New Year's Eve Food 2015: The Best Recipes and Appetizers

Christmas, Christmas, and it's already over. So much preparation, and the time just flew by. But we're well fed, rested and happy about the time we spent together :) I hope you also had a lovely and healthy Christmas.

Now it's time to think about New Year's Eve and New Year's Eve dishes for 2015. If you're spending it at home with friends, you'll need a few dishes to get through that long night. I decided to put together a list of New Year's Eve dishes that may make the preparations for welcoming the New Year a little easier.

The list may still be expanded with a few more ideas.

You'll definitely want a few hot dishes and New Year's Eve salads.

New Year's Eve dishes 2011

Red barszcz (Polish beet soup), a repeat from Christmas Eve. But it's a perfect New Year's Eve dish: warming and simple to make.

barszcz

This time we won't need the uszka (little mushroom dumplings) for the barszcz, but pierogi with cabbage and mushrooms (Polish dumplings) will be just perfect.

cabbage with mushrooms, a pierogi filling

Or pierogi with lentils, which go well with barszcz, but also without it. I like them best pan-fried.

pierogi with lentils by M. Kuroń

Baked camembert, simple and quick, and it goes wonderfully with a good wine and a warm baguette.

Baked camembert

Potato soup also fits the New Year's Eve menu beautifully. It's uncomplicated to make.

creamy Parmentier potato soup

Among the soups, cream of leek soup is also a great choice. It's also simple and quick to make, and cheap on top of that.

wonderful cream of leek soup with bacon

Potato soup with parsnip, warming, filling, delicate and creamy.

potato soup with parsnip

If you have more time for preparations, I recommend the delicious French onion soup.

French onion soup

And for those who like culinary adventures, the Thai banana soup is just the thing, and it warms you up wonderfully.

banana soup with chili

Maybe you have some leftover fish after Christmas? Fish soup is excellent on a cold winter day, too. It warms you up and lifts your mood.

fish soup

Green cucumber soup, which you can make without much work.

Green cucumber soup

For a large number of guests, chili con carne is the best. You can, and even should, make it a day ahead.

chili con carne

Flammkuchen, a simple, “poor man's” version of pizza that I love to make, usually for dinner. Just like with pizza, you can top a Flammkuchen with whatever you like.

Flammkuchen

Roasts and poultry are a perfect fit for a New Year's Eve meal, especially if you're planning a hot dinner.

Jamie Oliver's chicken in milk is inexpensive and incredibly simple. Chicken prepared this way comes out perfect and tender, with crispy, browned skin.

chicken in milk

Another chicken, which is basically a whole meal. Just add a salad on the side and dinner is ready. The chorizo gives Spanish-style chicken a slightly spicy, “smoky” flavor.

Spanish-style chicken

The same goes for roasted chicken with potatoes and zucchini. This is also an easy New Year's Eve dish that is sure to turn out well.

roasted chicken with potatoes and zucchini

Lazy (or busy) gołąbki (cabbage rolls, here in a quick patty version) are another excellent solution. The patties are quick to shape. You get quite a lot of them, but they taste just as good reheated, and you can freeze the extras.

lazy gołąbki

Pieczeń huzarska (Hussar-style roast) takes a bit more time to prepare, but it's worth it.

pieczeń huzarska

The last meat idea for your New Year's Eve menu is pork tenderloin with apricots. The apricots give the tenderloin a fresh, slightly sweet flavor.

pork tenderloin with apricots

Finger food is a very convenient choice for New Year's Eve.

The most popular appetizers are probably small sandwiches. Their base is most often a baguette. Of course, it's best when you bake it yourself.

Baguette

Falafel can be served with lettuce, but it's also an excellent snack.

Falafel with arugula salad and tahini sauce

The pumpernickel and salmon appetizer is simple and quick to make. It's perfect for nibbling, for example with a nice glass of wine.

Pumpernickel and salmon appetizer

Eggs stuffed with salmon spread, not just for Easter. You can also use pumpernickel instead of the egg.

Eggs stuffed with salmon spread

Tomato appetizer, it smells like summer vacation, but it tastes great any time of year.

tomato appetizer

Herring with curry sauce, served with toothpicks, will invite everyone to nibble.

Herring with curry sauce

Dates stuffed with blue cheese are a great accompaniment to wine.

Dates stuffed with blue cheese

Goat cheese appetizer with prosciutto and sage goes well with wine; it's very simple and quick, and aromatic at the same time.

Goat cheese appetizer with pancetta and sage

Salmon appetizer, uncomplicated but very appetizing.

Salmon appetizer

Zucchini omelet, straight from Spain.

Zucchini omelet

Mini hot dogs – incredibly easy, cheap and quick. These little yeast rolls with a sausage inside are perfect for nibbling or as a side to beer.

mini hot dogs

Puff pastry with apple and gorgonzola with walnuts. Little pockets with an unusual filling, but they go great with drinks, and even with soups.

Puff pastry with apple and gorgonzola

An even quicker and easier New Year's Eve dish is breadsticks wrapped in bacon.

breadsticks wrapped in bacon

Savory muffins with bell pepper and feta, which you can make a day ahead.

muffins with bell pepper and feta

Cheese cookies, perfect with beer.

crumbly cheese cookies

Little pretzels are also perfect for nibbling. You can make them as plain round cookies, either sweet or salty.

Pretzels

Tasty, light and foolproof cheese balls in an herb coating and grapes in gorgonzola.

cheese balls in a green coating

grapes in gorgonzola and nuts

And always good for nibbling in between: cebulaki (little onion buns).

cebulaki

Green onion skewers, which are perfect as a side to meats or simply as a snack.

Green onion skewers

Omelet rolls with Baba Ghanouj and roasted bell pepper. Simple, tasty and colorful.

Omelet rolls with Baba Ghanouj

And for raw vegetables, as a dip, yogurt sauce.

yogurt sauce for vegetables

Baba Ghanouj, a dip made from roasted (or grilled) eggplant. Excellent with sandwiches (I like it best with pumpernickel), crackers and raw vegetables.

Baba Ghanouj eggplant dip/spread

If you're planning to serve bread or small sandwiches, various spreads will be perfect, for example tuna spread, leek and cheese spread, mackerel spread or salmon rillettes.

tuna spread with olives

leek bread spread

mackerel and egg spread

salmon rillettes

Among the salads, I suggest the salad with bulgur and roasted vegetables, the neighbor's salad and the light salmon salad.

bulgur with vegetables

Neighbor's salad

light salmon salad with mustard-dill sauce

Waldorf salad, fresh, delicate and light.

Waldorf salad

If you want to surprise your guests with an elegant dish, I suggest scallops with cauliflower puree.

scallops with cauliflower puree and caper-raisin sauce

But there can be no party without dessert.

Baked apples are a winter classic that both kids and grown-ups will enjoy.

Baked apples with raisins and almonds

You can prepare the leftover challah dessert ahead of time. The top of this dessert is sweet and crunchy, slightly caramelized, while the inside is a bit like pudding in texture.

leftover challah dessert

A cake that is still a hit at my house even after years, and that I think everyone loves – rafaello. It simply has to be on the New Year's Eve menu.

rafaello cake

Cup dessert with cream cheese and currants is very quick to make, but you can prepare it a day ahead and take it out of the fridge a dozen or so minutes before serving. You can use any frozen or fresh fruit.

cup dessert with cream cheese and currants

You can't resist these little ones. They're adorable and delicious. They just jump into your hands – vanilla mini cupcakes with farmer's cheese frosting.

vanilla mini cupcakes

Also small, delicate and heavenly tasty, crunchy on the outside and chewy inside… macarons. You can make them any color you like.

macarons

Another hit that my family never gets tired of. It's also simple and quick to make, and absolutely delicious: no-bake name-day cake (almond cake).

no-bake name-day cake

And finally, New Year's faworki roses, donuts and faworki (chrusty) (crispy fried pastry ribbons), which I think everyone knows.

faworki roses

donuts

almond faworki

Schmalzgebäck, tiny, addictive pączki (Polish donuts) from Germany.

Bite-sized pączki / Schmalzgebäck

Gniazdka (“nests”), Spanish donuts or Viennese donuts. Whatever they're called, they're known and loved by many.

Gniazdka, Viennese donuts, Spanish donuts

And to drink, punch. Seriously warming and seriously good :) I suggest you get the rum, white wine, a few extras and punch cups ready, and I wish you lots of fun!

Apple punch, delicious with or without alcohol. If you're planning to spend New Year's Eve outdoors, I suggest taking the punch along in a thermos, and it will warm you up beautifully.

Apple punch

I hope you'll find something for yourself in my New Year's Eve food suggestions. I wish you happy preparations and a sparkling celebration :)