Happy New Year (updated)

Tonight we’re staying home because we don’t do large groups of drunk people. Small, intimate groups of drunk people just work better for me.

We spent some time today making chorizo sausage. In the taste test, we’ve failed again. This time it’s too salty but the pepper is perfect. So, we’re going to try again soon with a decrease in salt and a slight increase in fat. Should be perfect.

For dinner tonight, we’re having:

Smoked Blue fish dip (horseradish, cream cheese, capers)
Braised Red Cabbage
Mashed Potatoes
Wiener Schnitzel

We have a bottle of champagne chilling. The launch site for our fireworks is set up and, honestly, midnight seems a long way off right now. I’m sure a bit of that smoked fish dish and a cool, refreshing cocktail will help me pass the time.

I hope everyone has a fun and safe night tonight. I’m looking forward to 2012. 2011 has kind of sucked.

That looks like a ton of food, but the wiener schnitzel cutlets were very thin pieces of veal–the picture just makes them look big.

After dinner we cleaned up and then went in to sit by the Christmas tree. I awoke with a start and got the better-half awake. It was 11:45. I was so afraid we’d missed the stroke of midnight. We did not toast with champagne but did shoot off some fireworks and wished his mother a happy new year. I think it’s pretty neat that nearly every year I’ve known him they always talk on new year’s night. It’s been an especially good end of the year for her so she did the calling last night.