Happy New Year: Tomato, Feta, and Dill Frittata

My absolute favorite way to start of the year is with my annual New Year's Brunch.  I love how laid back and easy it is, both from the standpoint of entertaining, and getting it together the day before.  I love having all my friends come to me, so we don't have to go anywhere but I still get to see my favorite people.  And I love brunch food.

This year I wanted to keep it really bright and cheery, so I fell into the latest trend of balloon garlands.

 It actually took less time than I was anticipating to put this together and I was able to do it a couple days in advance.  Which means, 2019 is officially the year of the balloon garland for decorations in our home.

Everything else I kept simple with arrangements of brightly colored flowers on every surface.  The night before we let the kids have confetti poppers for midnight, and they added a festive touch to tables, chairs, the floor - anything flat.

As for the food - I always try to keep it easy.  And really the hardest part is planning the prep - figuring out which places are closed on what days, and what needs to be made when.  There's never a shortage of food - my table is always overflowing.

While normally I buy muffins and breakfast pastries, this year my go-to bakery was closed for several days leading up to New Years.  So I made my own!

I also threw in some cookies, lemon poppyseed cake, and french toast to fill in that sweet gap left by the bakery.

For more savory fare there were bagels and lox, roasted garlic potatoes, and a golden beet salad.

But the sleeper hit of the brunch was a very random fritatta I came across when surfing the internet.  I love feta with eggs, which is what sold me on it, even though the rest of the ingredients were a little unusual.  Dill?  Capers?  In and egg dish?  But I figured there was plenty of other food and I might as well forge ahead.  And it was amazing.  Everyone who tasted it found me to tell me how delightful it was.   And so I'm sharing it with you.  Not a fan of dill or capers?  That's how most of my guests felt, but for some reason the both just added the right amount of salt and flavor without making the dish taste like either.   So make it and enjoy - the perfect way to start off a new year!

Tomato, Feta, and Dill Frittata (From Real Simple)

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

6 scallions, thinly sliced

1 Tbsp capers

1 Tbsp dill, chopped

8 eggs

1 cup crumbled feta

1.  Preheat oven to 425.  Combine oil, tomatoes, scallions, capers, dill, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper in a medium oven proof skillet. Bake for about 14 minutes. Lower the heat to 375.
2.  Whisk the eggs and season with salt and pepper.
3. Stir the feta into the eggs.
4.  Add the eggs to the skillet and bake until the frittata is set in the middle - about 12-15 minutes.

Ringing In the New Year: Barbecue Pasta with Shrimp and Sausage

I'm not a huge fan of New Year's Eve.  There's so much pressure to go out and do something.  To make the most of the last few moments of the old year.  To stay up late.  (And I'm not a late night kind of girl.)


But I love New Years Day.  No pressure.  Even though it's a brand new year, there's a sort of unspoken rule that you don't have to do anything on the 1st.  Sleep in, grab brunch, and just kind of laze about.  This year I thought it would be wonderful to do all that, with friends.  So we hosted a New Year's Day Brunch.

It was a very casual affair, decorations consisted mostly of tissue paper confetti I punched out while waiting for the ball to drop.

Our guests meandered in and made themselves at home.  Thatkid entertained his peers while we greeted the New Year with coffee, mimosas, and lots and lots of food.

Thatkid made 2 kinds of muffins, there were bagels, cold cuts, calamari salad, breakfast burritos, egg casserole, chips, dip, watermelon, and oranges.

Our guests stayed until late into the afternoon.  While Thatkid napped we played a rousing game of Cards Against Humanity.  And then after they left, cleanup was a breeze.  I especially like throwing a party on the first day of the year because all the pre-party cleanup means we start the year with a clean house!

As usual, the party left us with lots of leftovers.  Which is nice, because that means we didn't have to do a lot of cooking for the next couple of days.  But when we were out, comfort food was the logical next step.  Pasta.  Not the healthiest way to start the new year, but it fits along with the whole lounge about on the couch mentality of New Year's Day.

 Barbecue Pasta with Shrimp and Sausage

box of penne pasta

1 cup barbecue sauce

1/2 cup canola oil

juice of 1 lemon

1 Tbsp dijon mustard

1 chipotle chile

1 Tbsp red chile flakes

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 Tbsp olive oil

8 oz sausage, sliced

1/2 lb shrimp, shelled and deveined

1 cup heavy cream

2 ounces Parmesan, grated

1.  Cook penne according to instructions on box.
2. Combine barbecue sauce, canola oil, lemon juice, mustard, chile, chile flakes, and cayenne in a blender until smooth.
3. Heat olive oil in saute pan over high heat.  Add sausage and cook until browned.
4. Add shrimp and cook 2-3 minutes until shrimp are pink.
5. Lower heat to medium and add cream and barbecue sauce.
6. Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Add pasta and cheese.  Toss to combine and cook until heated through.