I’ve always thought of New Years Day as something like a companionable New Years Eve, or a small-scale Thanksgiving, whose meal demands no particular traditions.

I look forward to January 1 because it represents starting out fresh, and it’s such a relaxed setting for enjoying both good food and drink.  We often share it with friends, although this year we forgot to plan ahead.  Still, a company of one is pretty great if it’s your love, best friend and muse!

 

• two 12-ounce goat shanks from Consider Bardwell Farm, browned in large enameled cast iron pan, sprinkled with salt and pepper while cooking, the heat lowered, any excess fat removed, a third to a half of a cup of white wine added, simmered, covered, over the lowest possible heat for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until the meat is falling off the bone (I didn’t quite go that far this time, but it was still totally tender), turning the shanks and adding water as they cooked, then, since this was goat, and not lamb, and there was therefor almost no fat in the braising liquid at the end, I was able to pour it over the meat as it was, an au jus, but with wine
• parsnips from Rogowski Farm, sliced as French fries, tossed with olive oil, salt, and pepper, roasted for about 25 minutes at 400º, served sprinkled with chopped parsley from Whole Foods
• radish greens from Lani’s Farm, wilted in olive oil in which a small garlic clove from Berried Treasures had been allowed to sweat for a bit, then seasoned with salt, pepper, a small squeeze of a small Long Island lemon/lime citrus fruit from Fantastic Gardens, and a bit more olive oil
• the wine was a French (Rhône) red, Vincent Paris Selections, Crozes-Hermitage, 2013, from Flatiron Wines & Spirits [this particular vintage is no longer shown on the shop’s site]
• the music was Q2, streaming some terrific new American compositions, appropriately enough

It was the eve of the New Year, and we were stay-at-homes again, at least in part because we love the opportunity the holiday offers for enjoying simple dining pleasures (after all, the star of the show is the midnight hour itself).  I continue to think of this evening as very grownup, and yet pretty magical. that’s in spite of the fact that, purely as an astronomical phenomenon, it’s an invention, albeit an old one.  I also think that the food to accompany it, and there must be food if it’s a feast, should be elegant, even aesthetic, minimal, and suitable for the best champagne the pocket can support.

The meal this year was simple, and definitely an event, thanks to Eataly’s Luca Donofrio, above all to the kitchen skills of a good friend, and to the generosity of two others, and, at the very end, to the good counsel of the gentleman at Heathrow’s World Duty Free scotch kiosk, who pointed us in the right direction.

I know ‘simple’ may not seem a proper adjective for a meal of 6 courses, but there wasn’t actually that much food, even adding them all up, and the descriptions should be able to defend their spareness themselves.

 

• Spanish (Valencia) ‘Marcona’ almonds, ‘fritas‘, the gift of a friend
• eight ounces of spinach tagliolini from Eataly, cooked al dente, tossed in a warm bowl with softened, unsalted rich ‘Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter‘, seasoned with Maldon salt and freshly-ground tellicherry pepper
• the wine up to this point was an Italian (Sardinia) white, La Cala Vermentino di Sardegna 2014

• two seafood sausages, the gift of a friend who is a master in his wonderful kitchen, pan grilled for a few minutes, accompanied by a brown butter caper sauce made by melting a third of a stick of Kerrygold butter in a skillet over medium-high heat, whisking occasionally, until the milk solids had turned brown, removed from the heat, the juice of about a third of one sweet (unidentified name) lemon from Fantastic Gardens of Long Island whisked in, along with 4 or 5 teaspoons of salted capers (rinsed, drained, and dried), seasoned to taste with salt and butter, sprinkled at the last minute with 2 teaspoons of whole baby chive plants from Rogowski Farm, served with slices of a fairly robust bread, Balthazar’s ‘Potato Fendu’, from Whole Foods

 

• Shushan sheep milk cheese from 2-Corner Field Farm, served with thin toasts of the same Balthazar potato bread

 

• the wine with the seafood and cheese courses was a champagne, Ployez-Jacquemart Extra Quality Brut from Flatiron Wines & Spirits

 

• the sweet was a fantastic gingerbread pastry from Dominique Ansel Bakery, the gift of a friend

 

• mixed unshelled nuts from Whole Foods, cracked at the table
• the drink with the nuts was Talisker Dark Storm, from Heathrow duty free

 

• the music playlist for the entire evening is pretty extensive, beginning with Pier Francesco Cavalli’s ‘Calisto‘, extending through Caroline Shaw’s ‘Partita for 8 Voices’, and ending with John Luther Adams’ ‘Become Ocean’

We wanted eggs on the first morning of a new year.  We like eggs, and 2 each didn’t seem quite enough; we had 5, so fried would be out of the question.  I decided to put them together and split them down the middle, thinking of an earlier outing with some of these elements.

I’m not entirely sure of all the ingredients that went into this dish, since I wasn’t entirely awake at the time, and it wasn’t really planned, but I know it included eggs from Millport Dairy, Norcino sausage from Olli, Backyard Farms Maine ‘cocktail tomatoes’ from Whole Foods, sage from Keith’s Farm, green garlic from Lani’s Farm, salt, pepper, a taste of an aromatic seasoning blend with the proprietary name, L’eKama, and California parsley from Whole Foods.

There was toast made from a loaf of Balthazar’s ‘Potato Fendu’ from Whole Foods.