2006: Food Odyssey

Times Square has nothing on Christina's Ring-in-the-New-Year dinner party. I can say this from experience. I went there to ring in 2001 and it was cold and wet and people kept yelling, "He's packing heat!" which caused everyone else (except the Canadians, who were trashed and very mellow) to try and move. Which is impossible because it's packed. And unless you get there at 8:30 a.m., you don't even know where Dick Clark or Ryan Seacrest or the boy-toy-announcer of the moment is. It's just a bunch of people, some standing on folding chairs, yelling out cheers and jeers.

New Years used to be my least favorite holiday. I never knew what to do with myself and if I did end up at a party, it always felt like a letdown. I am the one you would find by the chips-and-dip, uncomfortably small talking with random strangers and never having anyone to kiss at midnight. But not anymore. It's one of my favorite times of year now, a day when I get to be with some of the people I love most in this world who know how to throw and contribute to a damn good party. And of course, I have Russell to kiss, which only sweetens the deal.

New Years, for me now, is this: Russ and I hang out at Christina's, sometimes venturing downtown into Pasadena to see all the crazies sleeping out along the street in the 40 degree December-January weather. We grab drinks and talk about the year and celebrate as much as possible. Last year (and Christina will back me up on this one), we had a lot of fun listening to Russ yell "Only you can prevent forest fires" at the crowds along Colorado Blvd. Then, the next morning, we wake up slightly before the fighter jets that announce the start of the parade. Christina packs up her freshly baked Cardamom bread and French pressed coffee and we hightail down the two blocks to Colorado and watch the Rose Parade.

Last night, Christina created the most amazing New Year's menu -- she is not only the best cook I know, but an excellent thrower of parties. She has it in her genes, I think. She carried it off in a fabulous sparkly dress to boot. She and Emilio bought and made all the food and our (Elizabeth, Josh, Russ, and me) mission, as dinner attendees, was to bring a wine to go along with every course. Let me show you the menu to give you the idea of how spectacular my last meal of 2005/first meal of 2006 was:

Hor D'oeuvres: Pate with Pomegranate Gelee
Parmesean-stuffed Dates wrapped in Bacon

Salad: Spicy grilled shrimp over butter lettuce, oranges, and avocado, with a shallot vinaigrette

Soup: Lenti-Sweet Red Pepper Soup with Slivered Preserved Lemons

Entree: Braised Pork Loin seasoned with Garlic, Sage, and Crushed Fennel Seed, served with Onion-Chard Panade

Dessert: Chocolate Pots-de-Creme

Amazing, right? And then, came all the wines. We had a Chenin Blanc (I think) with hor d'oeuvres, a Sauvignon Blanc with salad, a Pinot Noir with soup, a Cabernet Sauvignon with our entree, and Electra dessert wine with dessert. And they were all really good wines (no Charles Shaw with this group). We each told the story of why we chose the wine we did and it turns out, we all chose the wines we did because we all went to the same wine shop and had the same man help us pick out the wines that would go best with our course.

Not only did everything taste great, but we savored every bite -- we started eating at 7:00 p.m. and finished around 12:30 a.m. It was very European that way. We played a game of my own devising that was a lot of fun (if you need instructions, just ask) and filled out a reflection-resolution questionare about 2005-2006 that Christina whipped up. Then, the boys went out on the balcony, Elizabeth fell asleep, and Christina and I looked at photos she'd recently taken, into the wee hours of the night. Every course, conversation, and activity spread itself out like a cat stretching in the sunlight, but on a night like last night, it couldn't be any other way. After all, it's not easy to jump into a whole new year just like that.