NYE 2011

New Years Eve was another chance to have some fun with food. I served up a few favorites, crab cakes, seared tuna, and warm chocolate chip cookies.

Dinner was for eight, so timing was a bit of an issue, but the trick is to prepare. Lay out all the plates and make the cold salads and dressings while the warm items are heating. Then plate the base, here an arugula salad, then top with the warm crab cakes, dressing and garnish. With all the plates set out, it was easy to do each step one after another.



Another great trick for parties is playing with the size of dishes. Shown below is a spicy tomato soup served in shot glasses, topped with an individual grilled shrimp and a splash of cilantro pesto. This also works great for cocktail parties passed, too.

How to Cook Dinner for 12

Last night was my son's third birthday and we had a whole bunch of people over for a bit of a party.

I started with several small plates meant to be shared, served with some bread for dipping.

I roasted some asparagus with garlic.


Before everyone arrived, I got the plates ready with all the components. So all I had to do was assemble the dishes when people arrive.


Baked goat cheese with tomato sauce. Though we have had this as a tapa here in Chicago, it is not Spanish, but yummy none the less. Basically just a large piece of goat cheese with tomato sauce baked until hot.


Burratta with roasted peppers.



Tuna with peppers.

Roasted asparagus with Parm.


While everyone was munching away, I got working on pizza. Its very hard to make pizza for that many people, as they come out every 10 - 15 minutes, so its very important to have everything in order before you begin.

Red and White.

Pesto and tomato with basil.

Potato and rosemary.



Caramelized onion.


Spicy red.