New Year's Eve Menu

Since I am not doing anything on Christmas day this year, I've decided to (I'm pretty sure it was Anne's fault, I don't have PROOF yet) host a small New Year's Eve cocktail party.  My house is all decorated, and we all know I love to cook, and all my friends and I love to eat and drink and make merry, so why not?

Last week, I got a Christmas tree. I drove down to the lot (which is at the end of my block. But before you laugh at me, can you seriously see me carrying a six foot tree down the boulevard?  No way, Jose!) I walked into the lot, after parking my beast an impressive 100 ft from my own driveway, and the first thing I noticed was that I was the only person Christmas tree shopping by myself on a Friday night.  That was a little sad. But one of the kids working there was really cool - he came and helped me.  I felt bad asking for help, but he was really nice, and wanted to help. So he held up each tree that was around the right height (I wanted a tree in the 6-7 range.  Why? I don't know, it sounded like the right height for a Christmas tree.  Like they have standard heights or something, right?)  Plus, that was the price point, and I'd know what I was paying for it. Anyhow... the poor kid gets though maybe 4 trees, and we find the perfect one.  (I totally wanted to make him spin every tree around so I could see it from every angle, but I didn't.  I totally wanted to, though.) The perfect tree wasn't really perfect, of course, but it was nice and full, and nicely shaped, and have enough flaws in it to give it character.  So the kid hauls it off to his work area to lop off the bottom. Which I think is kind of jacked up... they charge by height, so the bottom part of the tree is like three feet long, and the top of the tree is really only one sad little branch the towers a good foot over where the rest of the tree has enough sense to stop growing, thereby conforming to a traditional tree top shape.  But not that little rebel branch, who I will later agonize over cutting so that my stupid star shaped snowman tree topper can sit without leaning askew like a crazy drunk on New Year's Eve.  But I digress... he lops off the bottom, and I tell him to skip nailing the 1x4 cross on the bottom, which also seems stupid... why nail that thing on, along with a plastic bucket, when you take it off when you get home and put the tree in a stand, anyhow? I pay for my tree, and then I haul it out to my beast.  It barely fits in.  But it fits.  I drive around the block, park back at my house, get the tree out, and lean it up against my house.  That's when I realize what the wooden cross was for... the people at the lot know damn well we aren't going to take our trees home and put them in the stand and decorate them all on the same night... we are going to leave them outside until we work up the energy to do all the hard work!  The next day, I bought a new tree stand, a nice plastic one with a nice base and a built in water bowl.  Then I moved the tree in, and put it in the stand. That's when I realized that you don't pick your tree height by price point, you pick it by how high your ceiling is. : /  After trimming the little rebel branch, and then trimming it again, I can get the snowman star on top without hitting the ceiling.  Thank god I didn't get a taller tree! It took me two days and the threat of company before I got it finished, but it's all decorated now.  And looks very festive.  And the dogs are leaving it alone, which is no small miracle.

I am going to Cindy's house for Christmas Eve. Her family is Slavic, and they celebrate on the eve of the holiday, so we will spend the day cooking and eating.  Then I'll be home that night, and am not planning on a meal for Christmas day. Although we'll see if I can stick to that. : )  But I thought having friends over for New Year's Eve would be great fun. And gives me the opportunity to cook for all my friends.

So, this is what I am thinking for food.  It will be all appetizers and cocktail food, no meal.

Crab stuffed mushrooms
Cheese logs (one goat cheese, one sharp cheddar)
Spinach dip
Hot artichoke dip
Meatballs  (Chicken and wild rice in a sweet and sour sauce?)
Empanaditas (with a spicy ground beef filling... homemade dough...)
Hummus  (this probably won't make the final menu cut)
Spinach and feta boureks (Because they are so damn good and so easy)
And something shrimp.
And maybe African Fire Meat.  (Anne, don't eat this one.)
Ooooh, and maybe those wings! :lol:

For drinks, egg nog and rums, hot buttered rums, bloody marys, wine, and anything anyone else brings.

Comments from the peanut gallery on menu options gladly welcomed. : )