NYE 2025: A learning experience

While the phrase “learning experience” is often used euphemistically to put a positive spin on something less than fabulous, when you’re as old as we are, and have been at this as long as we have, it can be a blessing. 

And this year it was. Because a) we’re still capable of taking stock of what we’re doing and applying it to future decisions; b) we’re still capable, period; and c) ringing in a new year with forever friends is always fabulous.

So, how was the Clarke/Odell New Year’s Eve Experience of 2025 a positive learning experience? Let us count the ways.

For years we’ve talked about meal-planning that’s less time-consuming/complicated, and this year we actually did it. That might be less about learning and more about walking the talk or the wisdom of age, but this is our blog, so we’re counting it as learning. 

Who knew scallops come in wet and dry versions? Not us, but we learned that wet scallops are infused with a water/phosphate preservative solution vs dry scallops, which are… just scallops, free from additives. More expensive, but preferred if you want to sear them and end up with a nice crust. This was new learning for us, so we searched for dry scallops because we did indeed want a nice seared crust.

But there’s more to that nice crust than procuring dry scallops. You also need a really hot pan to sear them in, with oil that withstands high heat. We didn’t get that quite as right. The scallops were okay, but less crusted than hoped. Next year we’ll go with either Tom’s grilled shrimp – even if the grill is covered in snow or ice (likely in Kansas City) -- or perennial favorite Steak Diane. We already have learned how to do both of those.    

Somewhere in the Kansas City region there must be a bakery that produces excellent French baguettes. We did not find that bakery this year. But Vonnie’s on the case. She’ll find it by NYE 2026. 

The label on the package of red potatoes Linda purchased for our fave Julia Child Gratine Jurassien potatoes included this statement: “We prefer to leave the skins on because it adds flavor, vitamins and minerals.” We learned that when you’re making a dish with this much cream, butter and cheese, vitamins and minerals are not your primary concern. Peel the potatoes.

Julia’s recipe specifies an 8x11 baking dish, and the Odells own a baking dish this exact size for this exact purpose. But it’s barely big enough to contain the potatoes and all that cholesterol, so this year Linda instead assembled the recipe in an 8x12 lasagna baking dish with higher sides to avoid inevitable over-spill when the Odells drive the dish to the Clarkes’ home. How much difference could that make? Let’s just say, any clothes you’ve spilled cream and cheese all over can go in the laundry, but when it comes to cooking, Julia knows best. Full stop. 

We got dressing for our spinach salads and a marzipan/apricot tart for dessert from Andre’s, a local café known for its outstanding confections. The dressing was good, but we don’t like marzipan as much as we thought we would.  The mini-bundt cakes we’ve bought at a bakery in years past are just as easy and more to our taste. We’ll go with that next year.

Later, while waiting for the Times Square ball to drop on TV, we watched a documentary about celebrated film composer John Williams. Very much a learning experience in all the best ways. Highly recommend. Although if you then wrap things up at 11:30 and skip the champagne toast to the new year, you kinda miss the point. At least you have an extra bottle for the mimosas the next morning.  

And finally, no matter how much you think you’ll retain enough of your learning to apply it in the future, you won’t, unless you write it down somewhere you can find it when you need it. Which is why we post this blog (when we get around to it, which is sometimes...) 

From our homes to yours, may your 2026 be filled with good friends, good times, good (enough) food and many more learning experiences.