2010 Recipes: Something Old, Something New

We can't confirm it, as specifics of what we've done which year are unreliable, but we think this was the fourth time up to bat for Steak Diane. We did ponder where the name came from -- who is Diane, and why is a steak named after her? Never mind, she must have been a lovely person, because we do enjoy her namesake dish.

Steak Diane

Four 4-6 ounce beef tenderloin steaks
2 Tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 1/2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 cups thinly sliced mushrooms (or more, you can never have too many mushrooms in a sauce)
2 Tablespoons minced shallots or onions
1/4 cup brandy
1/2 cup beef boullion or broth

Pound steaks between two pieces of waxed paper until 1/4 inch thick. Dredge in flour mixed with salt and pepper. In large skillet, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter. Add steaks. Brown about 1 minute on each side. Remove steaks to a platter. Spread both sides with mustard and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce. In same skillet, melt remaining 3 tablespoons of butter (or a little more, if you used more mushrooms....) and add mushrooms and shallots. Saute for 2 minutes. Add brandy and flame. Stir in boullion and remaining Worchestershire sauce. Cook and stir until hot. Return steaks to skillet and reheat for 2 minutes. Sprinkle with parsely if desired. Serves 4.

Spinach-Pecan Salad

1 tablespoon butter or margarine
1/2 cup pecan halves
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 6-oz package of fresh baby spinach
1 large Granny Smith apple, thinly sliced
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons white vinegar

Melt butter in small skillet over low heat. Add prcans and brown.sugar. Cook, stirring constantly, 2 or 3 minutes, until carmelized. Cool on waxed paper. Place spinach in large serving bowl. Toss in pecans, apple slices and blue cheese. Add oil and vinegar and toss gently to coat. 4 servings.

Shrimp Dip

1 can broken shrimp
1/2 cup celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 8-ounce cream cheese, softened
1 Tablespoon mustard
1 Tablespoon catsup
1 Tablespoon mayonnaise

Mix. chill and serve.

2010: Maybe Next Year

It's always the same. We think we'll do something different and fabulous for our New Year's Eve cook-fest. We start discussing it when the weather turns brisk in the fall, and agree to settle on something soon.

Then it's Thanksgiving and we're too busy to think about it. Then it's Christmas, and we're even more too busy to think about it. Then it's after-Christmas and one or more of us has a cold or the flu... and the day before New Year's Eve, we decide we'll stick to something simple this year.

"Something simple" usually turns out to be just fine. As it was for New Year's Eve 2010.

It was Vonnie's turn to be sick this year, but fortified with antibiotics, she pressed forward, and together we devised a menu of past favorites and one new dish.

Shrimp dip with crackers and stuffed mushrooms for appetizers (which, as usual filled us up). Steak Diane, a favorite from past years. An encore of Julia Childs' fabulously fatty scalloped potatoes. The new recipe - spinach pecan salad, from a Southern Living cookbook - was a definite winner. This one I'd give a Probably Next Year.

As always, after the great gorge we waddled with Kahula and coffee to the family room to catch Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve on the tv. There was serious kissing among the Times Square crowd, much like what we witnessed in our very first New Year's Eve together. Except this time it seemed more sponsored than spontaneous (if equally alcoholic) as partners wearing silly blue hats emblazoned with the Nivea logo kissed on command for the cameras.

Then, as stroke-striken Dick Clark stumbled through the countdown, and a tone-deaf woman of indecipherable name sporting a very short skirt and blue lipstick joined Ryan Seacrest on the stage, the Waterford crystal ball dropped and 2011 arrived. Feeling pretty much the same as 2010.

We talked about Tom's lobster bisque or Vonnie's brother's meatballs, as entrees of the future. We talked about a New Year's Eve cruise, where we don't have to cook anything, just spend money.

Maybe we'll do one of those things. Or maybe not.

For this year, we were happy to share the meal we shared and be just where we were with just the people we were with.

Happy 2011 to all.