(as published on www.outinamerica.com)
The Food of New Year’s Eve
By: Rodney Smiley
December 27, 2004
Celebrating the New Year is one of the oldest traditions observed. Beginning with the ancient Babylonians and their worship of the beginning of Spring, the New Year celebration has become pervasive throughout the World. Nearly every culture recognizes the turn of a new year, even though the actual dates may vary.
For example, the above mentioned Babylonians believed the new year began with the beginning of Spring. The Romans closely followed with their celebrations, but only for a time until 46 B.C., when Roman ruler Julius Caesar decreed the New Year to begin on January 1, thus establishing the Julian Calendar.
Each culture held their own practices and festivities, some of which would put our current New Year’s Eve celebrations to shame. Debauchery, drunkenness, orgy-riddled streets … oh wait. Maybe that’s not so different from our own celebrations.
However, one thing has endured since time immemorial: the significance of food in celebrating the New Year.
The Dutch, for example, believe that eating donuts will bring luck in the new year. This belief is based on the concept of coming ‘full circle’. The donut, in the shape of a circle with no beginning or end, signifies the coming full circle of a new year. Those lucky Dutch – if only Krispy Kreme would market a “New Year’s Eve Donut”!
In some Japanese Buddhist temples noodles are eaten at midnight, and in Cuba, eating twelve grapes at midnight signifies the past twelve months. Fidel be damned! We shall eat our grapes!
Here in the US, many believe eating black-eyed peas will bring prosperity in the new year. For each individual pea eaten, one more dollar will be earned in the coming year than in the past one. I’ve spent many a New Year’s Day sitting at my Grandmother’s table, shoveling in spoonful after spoonful of black-eyed peas, cooked with ham or seasoned with a soup bone. Alas, I’ve not found this particular tradition very profitable, unless you consider an expanding waistline a symbol of prosperity.
Cabbage, eaten cooked or raw, is also considered a ‘good luck’ vegetable to be eaten on New Year’s Day. The cabbage leaves are thought to be representative of paper currency, and thus work the same as black-eyed peas. The more cabbage eaten, the more money you’ll make in the new year. Or maybe it’s the more bloated and gassy your relatives will be. Either way, it lends itself to a more interesting New Year.
But for those of us with a more cosmopolitan air about us (read, queens with a fabulous party on our hands), a menu of nibbles and cocktails works just fine to ring in the New Year. Here are a couple of recipes to help make your New Year’s Eve bash one to remember – and, they hold up great over the hours until Midnight kissage.
(All quantities are subjective, depending on the size of your soiree)
Charcuterie of Pizza Skewers
Mozzarella cheese, cut into cubes
Salami or summer sausage, bite sized pieces
Cherry tomatoes
A handful of pitted olives
A collection of wood skewers
1 small loaf of Italian bread or the bread of your choice
Shaved Parmesan cheese
Create a charcuterie of pizza ‘fixins’ by placing each item on a clean cutting board, with a bowl of your favorite (homemade, if you have the time) pizza or marinara sauce in the center. Tear bite sized pieces of the bread and place around the ménage of nibbles. Scatter the wooded skewers around the cutting board to allow your guests the option of creating their own pizza skewer.
Loaded Endive Scoops
Endive leaves, washed and dried
Bleu cheese, crumbled
Chopped walnuts, toasted
Julianned tarragon
Arrange the endive leaves on a platter and fill with bleu cheese crumbles, walnuts and top with a little tarragon. For a less pungent alternative, instead of bleu cheese substitute your favorite olive tapenade. It’s less likely to linger on the palate, and come Midnight on New Years Eve, a clean mouth is a lucky mouth!
It’s a good idea, whether throwing your own party or attending someone else’s, to keep breath mints available. If you’re the host, place small bowls of mints around in inconspicuous places for your guests. If you’re out at a party, keep a tin of mints in your pocket. No one wants to smell your party-food breath, and with the Midnight Kiss looming, fresh breath is paramount!
Have a wonderful New Year!
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