WHAT WE'RE MAKING FOR NEW YEARS

As 2024 closes out, I am in menu planning mode for the end of year, plus New Year’s Day. And for this holiday, it’s all about leftovers! Plus some other dishes. 

At the top of the list is lasagna with ragu and béchamel. Last year, Will and I had the bolognese at the now-shuttered Sportello and fell in love with the Barbara Lynch’s version from her cookbook Stir. Usually I’m a Marcella girl through and through, but Lynch’s bolognese features chicken livers! It’s not for everyone, but we loved it. So we will recreate that dish tonight and serve it for New Year’s Day dinner. There’s something about the hearty-but-delicate meaty sauce layered between al dente noodles and a creamy sauce that’s finished with a sharp cheese. 

During the week, I also made a batch of Ina Garten's Coq Au Vin inspired by her memoir. I’ll probably serve that for New York’s Day brunch served over pasta or polenta. 

Also in our fridge are leftover ribeyes seared in butter and shallots in the cast iron skillet from David Lebovitz’s My Paris Kitchen (I highly recommend this cookbook filled with personal essays of Paris) with mustard butter—just genius. We’ll probably snack on the steak over toasts to recreate our Christmas Day crostini.

I’ll also throw together an arugula salad plus the following apps. For dessert, Marin and I are going to make one-ingredient banana ice cream and will add some vanilla extract, cinnamon, and chocolate chips and then create mini “banana sundaes” topped with whipped cream and sprinkles. All of this should be enough to get us through the last few days of the holiday.

Heavy apps

• Caviar with creme fraiche on a potato chips

• Mushroom croustades (leftovers that I flash-froze)

• A cheese plate

• Jumbo cocktail shrimp