New Year's Day/Eve
In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries, is the evening or the entire day of the last day of the year, on 31 December. The last day of the year is commonly referred to as "New Year's Eve".
Roasted Shrimp Cocktail
Roasted shrimp with a chili cocktail sauce.
Ingredients:
Shrimp: Sauce:
- 2 pounds (12 to 15-count) shrimp - 1/2 cup chili sauce (recommended: Heinz)
- 1 tablespoon good olive oil - 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt - 3 tablespoons prepared horseradish
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper - 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon hot sauce (recommended: Tabasco)
Directions:
1) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. 2) Peel and devein the shrimp, leaving the tails on. Place them on a sheet pan with the olive oil, salt, and pepper and spread them in 1 layer. Roast for 8 to10 minutes, just until pink and firm and cooked through. Set aside to cool. 3) For the sauce, combine the chili sauce, ketchup, horseradish, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce. Serve as a dip with the shrimp.
Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms
Sweet Italian sausage, onions and peppers create a sweet-and-savory filling for Rachael's stuffed mushrooms.
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, one turn of the pan
- 24 large gourmet stuffing mushroom caps, stems removed and reserved brushed with damp towel
- Salt and pepper
Stuffing:
- 1 1/2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, half a turn of the pan - 1 rib of celery and green, leafy top from the heart of
- 3/4 pound sweet bulk Italian sausage the stalk, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped - 1/2 small onion, chopped
- 20 stems mushrooms, finely chopped - 1/2 small red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
- 1 (10-ounce) box chopped frozen spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry
- 3 slices white bread, toasted and buttered, chopped into small dice
- 1/3 cup grated Parmigiano or Romano, 2 handfuls
Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. 2) Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add oil and mushroom caps and season caps with salt and pepper. Saute caps 5 to 7 minutes, until they are lightly browned and tender on edges. Turn caps up and let juices drain away from caps. Transfer caps to a small nonstick baking sheet. Wipe out skillet and return to heat. Add a touch of oil and sausage to the hot skillet. Brown and crumble sausage for 3 minutes. In a food processor pulse and chop the garlic, add mushroom stems and pulse to chop the mushroom stems. Add celery, onion and red bell pepper to the mushrooms and pulse to chop. Remove mixture from the processor and saute veggies and mushrooms over medium high heat another 3 to 5 minutes. Add dry, defrosted spinach and stir into stuffing. Add chopped bread and cheese to the pan and toss stuffing until bread is moist and stuffing is combined, 2 or 3 minutes. Fill caps with stuffing using a small scoop or large spoon. Place caps in hot oven and reduce heat to 450 degrees F. Bake 6 to 8 minutes to crisp edges of stuffing and set stuffing in mushrooms. Transfer stuffed mushrooms to a serving plate.
Bacon-Wrapped Pineapple Shrimp
Wrap shrimp with pineapple and bacon and saute until the bacon is crispy. It's a great sweet and salty bite.
Ingredients:
- 12 jumbo shrimp, deveined
- 1/4 fresh pineapple cut into bite sized chunks or one 14-ounce can pineapple chunks in natural juice, drained
- 6 slices center-cut bacon, cut in 1/2 crosswise
- 12 wooden toothpicks
Directions:
1) Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Holding a shrimp, nest a chunk of pineapple in the natural curve of the shrimp then wrap bacon around the shrimp and pineapple and secure with a wooden toothpick. Wrap and secure all 12 shrimp then add to the hot pan and cook 3 minutes on each side or until bacon is crisp and shrimp are opaque and firm.