Monthly Archives: January 2008

Paint Color Heaven

Well, we found the perfect paint color. It’s Benjamin Moore’s Richmond Gold. We bought a quart tonight and painted a whole wall and I love it! Look how it matches the gold in the pillows!
And don’t worry – it’s not too dark. The apartment is full of light in the daytime, and we have these big wide beams on the walls that will be painted a rich cream for contrast. Besides, on most of the walls there will be so much stuff hanging that you probably won’t even see the paint.

Only issue – Mr TBTAM’s cost and environmentally-friendly flourescent lightbulbs make it look green, so we’re staying with incandescent bulbs in this room. He’s not happy about it, but our marriage will suffer significantly if I have to look at green tinged gold…

I promise I will post photos of the entire place when it’s done. Thanks to all for your support and suggestions. This was a tortuous process.

And now, back to our regularly scheduled blog…
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See the finished Paintjob here.

I’m in Paint Color Hell…

Or, as my sister Fran always says –

“It’s easier to pick a heart surgeon than to choose a paint color.”

I’ve been back and forth to the paint store at least three times, painted and repainted the same damned sample room on Behr’s website so many times I think I live there, read every discussion thread on HGTV.com that even remotely references paint color, covered every wall in the place with paint splotches and I’m still not there. The house is starting to look like a crack den, and I think I’m getting a sample paint pot habit…

If anyone has ever painted a room using Bemjamin Moore’s Peanut Shell or Nugget, do comment on how it’s worked for you. Mr TBTAM thinks it’s going too dark, but I think I’m finished with the cheery yellow look and want to go to something more neutral and warm.

Once I get out of this, I promise to post something more interesting.

Meantime, you can head on over to Dinosaur Doc’s site and find out what can happen if you print out my mushroom strudel recipe before I fix the typo. (Sorry again, #1…)

UPDATES –
Paint color Heaven. Where I finally decide on a color
Decorating Update – Photos of the fnished paint job (with wallpaper, too!)

Irene’s Mushroom Strudel

Of all my mother in law Irene’s recipes, this is my favorite. It’s a family standard she created in the 1960’s that has withstood the test of time and pleased hundreds of guests at parties, dinners and various gatherings over the years.

This started out as a recipe from the New York Times in the 60’s. Irene modified it by replacing the original filo dough with her mothers sour cream pastry, then added vermouth to the filling along with an increased amount of sour cream. And she’s still tweaking it – tonight she told me that of late she has increased the mushroom amounts.

I’ve made this myself at least 6 times, and it’s never failed me. It’s easy to make ahead a freeze, making it prefect for parties.

If you do use this recipe, please be sure to credit Irene. It’s a one of a kind, and it’s pure gold.

MUSHROOM STRUDEL

Pastry

½ lb. Sweet butter
½ pint sour cream
2 cups flour
¼ tsp. salt

Place flour and salt in food processor. Pulse for a second. Cut in butter and pulse ‘til crumbly, then add sour cream and pulse ‘til mixed but ready to hold together. Place on floured pastry board and knead briefly and roll into a ball. Divide in ¼’s. Refrigerate overnight.

Filling

2 tbsps. Sweet butter
1 ¼ lb. Mushrooms, finely chopped
2 tbsps. Finely chopped shallots or scallions
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsps. Dry vermouth
½ tsp. thyme
1/3 cup sour cream
Breadcrumbs (optional)
Egg wash ( 1 egg, 1 tbsp water)

Remove pastry from refrigerator to warm a bit while preparing the mushroom filling.

Melt the butter in a large skillet and add the mushrooms, shallots, salt, pepper, vermouth and thyme. Cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has evaporated and the mixture is mushy. Let cool slightly. Stir in the sour cream. Cool until ready to fill pastry.

Roll out ¼ pastry on floured board as thin as possible into a 9 or 10 inch round. Sprinkle dry bread crumbs over pastry. Then, using ¼ of the cooled mushroom mixture make a sausage shape roll at the end of the pastry closest to you, about an inch in from the edge. Roll pastry like a jelly roll, closing in the ends and stretching the pastry roll gently length-wise. Place on flat cookie sheet, seam side down and proceed with the remaining pastry and filling and placing them on the same cookie sheet when each is rolled. Make an egg wash of 1 egg with 1 tsp. water and brush on the rolls. With a fork pierce top of pastry roll 3 or 4 times.

Place in freezer a few hours or overnight until frozen. Then wrap in aluminum foil for freezer storage.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Unwrap frozen strudel rolls and place on ungreased jelly roll pans about 3 inches apart. Bake about 1 hour until nicely browned on top.

Cool for 10 or 15 minutes before slicing them diagonally into serving pieces about an inch and a half wide.

Makes 4 rolls.
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A few tricks for working with the cooked strudel. Get youself a long spatula and use it to remove the strudels from the pan. Here, I’ll let Irene show you how…

Cut them on a diagonal using a very sharp knife.

Then transfer to your serving platter using the long spatula again.

Dinner at Maya

Maya first opened around the corner from us over 10 years ago. It was the first restaurant in chef Richard Sandoval’s ever-expanding empire he calls Modern Mexican. That’s a phrase that perfectly describes the food at Maya – Mexican standards that have been enlightened of fat, enriched with flavor and enlivened with new methods of cooking and presentation.

Over a decade later, modern Mexican food is a new standard of its own. And Maya is still a great place to eat.

We had a pretty much perfect meal there last night with friends old and new, all of whom live in Jersey and have a pied-a-terre here in Manhattan. This, by the way, is what happens when the kids head off to College – the adults start to go out to play in the City. Of course, since my kids are still at home, I don’t get to play as much as my friends do. But hanging with them, I’m getting a little taste of what life will be like on the other side, and I have to say that I like it…

But I’m digressing. Back to Maya.

The Reservations

When we called early this afternoon, we had no problem reserving a table for 8 at 7:30 pm. Hmm…That must mean Maya is no longer a trendy restaurant destination. And that’s just fine with me. While the rest of New York is chasing the latest hot chef, I can get a table on a Saturday night and have a great meal.

The Service

The service was very good, completely unobtrusive yet totally attentive. When the conversation is as interesting as tonight’s and the food, though enlightened, still Mexican, you want to take your time between courses. And we did. We sat till 11 pm, and no one rushed us or made us feel like we were taking up the table too long. I think that’s what made the evening so enjoyable – lots of time to eat, drink and enjoy the company of friends.

The Food (aka Obligatory Poorly Lit Food Photo Montage)

Sandoval’s signature dishes that graced Maya’s menu in 1997 are still there, starting with pretty much perfect Guacamole Maya made to order and served in a black stone altar with deliciously salty home made tortilla chips. (Link to Sandoval making the guacamole)

For a First Course, Mr TBTAM and I shared the Seafood Stuffed Chile Relleno – The seafood inside was perfectly cooked, and though in a sauce and with cheese, each piece was distinctly flavored and distinguishable.

Susan and Boyd had the Quesadillas, which, sadly, I forgot to taste, but Mr TBTAM tells me were fabulous. He wants to go back some evening after work just for drinks and Quesadillas.

For an entree, Brenda and I had Camarones al Chipotle which is Tequila flambeed shrimp served with chile chipotle salsa and a little black bean and manchego stuffed pastry called a huarache. The shrimp was so good, I want to make it myself, and look – I found the recipe!

Susan had the Lobster, which was again, perfectly cooked and served with a delightfully different creamed corn and a scallop on watercress with a chile de arbol vinaigrette. I think it was my favorite entree of the evening. Look! I found that recipe too!

The rest of the entrees I did not taste, but my fellow diners raved about them all. Here’s the Tuna – Isn’t it pretty?

Dessert was Budin de Tre Leches, or three-mild soaked bread puddings.

And finally, Crepas de Cajetas, served with an incredible cinnamon ice cream and a candle for Susan, whose birthday was this week.

Happy Birthday, Susan! Brenda and Bob, it was great to see you again and Gida and John, it was wonderful to meet you. I hope we see you all again sometime again soon. So glad you’re all here in the City and welcome to my neighborood!

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Guacamole Maya — Halve, pit and peel two fully ripened Mexican Hass avocados. In medium bowl combine avocados, 1 cup peeled, seeded, diced tomatoes, 1/4 cup chopped onion, 1-1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, 3/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper. About 2 cups.

Chilean Sea Bass with Lentils and Salsa Verde

My bro Joe visited for a few days last week. And that means fun in the kitchen.

I asked him if we could make something healthy, and he came up with this great dinner. For ingredients, I took him to the fish monger and then to Gourmet Garage – he was blown away at the quality, variety and prices. It’s always so much fun to shop for dinner with Joe – everything’s an adventure.

Serve this with a nice crusty baguette, if you have any left after dipping it into the Salsa Verde while cooking the rest of the dinner.

Baked Chilean Sea Bass with Salsa Verde -Serves 4

1.75 lbs Chilean Sea Bass
Salsa Verde (recipe follows)
Lentils with onions and garlic (Recipe follows)

Take Chilean Sea Bass, score and rub with olive oil, salt and pepper, and fresh chopped herbs (basil, mint and parsley). Roast at 400 degrees F till done. To serve, take a bed of lentils put in middle of plate. Put fish on top, then a dallop of salsa verde. Serve with a green salad and more salsa verde on the side.

Salsa Verde
Adapted by Joe from Jamie Oliver

Always make more than you think you need, because everyone will start dipping their bread into it and you won’t have any left. If you do have some leftover, use it the next day as base for pasta. Get a penne or curly ribbed pasta, then take the leftover salsa verde and add some olive oil and tomatoes, toss with the pasta and enjoy!

Big handful of the following – Basil, Mint, Flat Leaf Parsly
12-15 small cornichons
3 or more good size cloves garlic
glug of rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
cracked pepper
4 anchove fillets
8 glugs olive oil
squirt of lemon juice

Lentils
1 lb bag lentils
1 onion chopped small
2 cloves garlic
2 anchovies
2 tbsp olive oil
little pat butter

Heat olive oil and butter is a saucepan. Add 3 anchovies and garlic. As soon as you smell the garlic, add diced onions. Cook till soft. Hit it with 2 cups chicken broth. Stir in lentis, bring to a boil and let simmer on stive tope till done. (about 20 min)

Why Is Sex So Interesting and Sex Ed So Boring?

Great question, and one that teen video makers are answering in the Fresh Focus Video Contest.

Organized by several non-profit reproductive groups*, the Sex-Ed video contest challenges teens to make videos that tell us their thoughts about Sex ed – their experiences with it and their ideas for making it better. The winner of the video contest gets a $3500 college scholarship. Finalist videos will be shown at the Sex::Tech Conference on Youth, Technology and STD/HIV PRevention.

Why not head on over and vote for your favorite? But hurry -Today’s the last day!
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*Sponsored by SIECUS, NSRC, Advocates for Youth, ISIS and RH Reality Chec

Cellphone Use – Does it Affect Male Fertility?

Your mobile carrier’s Family Plan may not be so family friendly.

That’s what researchers at the Cleveland Clinic suggest in a research study published this week showing that increasing cellphone usage is correlated with decreased sperm count and semen quality in men.
But don’t put down that IPhone just yet.

This study, while intriguing, has a few very significant limitations. First, and most importantly, the study population was drawn from men who were undergoing fertility evaluations – not a normal male population. The average age was 38, also not a normal age distribution. To do this study right, one should use males drawn from the general population, which would include both normal and infertile subjects.

Secondly, the researchers relied on self-reported estimates of phone usage. Not sure why, when they could have gotten accurate data from participants mobile phone bills.

Finally, the researchers did not collect information about occupational history or use of other devices that emit electromagnetic waves that they hypothesize are responsible for the effects of cellphone usage on sperm quality.

Still, the study results are intriguing, and worth following up in a larger, better controlled study. In the meantime, use the landline, okay honey?

Suzanne Somers Back on Larry King Live

This post refers to Somers 2008 appearance on Larry King Live. There is a more recent post about Somer’s 10/23/09 appearance here.

Well, I called that one, didn’t I? After being cited by the FDA for making unsubstantiated claims, the compounding hormone industry hit back with a one-two punch aimed straight at Wyeth, delivered of course by Suzanne Somers on Larry King Live. As I predicted, they’re framing the fight as the little guy (them) against the rich pharmaceutical companies, forgetting of course that it is the informed choice of American women which is at stake here.

Once again, the American public is distracted from the real issue, which is that these anti-aging folks don’t have a scientific leg to stand on when it comes to the health claims they are making for their billion dollar compounded hormone industry. Since these charlatans can’t find a legitimate doctor to tout their medical blasphemy, they have to rely on poor Suzie, who, God bless her, doesn’t know a steroid backbone from a botox molecule (which, by the way looks suspiciously like the Thigh Master).

Larry King should be ashamed of himself. The only voice he gives to the side of science is to give out the FDA’s website. Because when it comes to the health of American women, the only expert he wants us to hear is an actress with a book to sell. (Suzanne’s book, Ageless, just came out in paperback)

In fairness to Suzanne, you should know that I prescribe HRT, almost exclusively bio-identical hormones. I’ve even given these hormones to women who have had breast cancer and were unable to find a non-estrogen alternative to treat their symptoms. But every one of these women was informed about the risks of HRT as we best know them today, and not as the compounding industry would like them to be.

Some of the claims Suzanne and her friends are making could someday prove true – but until they have the data to support these claims, they are not allowed to make them. If you want to sell drugs, you’ve got to play by the rules. And you can’t point fingers at the big bad pharmaceutical industry and then pretend that the rules don’t apply to you.

If you want to claim that estriol prevents against breast cancer, go out and prove it. At this point, there is not enough data, either in the European or American scientific literature, to support that claim. Estriol looks better than estradiol in some studies simply because it is a weaker estrogen. But when given at the higher doses prescribed by many anti-aging docs, that advantage is gone. Suzanne should know this – she herself had a hysterectomy for endometrial hyperplasia – a precancerous condition of the uterine lining known to be caused by her hormone replacement.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – Estrogen is estrogen, whether it comes from mare’s urine or the moon. Until you prove otherwise, women who take HRT must be given the information they need to make an informed choice. The FDA is absolutely right on this one.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m heading over to Home Shopping Network to buy a Thigh Master.
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Read my Four Part Series on Hormone Replacement

The FDA Takes on the Compounded Hormone Industry

The FDA has finally taken on the compounding pharmacy industy for misleading and unsubstantiated claims made in marketing so-called “bioidentical” or natural hormone therapy.

In warning letters to seven such pharmacies, the FDA cited them for making unsubstantiated claims that their hormonal formulations are safer than FDA-approved formulations. They’ve also challenging the use of estriol, an estrogen formulation never approved for use by the FDA for hormone replacement.

Estriol is a form of estrogen found in the body, along with estrone and estradiol. Estriol is a weaker estrogen than estradiol, leading its proponents to claim it is safer than estradiol, the most commonly used bioidentical estrogen, and the one found in many FDA approved products such as patches, creams and pills. There is no data to prove that claim. Estriol binds to estrogen receptors, can stimulate both uterine lining and breast cancer cells, and if used in high enough doses, probably has the same risks as conventional estrogen replacement.

I am disappointed that the FDA stopped short of assuming regulatory power over these pharmacies and is not requiring them to include standard patient information and warnings for estrogens when these drugs are compounded.

What still upsets me is that it took a so-called “citizen’s petition” from Wyeth Pharmaceuticals to get the FDA to take action. Wyeth manufactures Prempro, the HRT formulation studies in the Women’s Health Intitiative, the study that put the nail in the coffin for HRT’s use for heart disease prevention.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – Wyeth’s involvement in the battle allows the multi-billion dollar anti-aging industry to frame the battle as the little guy (them) against Big Pharma. This is not a battle for Wyeth – it is about informing women.

The seven companies targeted by the FDA are –

Panorama Compounding Pharmacy
Saint John’s Medical Plaza Pharmacy
Murray Avenue Apothecary
Village Compounding Pharmacy
Pharmacy Compounding Specialties
Reed’s Compounding Pharmacy
Pacifica Pharmacy

These pharmacies appear to be taking the warning seriously – When I checked their websites tonight, all but one was either offline or had taken down their information on hormone replacement.
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FDA information on compounded hormones

BRCA Mutations and Familial Breast Cancer Risks

A study published this week in JAMA examines the risk for breast cancer in the families of women with breast cancer.

The researchers studied 2000 women with breast cancer diagnosed before age 55. Of these, about 5% of the women with unilateral breast cancer were found to have either the BRCA 1 or BRCA 2 gene mutation, while 15% of women with bilateral breast cancers were gene mutation carriers.

Overall, 75% of women with breast cancer were the only person in their immediate family to have had the disease. Among BRCA mutation carriers, 58% were the only member of the immediate family with breast cancer.

The risk for breast cancer in family members varied widely, from 30-90%, and was highest in families of women with cancers at an early age and with bilateral breast cancers.

Significant weaknesses of this study, in my opinion, were that family history of second and third degree relatives was not assessed, cancers up to age 55 (and not the usual age 50 cut off) were considered, and data on family history of ovarian cancer was not included. Family members were not assessed for the prevalence of the gene mutation, and their histories were taken second hand from the breast cancer subjects. This, the penetrance of the BRCA gene in these families was only presumed, not measured.

What To Do with this Info

The take home messages for me from this study were these –

1. BRCA testing is still uncommon, even in women who have had breast cancer. The younger your age at diagnosis, the higher the odds you will have a BRCA mutation. I believe testing is worthwhile in women who have had pre-menopausal breast cancer. But even in this group, most will test negative.

2. If your Mom or sister had breast cancer under age 55, odds are still that it was not a BRCA-related cancer. The more family members and the younger the age, the higher the risk. The best way to find out is for that person to get tested. If that person is positive, the next best step would be to get yourself tested.

But before doing this, talk to your doctor, and think hard about what you would do differently if your test was positive.

3. Even if you are a BRCA carrier, we really can’t reliably quantify your risk of breast cancer other than to say it is somewhere between 30 and 90% by age 70. That’s not very helpful, is it? The variability in risk is probably due to other genetic factors that interact with BRCA.

Family history itself may be your best indicator of your own risks. If your relative had breast cancer at a young age or had bilateral breast cancer, your risk is higher than if their cancer was at an older age and unilateral.

But how high is too high? What’s your personal risk tolerance? Does it vary with age? At what point would you take a medication (Tamoxifen or Evista) to reduce that risk? At what point would you have your ovaries removed? Not easy questions. Here’s the story of one woman who had to deal with these issues.

Myriad, the company that makes the test, has begun aggressively marketing the BRCA screening test, a step that I believe is premature. What we know about BRCA was largely learned from testing Ashkenazi Jews, a group known to be at increased risk. But we still don’t know the true prevalence or penetrance of this gene in the general population, and what it really means to be a carrier. Before we start mass screening and mass mastectomies and oophorectomies, we better know what the risks truly are for having this gene.

Studies such as this one are helpful in better defining that risk, but we have a long way to go before mainstreaming this genetic screening test.
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Birthday Party for a 12-Year Old Girl

“And to think we’re having another party in just 3 days!”

These were my daughter’s words to me as we were cleaning up after our New Year’s Day Open House Party. I almost died, because she was right. I had promised her she could have a belated birthday party in January, since her birthday had fallen on the weekend before Christmas when all her friends’ families were heading out of town for the holidays.

The good news was that she had planned this whole party herself, and it was minimal work for the adults in her life.

Birthday Party for a 12 Year Old Girl

The menu uses homemade chicken, but the rest can be store bought, and the kids will love it all. I must say I felt a bit guilty using bought cupcakes for this party, but it made things so easy….

Kids walk home from school Friday afternoon together to your apartment, where they drop off backpacks and such, make popcorn, then head to movie theater to see “PS I Love You“, or some other perfect chick flick. Bring along popcorn from home and supplement with drinks from the theater. One adult leaves halfway through to go to the store for food for dinner and then home to prepare it.

Walk home to our apartment for snacks and Improv games while adults finish preparing dinner.

Improv Games

Snacks

  • Cheese, grapes and crackers
  • Clementines
  • Gertie’s Artichoke Dip with crackers
  • Dried cranberries
  • Martinelli’s apple cider

Dinner

  • Baked Chicken Winglets with Paul’s Barbecue Sauce – Cut chicken wings in half into winglets, then bake as described in this recipe and serve with barbecue sauce.
  • French Fries (Ore Ida frozen fries cook up deliciously, and kids love them)
  • Caesar Salad (We used Dole bagged salad mix. Again, easy and the kids love it.

Open Gifts

Spit Tournament

Every kid gets a pack of cards. (Buy a big box of playing cards at Costco) Line up in two lines of face to face on the floor. Winner of each game plays winner of game next to you, losers play each other. And so on, until there is one winner of the winners. Everyone keeps on playing – the one with the most wins is the winner, the most losses the loser, and all the rest in between. There are no prizes, just the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.

Snaps

“Snaps is the name of the game. The name of the game is Snaps.” This is the game they played in PS I Love you.

Birthday Cupcakes
From Crumbs. Make Cupcake Sandwiches. Here, I’ll let Natalie show you how –

Main Party over.

Sleepover for the inner circle (4 kids + Birthday girl). Watch The Breakfast Club and stay up till 3 am talking. Sleep till 11 am, then get up, have bagels and cream cheese and orange juice. Then all go home.

Except of course, the birthday girl, who declares this was the best birthday party. Ever.

Family Meal Time Protects Against Eating Disorders

Eating together as a family 5 or more times a week reduces eating disorders in adolescent girls. So says a study published this month in Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

In this 5-year longitudinal study of more than 2500 adolescents, Neumark-Sztainer and colleagues found that extreme weight control behaviors, such as using diet pills or laxatives or vomiting, were 3-fold more common among females than males. Having at least 5 family meals together per week lowered this risk by 30% among females. However, among males, regular family meals were associated with skipping meals and eating little.

I wonder what percent of families today actually eat together at least 5 times a week?

I think we hit the 5 mark most weeks, mostly thanks to Mr TBTAM, who is firmly convinced that shared meal time is critical for us as a family, and god bless him, cooks dinner most weeknights to be sure that happens. I, on the other hand, would skip dinner or eat on the run if it were up to me. And I’m the one with the over-eating disorder. (By the way, my family ate together pretty much every night growing up. But there were nine of us, and some foods were in limited supply, so I think that led to us all gorging when food was around as opposed to just eating when we were really hungry. Just my own little psychoanalysis….)

How about your family? Take the survey over there on the sidebar for an informal poll of TBTAM readers’ family eating habits.

A New Year’s Day Open House

This year will mark our 15th year living in New York City. That meant it was time for a party -a BIG party for all the wonderful friends we’ve made over the past 15 years. And what better day than New Year’s Day?

Now, any normal person planning such a thing would make a guest list and send out invitations with RSVP’s, plan the menu at least two weeks ahead, and start cooking a week ahead and freeze the make-ahead stuff…You know, the right way to have a big party.

Let’s just say we didn’t do it that way.

Two days before Christmas, when I still hadn’t sent out invitations, Mr TBTAM just started e-mailing his tennis buddies that we were having a party. That meant I’d better get a move or none of my friends would be there. So two days after Christmas, while we were driving back from Philly, I went through the contact list on my phone and began calling my friends. I had no idea who was in or out of town, but no one was home so I just left messages everywhere. The connection was probably terrible, because one friends called me back saying “I think you are inviting me to something, but I couldn’t understand a word you were saying”.

Then I got sick. Really sick for the rest of the week. On New Year’s Eve morning, I awoke with a whopping headache, but we finalized the menu and headed out to shop. Somewhere between Costco and Fairway, I realized I was feeling better. Really good, actually. Either the Imitrex had kicked in or the cold had run its course. Praising Big Pharma, I headed into the kitchen where we spent the remainder of the day, only stopping briefly at midnight to run up to the roof with the kids to scream Happy New Year and have some sparkling cider. By 1 am, we were all in bed, only to rise at 9 to start cooking again.

The party was to start at 12 pm. My friend Mark arrived shortly thereafter, having just come off the morning shift at his deli. He helped my glaze the ham and arranged the salmon tartare and egg salad platters as only a real foodie can, then left. By 1 pm, when no one else had arrived and the girls were sure our party would like the one Michael threw at the Convention in “The Ofiice”.

But they were wrong – by 1:30pm, we were in full swing.

Overall about 60 folks came, and from the post party calls and emails, I think they all had a good time. I know we did. So many wonderful people, such dear friends. What was so great was seeing folks from the disparate parts of our lives talking and getting to know one another. I can’t think of any better way to start the New Year.

Of course, not everyone could make it with such short notice, and I had accidentally missed inviting a few wonderful people since their numbers were out of date in my phone. That’s the price I paid for not doing this thing so last minute.

Next year I’ll do it right.

Menu for a New Year’s Day Open House (Feeds 60 guests)

This menu will work for a mixed vegetarian-carnivore crowd, and has some healthy choices for folks trying to keep New Year’s Resolutions. Unfortunately, it has nothing for the Jewish meat eaters, as noted my friend Andy with the comment that “Grammie Hall would have loved the ham”. So next year I’m doing a beef tenderloin instead of a ham.

Guests will need to supplement this menu with desserts, as did ours, and thank goodness – most everything went!

You’ll need to do some cooking, reheating and restocking during the party to keep the food supplies fresh, but making the streudel and quiches ahead makes this easy, and you get some nice time in the kitchen with good friends who offer to help.

I’ll be posting the recipes for some of these things in the days to come, and will insert the links then.

  • 1 glazed Spiral-Cut Ham served with rolls, mustard and mayo. We got the ham at Costco. Heat and serve the day of party
  • 8 Mushroom Strudels – Double the recipe that will follow this post – Can be made ahead and frozen, then baked as needed for the party
  • 3 leek-red pepper quiches – Omit the sausages. Make and freeze unbaked crusts ahead, prepare filling the night before and refrigerate, then prebake crusts, fill and bake the morning of the party. Can be refigerated after baking and reheated as needed during the party.
  • Marinated Asparagus -This is incredibly delicious! Double the recipe. Make a day ahead and serve at room temp.
  • Salmon tartare with dill sour cream and baked pumpernickel toast points – Tartare and sour cream can be made ahead and refrigerated. Recipe will follow
  • Egg Mold with crackers -Make a day ahead. Recipe will follow. Toast points is more proper, this was easier.
  • Veggie Crudites with Spinach Dip – We got the dip at Costco. I prefer homemade.
  • Vegetable Pate -From Fairway, but next year I’m going to try to make my own pates.
  • Cheese Platter with grapes and a fig cake.
  • Gerties’ Artichoke Dip with Milton’s Multi-Grain Crackers -Thanks, again, Costco!
  • A bowl of Clementimes for peeling and eating
  • Dates stuffed with cream cheese and an almond – That’s the recipe
  • Spiced Pecans (any recipe you like for this will do) and Dried Apricots
  • Apricot Squares – Thanks, Martha & Mary!
  • Lemon Tart – Recipe will follow
  • Pineapple and Strawberries
  • Apple Torte
  • Assorted desserts brought by friends
  • Drinks – Champagne, Wine, Beer, non-alcohol grape bubbly and Martinelli’s Sparkling Cider, sodas and Pellegrino

    Happy New Year!