Willowcroft Farm Vineyards, Virginia

New Year’s Day can be eventful, filled with wonderful memories and hopes for the New Year coming in. Whether you have your New Year’s resolutions ready or not, you can still enjoy a wonderful dinner.

Check out the recipes below and see which recipes you want to create for that special New Year’s Day dinner. All of the recipes and many more are available on the Wine Trail Traveler website. Foods are filled with many traditions and folklore. Consider that at my house we have always practiced the concept that for New Year’s, one must eat pork. In the opinion of my mother-in-law, this meant a successful New Year. Below you will find several pork entrées. According to a Farmer’s Almanac article, southern foods good to begin the New Year with include cabbage, collard greens and black-eyed peas.

Hint: When guests arrive be ready with a glass of sparkling wine (Champagne, Prosecco or Cava) with a red raspberry or strawberry to add a bit of color.

Appetizers

Rosewood Estates Winery, Ontario

Mini Mushroom Tart (Rosewood Estates Winery)
Mussels in White Wine Broth (Willowcroft Farm Winery)
Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese Crostini (Terry Sullivan)

Entrees

Mill Hill Apple Pulled Pork
Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloin with Shrimp (Put Pork on Your Fork)

Inniskillin Wines, Ontario

Duplin Winery, North Carolina

Caramelized Crispin Apple under Smoked Pork Tenderloin and Peppercress (Inn on the Twenty)

Salads

Fruit Salad in Strawberry Wine Syrup (Duplin Winery)
Inniskillin Icewine and Thyme Grilled Fig Salad with Gorgonzola and Sherry Dressing (Inniskillin Wines)

Desserts

Truffle Torte
Port Floats
Port Tim Tam Slams
Ginger & Peach Tart (Steve Pickell, Executive Chef Café Champagne at Thornton Winery)

If you are looking for a special treat, try adding this recipe for California Riesling and Ginger Peached Bartlett Pear to your list of recipes for New Year’s Day.

California Riesling and Ginger Peached Bartlett Pear

Ingredients

1/4 of a lemon
1 750 ml bottle of California Riesling
1 3-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
1 cup granulated sugar
4 tbsp honey
3 ripe but firm Bartlett Pears, peeled, halved and cored

Directions

Squeeze the juice from the lemon into a medium-sized pot and add the Riesling, fresh ginger, sugar and honey. Place on high heat and bring ingredients to a boil, stirring frequently. Peel, halve and core the pears. When the mixture reaches a boil, place the pear halves into the liquid and cover the pot with a piece of parchment paper. Cook just until the pears are tender. To test, poke the pears with a sharp knife. If the knife slides in and out easily, the pears are cooked.

Remove the pot from heat and allow pears to cool in the poaching liquid. If you’re concerned that the pears are too soft, remove them from the liquid and allow the liquid and pears to cool separately. Once the liquid has completely cooled, pour it over the pears. The pears can be stored in their poaching liquid for up to one week in the fridge.

These pears are delicious with a variety of cheeses.

Recipe provided by California Pears.