The Ultimate Crowd Pleasing Recipes to Pair With Bubbly on NYE

Every New Year’s Eve, family and friends gather at my house for a feast of tasty appetizers and filled flutes of jubilant sparkling wine.  We eat and sip while watching the festivities unfold in New York City’s Times Square via Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve.  It’s become a tradition – one we look forward to each year.  With tradition comes appetizers that are so immensely enjoyed by everyone that they must be made each year.

The three dishes that guests rave about most each and every year are Hot Caramelized Onion Dip with Bacon and Gruyère, Neuchatel Cheese Fondue and Chunky White Chocolate S’mores – the ultimate crowd pleasers, and all three delectable goodies are stellar with any Dry or Brut style sparkling wine or Champagne.

Photo: Jonny Valiant via myrecipes.com

Hot Caramelized Onion Dip with Bacon and Gruyère

Ingredients

2 tsp butter
1 tsp vegetable oil
2 Spanish onions (about 1 pound), halved and thinly sliced
1/4 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp sherry vinegar
1/2 tsp minced fresh thyme
3 applewood-smoked bacon strips
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded Gruyère cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°. Melt butter with oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions, sugar, and salt; cook, stirring occasionally, 8 minutes or until onions soften and just begin to turn golden. Reduce heat to medium, and cook, stirring often, 20 minutes or until onions turn deep golden brown. Stir in vinegar, scraping bottom of skillet to deglaze pan. Cook, stirring often, until vinegar is reduced by half. Stir in thyme.
2. Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium-high heat 8 to 10 minutes or until crisp. Drain on paper towels; finely crumble.
3. Combine cheese and next 3 ingredients in a medium bowl. Stir in onions and bacon. Transfer to a 2-cup baking dish.
4. Bake 20 minutes or until mixture bubbles and top is lightly golden.

Recipe from Coastal Living Cook Book

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Neuchatel Cheese Fondue

Ingredients

8 ounces each Gruyère, Emmentaler and Appenzeller
1 pound loaf of good rustic Italian bread like Pugliese
1 garlic clove
1 & 1/4 cups of dry white wine (I use dry Gewürztraminer)
1 tbsp cornstarch
6 tbsp Kirsch (I use Calvados Apple Brandy)
Pepper
Freshly grated nutmeg

Preparation

1. Trim rind from cheese; cut into very small cubes. Cut bread into bite-size cubes.
2. Peel and halve garlic; rub the inside of the fondue pot with it. Pour wine into fondue pot and heat slowly on the stove. Gradually add cheese, stirring constantly in a figure 8 with a wooden spoon. Let cheese melt over low heat, then bring to the bubbling point.
3. Whisk cornstarch with kirsch until smooth, pour into cheese and let bubble. season with pepper and nutmeg. Stir only until thickend and smooth.
4. At the table, keep fondue hot on the burner over a small flame. Have bread ready. Stir the cheese mixture while dipping the bread cubes to keep its consistency creamy.
Tip: High quality cheese is the key to a successful and delicious cheese fondue.

Recipe base from Barron’s Fondue, tweaked with my own selection of cheeses, wine and brandy.

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Chunky White Chocolate S’mores

Ingredients

1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup uncooked regular oats
3/4 cup crisp rice cereal
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 (4-ounce) bars white chocolate, broken into chunks, or 1 1/2 cups white chocolate morsels
12 large marshmallows

Preparation

Beat shortening at medium speed with an electric mixer until fluffy; add sugars, beating well. Add egg, beating until blended.
Combine flour and next 4 ingredients in a separate bowl; gradually add to sugar mixture, beating after each addition.
Stir cereal, vanilla, and white chocolate into mixture.
Drop by tablespoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets; flatten with fingertips. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes or until lightly golden. Cool slightly on cookie sheets; remove to wire racks to cool. Store in tins.
Place marshmallows on a long stick or skewer; toast over low heat (below 300°), 3 to 5 minutes or until golden. Place 1 marshmallow on a cookie, and top with a second cookie.
Note: I used Lindt Classic Recipe White Chocolate Bars

Recipe from Coastal Living Cook Book