Prepared for New Year's Eve?

Well, just a few hours and we are at the last day of the year 2012. The day and night of parties, everywhere. One of my sisters is creating an Indian meal for friends. We have been consulting back and forth on the foods, how they are made, terminology and a host of other things. I created a menu for her, showing all the courses and sides. It is so lovely. She makes beautiful table settings, and I am certain it will be a masterpiece in silver and gold.

Bean & Cheese Dip

My husband and I are not party people in general, though we love guests and I especially love making foods to share and enjoy. I am sure our evening tomorrow will end at a sedate hour, and all the hoopla will pass as we sleep, and we will wake to the New Year and all the joys it will bring. We are having two people to visit and have lovely snacks again, as we did on Christmas Eve. Some of the snacks will be the same as last week, as they are particular favorites of my husband's, such as his favorite Bean & Cheese Dip and Little Smokies wrapped in Puff Pastry. 

Little Smokies in Puff Pastry

I received a dip mix from Pepper Creek Farms as a Christmas Gift, so I am trying that out in a dip. I also am making a goat cheese appetizer that another of my sisters introduced to the family a few years back. Another of the appetizers one of my sisters makes is puff pastry, baked in little squares and then setting in a little cube of Brie and then some Cherry preserves. These are so delicious, and I was accustomed to having them for any festivity, as they were one of her favorites. Now that we live so far away, I have not had these for years, and want to make them. In all these years, I have not yet tried them myself. Go figure. Well, tomorrow is the day. My sister-in-law was kind enough to give me a chunk of Brie, so I am set.

Last week I had a piece of Puff Pastry dough left over after making the smokies and I just improvised and made some little palmieres I called Pepper and Cheese Spirals. I brushed melted butter on the pastry since I had melted butter left from making the Spanakopita. Then I had a bit of an Italian blend of shredded cheese left and used that up strewn on the pastry. I ground a fair amount of coarse black pepper over all that, then sprinkled just a little Palm Island red sea salt over.  Then lastly, a handful of pine nuts. I rolled this and sliced, baked at 375 for about 20 minutes. 

Those little things were so incredibly good, though I did not write down how much of each thing I used. Tomorrow, I will rectify that lapse! When I get the amounts correct, I will post the recipe here. 

With so much to be thankful for, I wish all of my readers a most joyous and prosperous New Year 2013!

My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.