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Our 30 Favorite New Year’s Eve Recipes

Our 30 Favorite New Year’s Eve Recipes

By Food & Wine

Updated December 09, 2020

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Credit: Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Rishon Hanners / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen

New Year’s Eve calls for celebratory food, and we’ve got your menu covered from breakfast to dessert. Start off the day with a rye and crème fraîche strata with smoked salmon, before moving on to snacks like hogs in a blanket and white anchovy toasts with parsnip butter. For dinner, our herb-roasted king salmon with pinot noir sauce makes an impressive centerpiece; drinks-wise, citrus-Champagne punch is perfect for a midnight toast. Read on for those recipes, and more New Year’s Eve dishes we love.

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Rye and Crème Fraîche Strata with Smoked Salmon 

Credit: John Kernick

In this playful riff on a bagel with cream cheese and lox, Food & Wine’s Justin Chapple makes a custardy rye bread pudding with capers, then tops it with smoked salmon and red onion.

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Snowstorm Café

Credit: Nespresso

When making a drink like the Snowstorm Café, you're going to want to have strong-brewed coffee on hand. We suggest using coffee brewed with the Nespresso Vertuo Next. This smart machine will optimize your counter space and can handle everything from a 5-ounce espresso to a full 18-ounce carafe.

Sponsored by Nespresso

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Orange-Anise Croquembouche with White Chocolate 

Credit: Christopher Testani

Don’t be put off by the nearly 8 hours it takes to complete this grand croquembouche — it’s only one hour of active cooking time for show-stopping results!

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Citrus-Champagne Punch

Credit: Justin Walker

Inspired by old-school 7-UP sherbet punch, this grown-up version is spiked with piney gin, tart lemon sorbet, and a generous splash of fizzy Champagne. This punch is only as good as the Champagne you use, so splurge for the good stuff!

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Bacon-and-Butter Sandwiches 

Credit: © Marcus Nilsson

Pastry genius Dominique Ansel gives the beloved English “bacon butty” a French accent by subbing slender baguette for the standard white toast.

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Herb-Roasted King Salmon with Pinot Noir Sauce

Credit: Justin Walker

Originally served at Seattle’s Hotel Sorrento by chef David Pisegna (and published in The Best of Food & Wine collection from 1988), this throwback salmon dish stands the test of time. We simplified the original recipe, but didn’t change a thing about the velvety, wine-blushed beurre blanc; keep it warm and serve it immediately for the best results.

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Smoked Trout Dip with Sweet Onion Vinaigrette

Credit: © John Kernick

This outstanding version of the Midwestern classic smoked fish dip gets extra flavor from the sweet onion vinaigrette that’s drizzled on top.

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Milk Chocolate-Dipped Hazelnut Sandies

Credit: © Rick Poon

These crisp, buttery cookies from Sarah Hart are a riff on classic hazelnut sandies; the cookies are doctored with crunchy cocoa nibs and then dipped in luscious milk chocolate.

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White Anchovy Toasts with Parsnip Butter

Credit: © John Kernick

Boston chef Matt Jennings spreads creamy, rich parsnip butter on crunchy toasts, then tops them with tangy anchovies for an excellent hors d’oeuvre.

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Sriracha-and-Wasabi Deviled Eggs

Credit: PHOTO © CON POULOS

Joanne Chang’s mother used to make hard-boiled eggs for dinner: She would add them to the beef or chicken she was braising in soy. This is Joanne’s riff on those eggs, made spicy with hot sauce and wasabi.

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Hogs in a Blanket

Credit: © Chris Court

This fun, high-brow take on pigs in a blanket swaps spicy andouille sausage for the hot dogs, with sweet mustard chutney as a condiment.

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Steak-and-Shrimp Hot Pot

Credit: Justin Walker

Cooking tender rib eye, fresh mushrooms, and sweet shrimp tableside makes for an interactive holiday meal. The broth, already seasoned and spiced with fresh aromatics, oils, and sauces, deepens in flavor as you cook vegetables; meats; and, eventually, noodles throughout the night. Keep the broth at a simmer to safely cook each ingredient.

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Four-Layer Caviar Dip

Credit: Justin Walker

Layers of creamy egg salad; crisp red onion; herbed cream cheese; and salty, briney caviar come together in a beautiful molded dip that serves up an entire caviar platter in one dish.

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Rosemary-Pepper Beef Rib Roast with Porcini Jus

If you want to prep some of this recipe from Floyd Cardoz in advance, you can make the porcini jus a day beforehand and refrigerate it overnight. When it comes time to serve, reheat it gently.

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Cheese Croustades

Credit: Justin Walker

A dollop of sweet-tart cranberry relish hides at the center of the goat cheese and ricotta mousse for a burst of flavor. Garnish with fresh, oniony chives or tart lemon zest for some color and brightness.

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Caramel-Pear-Cheesecake Trifle

This decadent pear-and-caramel trifle yields 10 to 12 servings, and pairs well with a nutty, caramelly tawny port.

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Hazelnut-and-Chocolate Meringue Cake

Credit: © Stephanie Foley

This extraordinary dessert, made with crisp chocolate-hazelnut meringue and whipped cream, is simple to make. But pastry chef Daniel Jasso has nicknamed it “the beast,” because slicing it can be tricky—the meringue tends to crumble. The solution: Freeze the cake, cut it with a serrated knife and let it return to room temperature before serving.

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Big-Batch Rye Sours

Credit: Gregory DuPree

Hibiscus flowers, curaçao, and lemon juice bring bright and refreshing floral notes to this rye-based cocktail.

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New Year's Day Black-Eyed Peas

Ryan Hardy serves these hearty peas with garlic-rubbed toasts and garnishes them with generous amounts of freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.

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Moody Tongue’s Chocolate Cake 

Credit: Con Poulos

This recipe is all about planning, as it’s worth every single second. The cake is an epic assemblage of rich chocolate cake, tangy espresso cheesecake, nutty German chocolate filling, and buttercream, all enrobed in dark chocolate ganache.

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Chocolate Pretzel  Crinkle Cookies

Credit: Greg DuPree

By substituting the flour with Glutino pretzels, this version of the holiday staple is not only gluten-free but also perfectly salty-sweet with a chewy center.

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Cardamom Baked French Toast

Credit: Photo by Antonis Achilleos / Food Styling by Rishon Hanners

This is a twist on baked French toast, inspired by Swedish cardamom-infused buns called kardemummabullar. First, spread slices of tender, eggy challah with a sugary cardamom butter, then toast them until light gold. Next, the spiced toasts get soaked in a peppercorn-spiked custard that enhances the cardamom flavor even more before it’s topped with melted butter and Swedish pearl sugar, and then baked.

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Spiced Sweet-and-Sour Ribs

Credit: Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Rishon Hanners / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen

Rubbed with toasted ground spices then lacquered with a sweet and tangy glaze of maple syrup and a duo of vinegars, these meaty ribs have a deep flavor and an irresistibly crackly crust. To work ahead, you can roast the ribs the day before, then glaze and broil them just before serving. Trimming the meat from one end of each rib lets the meat pull away during cooking, creating handles that make for mess-free nibbling.

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Farro Mafaldine with Black Truffle Butter and Mushrooms

Credit: Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Rishon Hanners / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen

“The best way to cook with truffles is as simply as possible,” says chef Karen Akunowicz, of the Northern Italian restaurant Fox & the Knife in Boston. Bold in scent and flavor, black winter truffles require very little coaxing to lend their heady punch to a dish, though Akunowicz does recommend using a bit of gentle heat, which helps develop and release their deepest flavor, as in this elegant-yet-hearty dish, which pairs creamy butter, nutty farro pasta, and a fortifying mix of wild mushrooms with just enough truffle to elevate each forkful.

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Brussels Sprouts Baba Ghanoush

Credit: Greg DuPree

Michael Solomonov’s brussels sprouts-packed riff on baba ghanoush gets topped with roasted hazelnuts, chopped parsley, and a drizzle of olive oil.

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Green Peppercorn-Marinated Feta

Credit: Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Rishon Hanners / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen

Marinating cubed feta is a low-effort move with big-flavor results. Pair it with crackers and fruit to anchor your cheese board. Feta’s slightly airy texture makes it perfect for soaking up bold flavors, such as these briny, piquant peppercorns. For the best results, look for feta in brine, and drain off the brine before marinating. Save the feta brine to marinate chicken or pork chops.

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Banana Leaf-Wrapped Lamb Shank Tamales with Morita Chile Salsa

Credit: DYLAN + JENI

These smoky braised-lamb tamales from event producer Paola Briseño González get a pop of freshness from bright cilantro-onion relish. Banana-leaf wrappers perfume the masa as they steam and yield tamales with a dense, custard-like texture. The rich, slow-cooked flavor of lamb shanks is the perfect partner for the intense smokiness of morita chiles; substitute chipotles in a pinch.

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Chile Crisp-Glazed Bacon Bites

Credit: Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Rishon Hanners / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen

For this snack, meaty bites of slow-roasted slab bacon are tossed with a homemade chile crisp that's studded with freshly toasted chunks of dried chiles, fresh ginger, and garlic. Native to Mexico, slender and spicy dried Japones chiles lend their heat to this quick and easy version of the popular Chinese condiment. For an even easier version, try this with your favorite store-bought version of chile crisp.

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Inverno Arancione

Credit: Photo by Victor Protasio / Prop Styling by Christine Keely

“Spiced mulled cocktails are what I crave when I want to relax in the colder months,” says Amy Brandwein of Centrolina in Washington, D.C. “Red wine is usually the base, but Centrolina Wine Director Alissa Diaz developed this cocktail using Pinot Grigio to focus on citrus and ginger—it almost plays off the flavors of a classic panettone, which is a winter specialty in Italian culture.”

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Barely Grilled Oysters with Sherried Garlic Butter

Credit: Jennifer Causey

This grilled oyster recipe has a short ingredient list that yields big flavor: salted butter, garlic cloves, dry sherry, sherry vinegar, flat-leaf parsley, and of course, oysters. Don’t forget lemon wedges for serving, either.

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