ALL ABOUT FOOD:New Year’s Eve is also for eating

One of the things we learned from our many years running A La Carte/Gourmet To Go is that New Year’s Eve and St. Patrick’s Day are holidays about drinking, not about eating. However, at the last minute, people seem to realize that they will need something to soak up the copious quantities of alcohol.

In the shop on Dec. 3 at about 3 p.m., the phone would begin to ring nonstop and a long line of bodies would form out the door.

People were willing to take almost anything, but luckily we saw the light early on and had a large supply of hors d’oeuvres on hand just for that purpose.

Fortunately, the second round of new owners, facing their first New Year’s deluge, are planning on making plenty of appetizers.

However, we strongly suggest that you order them ahead of time to avoid having to serve Cheez Whiz on Ritz crackers or plastic pre-packaged “guacamole.” (You know, the kind without avocados.)

Glancing over their extensive list of choices, we felt a wave of nostalgia and a ripple of relief. Thank God, we don’t have to do that anymore!

The competent hands at A La Carte are busy creating tasty tidbits for your delectation.

Some of our favorites, to be served warm, are the mini-bastilla (Moroccan chicken, almond filling in filo packages); Cajun chicken strips with jalapeno jelly; mushroom, gruyere walnut puffs; caramelized onion tartlets; Thai crab puffs and pesto cheese puffs.

On the cold side, try toasted wonton cups with Chinese chicken salad; gorgonzola pesto cheese triangles on a pecan crust; and tomato cheese bruschettas. Their spinach dip or eggplant caviar is attractively presented in a red cabbage rose.

For those of you with a bit more time and energy who would like to serve something homemade but nothing really too taxing, here are some easy people-pleasing treats.

If you don’t eat enough of these while you are drinking or if you’ve just plain gotten blotto, one other recipe you might be grateful for this season or anytime of the year is the following remedy which is based on hard, scientific principles.

Ultimate Hangover Cure

(from soyouwanna.com)

1. Take 2 aspirins

2. Take 200mg cysteine (at health food stores)

3. Take 600mg vitamin C

4. Take one tablet vitamin B complex

5. Mix the following in a blender and drink

If the prospect of drinking this concoction sounds revolting, maybe you shouldn’t have that fourth Cosmopolitan.

Happy New Year!

Avocado Dip for Dummies

Mash avocados. Add salsa. Taste. Add more salsa if you like.

Polenta Pizza

Yield: about 16 mini-pizzas

1. Pre-heat oven to 375°

2. Brush cookie sheet with oil

3. Slice log into rounds ½-inch thick. Place on cookie sheet. Sprinkle with salt. Bake 15 minutes.

4. Top each with one tablespoon Bruschetta topping, followed by one tablespoon crumbled feta. Bake five more minutes.

5. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Variation: Top polenta rounds with shredded cheddar and canned chopped green chilies, mild or spicy.

Brown Bread Canapés

1. Pre-heat oven to 375°

2. Cut each slice of bread into quarters. Place on cookie sheet. Toast in oven.

3. Spread each toast with cheese. Top with heaping teaspoon pepper spread and finish with a shrimp, but it’s good without the shrimp, too.

Variation: Leave out the red pepper spread and top with smoked salmon.

Feta-Stuffed Sweet Mini-Peppers

Our absolute favorite easy hors d’oeuvre is feta-stuffed sweet mini-peppers. The recipe appeared in our column earlier this year, but in case you missed it, here it is again in abbreviated form.

Just make a lengthwise slit in each mini-pepper, sauté them in olive oil (no more than one tablespoon) until semi-soft and stuff with any cheese. We like feta.

Bake for five minutes before serving. The sweet juices from the peppers meld with the cheese producing an irresistible flavor.