What are we eating on New Year's Eve?
This is how Jet does it.
So, after three days of rest, we're going to have a fun evening again. We just rushed through the whole country to celebrate Christmas with all your loved ones, and now we have to organize New Year's Eve again, and unfortunately, you can't spread that evening over three days to see everyone you would like to see. Phew, it's always a task to think about what you're going to do and to get all your favorite people in one room, because everyone wants something different. Fortunately, I've managed to celebrate the midnight moment at my place again this year, and after that, everyone does what they want. Friends still need to be kissed somewhere, a dance floor needs to be made unsafe, or there's a house party where people are expected.
Okay, so everyone is coming to my place first to eat and toast. It's tradition that everyone brings something, and we keep it simple and don't necessarily think that it has to be as healthy as possible. After all, it's December 31st, and January 1st is a new day again. We open a WhatsApp group to ensure that there aren't three trays of sausage rolls on the table, and everyone gets a task.
I’m sharing with you a number of tasty and easy snacks for such an evening.
– Mandy, who has been friends with me for over 8 years, often buys a few large Turkish round breads and tears them into pieces. She makes hummus or buys some nice dips. Just take a look here on the Culy website; they have delicious different types of hummus. Easy and healthy.
– There are always meatballs on the table. My dearest friend Madieke buys Italian seasoned minced meat and makes small balls from it. A bit of olive oil in the pan and fry the balls until they are nicely browned and crispy. They don't have to be served warm at all. Delicious on bread, with a salad, or just in your mouth.
– Another friend, Anna, is the queen of making melanzane. It's a kind of lasagna, but vegetarian and without dough. In a large baking dish, you layer slices of eggplant, mozzarella, and Parmesan cheese, and in between, you also add some tomato sauce. Incredibly delicious and easy to make in large quantities. Check here for an easy recipe.
– Then we have my very best Elisabeth, who is known for her sausage rolls. Take a large bowl and put a kilo of minced beef in it, a lot of salt and pepper, and a whole lot of curry. Mix it all together with your hands. If you think: this is way too much curry, then add twice as much. Seriously, a lot. Of. Curry. Take puff pastry and make small long sausage-shaped pieces of minced meat that you put in the puff pastry. Basically, it looks like a sausage roll. Then sprinkle a lot of delicious grated aged cheese over the puff pastry and bake them for 30 minutes at 180 degrees in the oven. When they are ready, cut the sausages into small pieces. Perfect for a snack or late-night treat.
– Merel, actually the best cook of us all, is also very good at making salads. The salad with figs, mozzarella, and Parma ham is our favorite. Use arugula salad and roast some almond flakes on top, delicious. For dressing, olive oil with lemon, honey, and salt and pepper is wonderful.
There are always some vegetables on the table to dip in some sauces, often a fruit salad is made, and there are nuts and olives in bowls. Oh yes, and don't forget the champagne at midnight. Real champagne, okay? Before that, we drink wine (nothing special) or prosecco with a berry in it. That always looks so nice and cheerful.
