A deluxe (and romantic) New Year's dinner for 2

Rather than going out for an overpriced dinner for New Year's Eve, my boyfriend and I have tentatively decided that we'll celebrate at home with a fantastic dinner. The cost of ingredients isn't an issue, because I figure we'll still spend less than we'd spend at a restaurant, and we're both good cooks, so I don't think we'd be challenged by most recipes.

(I should also note: I'm from the NE United States, he's French, so neither of us has a long list of foods that are culturally associated with NYE--except for champagne and foie gras.)

I'm not sure if we'll do a traditional meal, or a series of smaller plates.

Things I'm contemplating:

Starters:
Caviar and blinis (Collin's Caviar?)
Foie gras (need a reliable source for this...the BF will be returning from France a couple days before NYE, but I understand that canned foie gras is often confiscated @ Customs)
Jamón Ibérico de bellota (great to know I can now buy it at Costco! I was at Fortnum & Mason in London last week, and they were actually sampling it. Who woulda thunk?)

Entree:
Seafood paella (incl. lobster, shrimp, mussels and clams)*
or
Beef Wellington or Salmon Wellington (would need a side for this)
or
Bouillabaisse*

Alternate dish ideas if we went for a few smaller plates and skipped the entree:
Cheese souffle or Raclette
and
Some kind of salad
and
Some kind of light meat course--maybe baby lamb chops?
(though as I write this, I realize that the 3 would make a full plate for an entree course, but we'll probably be grazing over the course of several hours and would stagger these 3 dishes)

Bread:
Cook's Illustrated no-knead bread v 2.0

Dessert:
Raspberry and dark chocolate semi freddo

Our wine collection is strong, so I don't think we'll have to buy any wine.

(*The only downside to paella or bouillabaisse is that we're probably leaving town on Jan. 1, and I'd hate to throw away what are usually fantastic leftovers!)

I'd love to hear your suggestions for a great dinner for 2! I'm not wedded to most of these dishes and am looking for inspiration.

Thanks!

Hi,

I saw on your other thread, you were inquiring about buying blinis ready made. If you can make a pancake, you can make a blini.

I happen to also like salmon roe, too. I like the pop between my teeth. At least at Garden Fresh, you can buy as much or as little as you want for under $25 per pound. I made deviled eggs last summer with salmon roe on top. You can also use for your blini.

If you are considering a Salmon Wellington, then consider going Russian with a Koulibaka, which is salmon encrousted in pastry with a several fillings mixed in. I have been thinking of making a Koulibaka for sometime. There is a recipe in one of the Julia Child and Company books, I saw one in Saveur plus other sources. Julia's comes with a quick and dirty puff pastry recipe you can make in your food processor with pretty good results.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:I saw on your other thread, you were inquiring about buying blinis ready made. If you can make a pancake, you can make a blini.

Good point, and yes I can.

I've done salmon en croute - fresh salmon layered with a smoked salmon pate of some kind (butter, lemon, salmon, prob. some herbs) and wrapped in puff pastry and baked. I don't have the exact recipe - I cut it out of a magazine sometime in the mid-80s and suspect it is still stuffed in a recipe book somewhere. I served it with sauteed green beans. But yum! And it can be made ahead and kept in the fridge until you are ready to bake.

We've heard that lobster is cheap this year, so I may do lobster for NYE.

(*The only downside to paella or bouillabaisse is that we're probably leaving town on Jan. 1, and I'd hate to throw away what are usually fantastic leftovers!)

Wouldn't the beef or salmon wellington leave a lot of leftovers as well? Most recipes I've seen for these are designed as party food. I'd suggest doing the lamb as a rack with an herb crust, or I've also done duck breasts for two in some sort of sauce.

rickster wrote:

(*The only downside to paella or bouillabaisse is that we're probably leaving town on Jan. 1, and I'd hate to throw away what are usually fantastic leftovers!)

Wouldn't the beef or salmon wellington leave a lot of leftovers as well? Most recipes I've seen for these are designed as party food. I'd suggest doing the lamb as a rack with an herb crust, or I've also done duck breasts for two in some sort of sauce.

I was imagining individual fillets done en croute.

Another quote...can't get HTML to work right:
Leek says: We've heard that lobster is cheap this year, so I may do lobster for NYE.

I've been hearing the same thing. I know most people would include lobster in a meal like this, but I somewhat deliberately omitted it. My great-grandfather was a lobsterman, so I was raised to believe that you don't eat lobster if you can't see the ocean it came out of. (And eating Maine lobster in Miami doesn't count!) Plus, I'm a messy lobster eater...I like to be wearing shorts and t-shirt, and drinking a cold beer when I'm pulling it apart! (Hmm...heading to the East Coast for Xmas. Wonder if I could persuade my Mom to substitute lobster for the ham she'd planned to cook.)

Hi,

I was looking for something else, when I found this potato salad with crab and salmon roe referred to as Tom's Vladivostok Potato Salad. It certainly is a deluxe version of potato salad.

Regards,