New Year's Eve

This was the 3rd or 4th year in a row for my annual NYE dinner party.  I make all the food, and just ask that guests bring whatever they want to drink.  I've made guacamole and spinach dip every year, but those are probably the only menu items that have stayed consistent.  I feel like my kitchen expertise has grown by leaps and bounds in the last year, and I put a lot of thought into making this year's menu the most spectacular spread of food I have ever accomplished.  

Due to various conflicts, only a handful of people were able to make it this year, but those of us that were there had a great time and agreed that the food was amazing.  

Sweet Potato Cannelloni

filled with crab, onion, celery, cream cheese, alfredo

Cider-BBQ Pulled Pork

pork tenderloin rubbed with flour & cinnamon

slow-cooked in the crockpot for 9 hours

Slider Rolls

choice of plain or cider

Mini-Quiche

choice of bacon or mushroom

Quinoa Salad

with carrot, celery, broccoli, mushroom

olive oil/garlic/ginger 

Cole Slaw

choice of honey & mustard or mayo & ranch

Spinach-Artichoke Dip

spinach, artichoke, cream cheese, alfredo sauce

Guacamole

avocado, lime juice, salt, garlic powder, tomato

Pumpkin-Cheesecake Truffles

choice of dark chocolate or white chocolate

The biggest hit!

I'm told they "melt in your mouth"

I didn't eat any of the white chocolate ones, but I definitely devoured some of the dark.

I'm gonna have a tough time beating this menu next year!  

But I will find a way...of course.

As a side note: as far as I'm concerned, the year ends in June and starts in August.  Which means there are about 5 more months to get through before the year ends. 

But for those of you who go by the number you write at the end of the date...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Pumpkin-Cheesecake Truffles

Step 1: Make a pumpkin cheesecake.  (This time I omitted the chocolate chips and the crust.)

Step 2: Melt some dark chocolate.  I believe I used 80% cocoa.  

Step 3: Use a melon-baller to scoop out chunks of cheesecake, then use your fingers to roll them into balls.  Drop the balls into the melted chocolate and use a fork to turn them and coat them.  Place them on tin foil or wax paper to harden in the fridge.  

I also made some with milk chocolate, but I had a very hard time getting the coating to work.  The milk chocolate I had didn't melt like the dark chocolate did.  I ended up adding heavy cream to it in an attempt to make it more liquid.  The final result was rather lumpy, but it worked. 

I brought the truffles to the Christmas staff party for my school.  The dark chocolate ones were definitely the favorite.  The hard/bitter outside was a great complement to the soft/sweet inside.