Nibbly Bits...

I'm not one to go out on New Years Eve. (Who am I kidding? I'm not one to go out most times, it's so odd to imagine that there was once a time that I was a bit of a party girl...party girl? Who talks like that? but I digress) And I think New Years Eve is probably one of the worst times to go out. It's cold, people who do not know how to drink are drinking copious amounts with the seemingly single minded purpose of vomiting in the street and then there's the driving...thankssomuch, I think I'll pass.

What I do like to do is rather boring but it's perhaps my most favorite thing to do in the world. Renting movies and eating finger foods washed down with champagne; or realistically sparkling wine as I doubt whatever I end up drinking will come from the region that produces true champagne. I won't even be able to buy it myself as there's a snowstorm raging outside and so I will dispatch the significant other/partner to pick some up on his way home from work. And he doesn't drink. Can't wait to see what I end up drinking this evening. And watching for that matter, our taste in movies is wildly divergent. The last movie he rented was District 9, which from what I gathered involved aliens and many dismembered limbs. The last movie I rented was Every Little Step, a biography of A Chorus Line.

But on to the food, the nibbly bits, as in, a wide variety of savory foods that can be eaten with your hands. I'm aware that nibbly is not a word, well, in my lexicon it is but hors d’oeuvres sounds pretentious and appetizers sounds well, unappetizing and since they are not a pre meal nibble but the actual meal themselves I was forced to invent.

And since there is that raging snowstorm that I mentioned, I have had to be creative. The original plan called for driving to the Italian import store to pick up the makings of an antipasto tray and Mrs. London's for good bread (really good bread, probably the best in the capital region) and rounding that out with nibbly bits that I would thrown together at home. My options are now whatever can be purchased from Hannaford and I don't quite trust that I'd be able to pull off a good antipasto tray from there. So the revised menu will include Pioneer Woman's bacon wrapped, cream cheese stuffed jalapeno peppers, sweet lord I do love them and some of The Barefoot Contessa's pan fried onion dip, there is no excuse for making onion dip out of a packet of dehydrated onion soup mix, no excuse at all. And we have to have some of these yummy stuffed mushrooms that I found on Epicurious. I am thinking of rounding the whole thing out with some roasted red peppers and fresh mozzarella, maybe some roasted cauliflower so we can get a vegetable in there. Although, roasted cauliflower barely qualifies as a vegetable- it's too good. We eat it as a snack.

Washed down with whatever dubious sparkling wine the partner comes home with and accompanied by whatever silly films are rented, I think we have the makings of a fabulous New Years Eve! Enjoy yours, we will be enjoying ours...Have a fabulous 2010!