The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
New Year’s dinner, Italian style
Treat yourself with roasted meats, pork sausage and broccoli rabe.
New Year’s Eve traditions may vary around the world, but there sure are a lot of similarities.
When Gianni Betti, front-of-thehouse manager and co-owner of Cibo e Beve Italian Restaurant, talks about New Year’s Eve celebrations in his childhood in Florence, Italy, he reminisces about meals filled with friends and family and rich dishes to herald a prosperous new year.
“New Year’s Eve celebrations are where we get together with our best friends and wait for the new year. And we treat ourselves in the best way possible,” said Betti.
Where a Southern cook might prepare Hoppin’ John with its blackeyed peas and sausage, he would have enjoyed Cotechino con Lenticchie (Pork Sausage with Lentils). Instead of a big pot of collard greens, there would have been a big salad and a platter of Broccoli di Rape Stufati (Sauteed Broccoli Rabe) or an out-of-season splurge with fresh asparagus. But there would have been so much more.
“It’s the Cenone di San Silvestro and a night to splurge. It will be the most expensive meal you serve all year. You may go to a restaurant if you don’t want to cook, but if you’re preparing the meal at home, everyone helps,” he said.
And he describes a meal that will include an appetizer spread that might include octopus salad, a fish soup or bruschetta with chicken liver pate. Then there’s the first course, maybe duck ravioli or cannelloni stuffed with beef. “These are special-occasion dishes that take a long time to make. You want everything to be amazing. Maybe you serve risotto with truffles. If there’s a time you want to spend money on truffles, it’s New Year’s Eve. If there’s a bottle of expensive wine in your cellar, this is the night you want to drink it.”
There will be meats. “In Tuscany, where I am from, we would serve roasted meats. Big iron skewers packed with meat. Or we might serve a big T-bone steak weighing about 2 1/2 pounds.” And side dishes including roasted potatoes, lentils and roasted green vegetables.
The absolute must? Bottles of sparkling wine. “At midnight, you count down to the end of the old year and then then open a bottle of spumanti to toast the new year.”
Dinner might be for 10 or for 50. It probably starts around 9 p.m. and goes until long after midnight with dessert or panettone or pandoro served with more sparkling wine.
Betti and Linda Harrell, Cibo e Beve’s executive chef and co-owner, have been friends since 1993 when they worked together in a Tuscan restaurant in Baltimore. Harrell was born in New York but considers herself Italian by osmosis, starting with her first job at age 13, working in an Italian restaurant in Baltimore. Collaborating with Betti, she’s adapted three iconic Italian New Year’s dishes for American tastes and pantries.
Forget Hoppin’ John and collard greens this New Year’s Eve. This is your year to celebrate Italian style! Felice anno nuovo!