New Years

If you are not serving Prime Rib for New Year's Eve, but still want to be a little bit fancy, this Pepper Crusted Pork Tenderloin with Savory Mustard Sauce is the perfect choice. It's reminiscent of crusting our rib roasts and encasing them in salt, pepper or spices, except it's a lot lower in calories.

It's also perfect if you have already started your New Year's resolution to better health and fitness. However, I will admit the mustard sauce is not low in calorie. But, you can easily control the amount of drizzle to enjoy on your portion. Don't skip this wonderful sauce.

I also used my trusty meat thermometer to cook the tenderloin. It's hard to imagine making pork tenderloin without it. It's so easy to overcook.

I used a medley of peppercorns to make my crust. Does using a variety of colors make a difference? Absolutely! All colors offer a slight variation in flavor and heat and are easily ground in your spice mill.

We haven't cracked the champagne but the table is set and we are ready to celebrate! This was such a great year and it deserves a celebration in style. I have to admit I enjoy a New Year's Eve filled with pomp and circumstance. My kids are finally old enough where I can get back to the New Year's Eve parties we enjoyed so many years ago. 

When the boys were little, we celebrated New Year's Eve "East Coast Time". We'd watch the ball drop at 9 PM here, blow some horns and off to bed they went. My husband and I would vow to stay up and crack the bubbly at midnight, but when you have little ones, you are just tired. We would usually fall asleep on the couch and wake up at about 1:30 AM...New Year's long gone.

One of the best New Year's Eve celebrations we've had was when we were in the Carribean on a cruise during the New Year's holiday. What a party. Everyone was dressed formal, the champagne was flowing freely, bands were playing on every deck, club and bar and dinner was formal and amazing. There was no worry about driving or getting home. We had a babysitter on the ship and my kids were fast asleep while we enjoyed the night. I highly recommend taking a cruise during this time, it was lovely. And warm.

Holiday time and the sipping is easy. As for the food—I have four words to help you take your New Year's Eve bash over the top: fire up the grill. Yeah, it's cold out there—especially if you live up north, but live fire and wood smoke add high drama and depth of flavor you just can't achieve on the stove or in the oven.

So what makes a great holiday hors d'oeuvre spread? Three words: snap, crackle, and salt. Appetizers should be small enough to snap up with your fingers and salty enough to drive you to drink. The appetizers offer a contrast of textures, the most important texture being crunch. (I'm thinking crisp bacon exterior with gooey cheese center.) The short list of world-class starters includes poppers and chicken wings, dips and chips, mini sandwiches and sates.

Here are 7 indispensible tips to help you take your New Year's Eve cocktail party over the top.

1. Variety matters and so does abundance: If hors d'oeuvres are the only food served at your party, figure on 6 to 8 pieces per person. Serve at least 3 to 5 different items—the more the better. Your reputation as a savvy host and accomplished grill master is directly proportional to the elaborateness of your menu.

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“Now, I go on a diet.”

It is eight days into the new year when my temporary house dad in Rome has turned to me and said this. I look at his wife and I joke, “That is possible in Italy?”

Both laughing, “Yes it is.”

I think to myself, ‘Diet…in Italy. Maybe.’ Then I think, ‘Maybe if I don’t eat along my tour of the north which I will be leaving for in a day, I can do an Italian diet—on both my calories and my wallet.’

Not possible. I repeat—Not possible, especially when Torino, Italy, home of the best chocolate in the world is on the list—especially when the 12th day of the 2011 means being barricaded by city walls of chocolate, cream, pastries, and gelato, especially when I have a sweet tooth that I don’t think the tooth fairy will ever collect from me…and especially when the city of Torino even has something called a chocolate pass which allows you to tour all the chocolate of the city within two days. Keeping to my wallet diet, I avoided the chocolate pass…but still didn’t avoid the chocolate. This is how I broke every basic New Years Resolution in the first fifteen days of the year.