Event Planner at Home: NYE

Haul out the holly;
Put up the tree before my spirit falls again.

---From "We Need a Little Christmas" from the Musical "Mame" by Jerry Herman

I love the holidays.

It usually involves a lot of parties, dressing up in sparkly outfits, and channeling of the fab Rita Hayworth in Gilda:

It's almost popular to hate them... but I absolutely love them.  I am happy from Thanksgiving straight through to New Years Day.  

I love that we get a month of being over-the-top-fabulous.  I love the fact that you see your friends. That you see your family. That you have fun with your co-workers after working hard all year.  That every outing is all of a sudden festive.  I love the poinsettias and the lights all over fifth avenue and in the Manhattan restaurants. The romance - despite the cold and snow - fixes anything.  Fights with your friends, with your boyfriend, your job is stressful, well - it's okay... it's the holidays, have fun:) For Christmas and Thanksgiving, I'm lucky enough to get to take a cozy train ride up the Hudson River to spend those days with my fam in Vermont.  Possibly the best time in VT - fluffy white snow and pine tree dotted mountains - George Washington's eggnog, roast turkey straight from the farm, and an occasional fireplace.

Back in the city, NYE is, by extension, one of my favorite holidays.  What could be more fun than spending a night with all your best friends, wearing a sparkly dress, and living it up for a night in this glittering, beautiful city?

I've done many different things for NYE over my 12 years in NYC - romantic dinners at fancy restaurants with boyfriends, penthouse apartment parties, sang showtunes all night in dive piano bars, dinner with friends, and co-hosted a few parties myself.  This year though, a lot of my friends weren't around.  So - I got together with my little sis/best friend/roommate, and we hosted a couple of our very best friends for an intimate and cozy ringing in of the new year.  There was food, there was wine, there was champagne, there were friends - and we settled on the perfect movie - the '58 classic Auntie Mame.  The Comden and Green penned screenplay, based on Patrick Dennis' fantastic memoir, encapsulates all of the sophisticated ideals that we all want our Manhattan life to be.  The brilliant Rosalind Russell carries the film perfectly.  

So, for this year's NYE, I made a few fav recipes handed down from my Irish and Abruzzese mom, grabbed some great friends, and had a fab night.

Even if I was basically this in the AM:

So, anyway, here's the menu:

Appetizers:

(each combo held together with a toothpick)

Blue cheese and red grapes

Prosciutto and Melon

Caprese (cherry tomato, basel leaf, mozzarella)

Assorted meats/cheeses

Dinner: 

Vermicelli with Caviar

1 pound vermicelli

¼ pound butter

4 ounces caviar

Juice of ½ lemon

Cook vermicelli al dente. Have a large hot bowl at hand with soft butter in it.  Lift the pasta directly from its boiling pot into the bowl, draining it over its pot before forking it into the bowl.  It must be hot, and it must be al dente.  Have hot bowls ready. Now mix the caviar into the pasta in its bowl, turning well with wooden forks.  Add the lemon juice and toss again. Serve immediately. Serves 4 to 6.

Dessert:

Ricotta Cake

Make own pound cake or buy Frozen Sarah Lee Pound Cake.Divide cake into four layers. Divide filling into three. Fill three layers. Frosting and almonds will go on the top.

Filling:

Ricotta—1 lb.

Confectioners Sugar—1/4  cup

Sour Cream—2 T

Strega –2 T (I couldn't find Strega so I replaced with Sambuca)

Chopped almonds—1/4 c

Semi-sweet choc chips—4 oz

Beat ricotta w/ sugar and sour cream. Add Strega/Sambuca. Fold in almonds, choc, fruit. Chill. Divide filling into three. Fill three layers. Frosting and almonds will go on top.

Wrap in waxed paper. Chill.

Frosting:

Semi-sweet choc chips—4 oz

Strong coffee—1/4 cup

Softened unsweetened butter—8 T

Sambuca - 1 T (I added this here)

Melt chocolate with coffee over hot water or in microwave. Blend in butter in small pieces a few at a time. Chill until it spreads without running

For decoration:

Slivered almonds—1/4 cup

Frost cake. Cover with almonds.

Here's a peek - festivities crammed into my little apartment: