. It's best prepared a day or two in advance. Here's one recipe, but skip all of the optionals (like spicy paprika etc) for a traditional flavor.
posted by gakiko at 12:19 AM on December 11, 2018
posted by gakiko at 12:19 AM on December 11, 2018
Nothing that you can do ahead of time (other than prep) but I would bet that tarte Flambee (Alsatian) or Flammekuchen (western areas of Germany I make it according to a recipe from someone born in Kaiserslautern) would make a really good starter. I combine them because they are essentially the same thing.
Essentially make a simple unleavened dough with just water flour and salt. Leave it to rest for a while.
Make the sauce (mix together some creme fraiche along with some double cream (about 50/50 should be thick but not able to hold a peak) add in some chopped garlic and some salt and pepper. I also like to add in a sprinkling of herbes de Provence, but that isn't in the traditional recipe.
Chop some bacon lardons and make some thinly sliced onion rings.
To cook roll out a thin crust and top with the sauce and spread some onions and the bacon lardons on top. Cook in an oven (as hot as you can get it) until done (about 5 mins) Slice and serve immediately.
posted by koolkat at 1:11 AM on December 11, 2018
Essentially make a simple unleavened dough with just water flour and salt. Leave it to rest for a while.
Make the sauce (mix together some creme fraiche along with some double cream (about 50/50 should be thick but not able to hold a peak) add in some chopped garlic and some salt and pepper. I also like to add in a sprinkling of herbes de Provence, but that isn't in the traditional recipe.
Chop some bacon lardons and make some thinly sliced onion rings.
To cook roll out a thin crust and top with the sauce and spread some onions and the bacon lardons on top. Cook in an oven (as hot as you can get it) until done (about 5 mins) Slice and serve immediately.
posted by koolkat at 1:11 AM on December 11, 2018
Baklava can be made a few days ahead and served room temperature. Italian Panzanella requires no cooking and needs to be made a few hours ahead and left to marinate.
posted by soelo at 9:05 AM on December 11, 2018
posted by soelo at 9:05 AM on December 11, 2018
Elizabeth Luard's book "The Rich Tradition of European Peasant Cookery" probably has some good suggestions - one I particularly like is the recipe for xhivetch, a Bulgarian/Romanian vegetable casserole with an egg-yogurt topping (this recipe is nearly identical to the one in the book).
posted by offog at 10:13 AM on December 12, 2018
posted by offog at 10:13 AM on December 12, 2018
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posted by saladin at 4:07 AM on December 10, 2018 [2 favorites]