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Burn that Crap! Our End of 2021 Festivities

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Just like any other holiday, I try to come up with a theme and a menu. Last year, because D had studied Japanese language and culture, we did: Osechi Ryori おせち料理 (Japanese New Year’s Food). Typically, we include some fortuitous feasting that includes good luck foods from around the world as well as some other traditions meant to end the year on a good note and launch into the new one.

This year, as we are looking at twenty months of the on-going global pandemic and some countries are entering their fourth wave of the virus, my patience has been tested and I am failing. Let's add to that that two good friends have lost their mothers to COVID. I decided that my theme was: Burn That Crap! And our menu was going to include things that were all set on fire or torched in some way.


Not edible, but my favorite burning New Year's Eve tradition is the Ecuadorian Años Viejos: Torching the Old Year to Toast the New One. Usually we make one man; this year, we each made one. I guess we had a lot of grievances to burn. R's Pocky Man only had one complaint - one class, one exam, and one specific question. D's Pico Head also only held one: COVID. Jake and I filled our Años Viejos with multiple gripes of which we need to let go.



I went on to serve a Flaming Gin and Tonic...


...Shrimp Saganaki...


...here's the sauce for our Crêpes Suzette...


...and we finished up Torched Marshmallow Cookie Sandwiches.


Stay tuned for the recipe posts for these dishes.

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