NYE 2013 - What cha' planning to cook for the crowd?

[Too Tall]

We had a small dinner party 2 years ago (?) and made both salmon and chicken salads over sharp greens served with flat bread. That killed, I'm going to do that for the crowd. I posted my process here a while ago. If any of you cat1 cooks have suggestions let me know:

Avacado / Chicken - roast trimmed chicken thighs (they have more flavor) in a hot oven or close to the broiler. Don't season heavily, just the usual. Cool, cube and set aside. For the salad make a fairly fine cut of whatever solid tomatoes you can find. De-water the tomatoes on towels for about 1 hr. In a bowl add ripe avocados, mash roughly and add: lime, salt, cayenne, toasted / crushed cumin seeds, black pepper, chopped cilantro and mashed roasted garlic. Into the party add chicken and lightly toss to incorporate and cool for at least 2 hrs. Serve chilled on a bed of cress, idea being that guests can scoop under the cress and create their own nest of salad. You may choose to grind some fresh black pepper over the salad before serving...I did.

Avacado / Salmon - Same as above. To prepare the salmon you need to skin the filets and cube the fish into reasonable pieces for the salad. Work fast and use a very thin/sharp knife, helps to dip the knife in water. Suggest you chill the cubed fish before flash broiling it. Arrange the pieces so that NOTHING touches or you will have fish soup. Also, broil fast and hard!!! Don't be afraid to pull the fish out as soon as you see color or you might end up making cat food. When done gently slide the fish off the tray or stuff the batch directly into a freezer to stop cooking. Once cool, incorporate with the salad mixture.

Serve with warm pita or...I made pizza dough, rolled it super thin and cooked it a little crisp on the Big Green Egg plate setter with a smear of oilve oil and finely minced rosemary and salt.

[roseyscot]

I'm eating lobster and steak, hopefully $100 worth to make up for the bride and groom's wedding present. NYE wedding on Boston Common.

[maunahaole]

That sounds like a high chance of cold. I hope for your sake that they are not going with the catholic long form ceremony.

You may need to start another thread on flasks, and what to put in them.

[dang]

Cannot even think about it. Got the but-we-call-it-chanukah-fest coming this weekend. Two more briskets will bring us to about 60 pounds. 40 pounds of yukon golds need peeling.

[robin3mj]

We've got about 25 people coming for a not-dinner party on Saturday and haven't even thought about it. We're going tapas-esque.

Scorched padron peppers with evoo and salt
Just ordered another Serrano style ham, this time from La Quercia. To be served with crusty bread and manchego
Roasted red peppers
Sardines/anchovies
Potatoe pancake thing

I need to go thru our pintxos cookbooks and Polpo and get some ideas stat. Leaving this to the last minute was a bad idea, ha.

[SpeedyChix]

This is going to make a repeat appearance, have a high taste factor. A cold garage makes an ideal "resting" spot for these if you want to make them a day ahead.

Chipotle Roasted Carrots

30 thin carrots (2 to 3 bunches), tops discarded, carrots scrubbed
2 chipotle chiles in adobo, minced, plus 1 teaspoon of adobo sauce from the can
1 tablespoon unsulfured molasses
2 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper
3 tablespoons sesame seeds
4 ounces watercress, stems discarded
Plain Greek yogurt, for serving

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Toss the carrots on a rimmed baking sheet with the chipotles, molasses and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Roast for 30 to 35 minutes, until the carrots are crisp-tender and browned. Transfer the carrots to a plate and let them cool completely.

Meanwhile, in a skillet, toast the sesame seeds, tossing, until golden, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of oil and season with salt; let cool.

On the plate, toss the carrots with the 1 teaspoon of adobo sauce. Arrange the carrots, scatter watercress and garnish with the sesame seeds. Serve with side of yogurt.

[RickM]

I'm eating lobster and steak, hopefully $100 worth to make up for the bride and groom's wedding present. NYE wedding on Boston Common.

Ooohh neat! And always an open bar afterwards down in the Park St. station stairwell.

[maunahaole]

I always thought of park st. Stairwell as more of a location of a toilet than of a bar.

[DCT]

keep the dinner plans coming. i'll decide who's party i'm going to crash.