A Change of Plans and Happy New Year!

Happy New Year my dear friends and family! I can't wait to see what 2011 will bring.

We talked about taking a trip to Italy for the new year to visit my husband's brother, but a change a of plans kept us in Munich, and trying to make plans to go out two days before New Year's Eve is next to impossible in a city where everyone reserves at restaurants, bars, and clubs months in advance. So, this year we stayed in, cooked a nice meal, and rang in the new year with some champagne and a view of fireworks from our balcony.

The meal  we cooked was wonderful and what we cooked came out of a new cookbook I received as a gift for Christmas: The New Irish Table.

 I was really excited to receive this so I could start cooking some things my husband grew up eating.

One of the first pages is a great map of Ireland

So cute.

The cookbook has lots of wonderfully comforting, down to earth dishes and the photos are warm and feel like home.

And in the back of the book was a great surprise for me... an equivalents table!

This is so nice, especially because most recipes I have are in US measures, but everything I buy here in Germany is in metric. I was so excited about this page (yes, it's the small stuff).

Well, for our meal I chose a started, a main course, a side dish and a dessert... I have to say everything turned out wonderfully well!

The first course was Garden Greens with Goat Cheese Fritters

This salad was delicious and the goat cheese turned out so well. Crispy on the outside and soft, creamy, warm inside. The vinaigrette was a bit to be desired, though. It was a bit too oily for my taste, so I think the next time I make this I will add more vinegar.

For the main course I used the Boilie-Stuffed Chicken Breasts with Red Pepper Cream Sauce with a side of Colcannon.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find boilie cheese, so the recipe said as a substitute a mixture of goat cheese and olive oil could be used. The chicken was wonderfully juicy and the cheese had a great flavor. The creamy red pepper sauce was indescribably good (I could have eaten the entire pot of it alone). I can't wait to make this again and maybe I can find boilie cheese to use.

The colcannon (a mixture of leek, cabbage, and potatoes) was really nice. The flavors came together nicely and with the addition of mace this was a wonderful side dish.

Lastly, I made Lemon and Blueberry Creme Brulees

One word about these. Delicious. The base of the dessert are softened blueberries and the custard had a light lemon flavor. The elements came together beautifully and it was definitely worth the time.

We had such a lovely evening and this was a perfect way to welcome 2011.