New Year's Eve Elegant Dinner-Simpler than You Think!

What would you say to this as a New Year's Eve menu?

Phyllo appetizers : two kinds-- spinach and cheese and roasted vegetables.

Shrimp cocktail and lobster bisque.

Individual beef Wellingtons and spinach souffle.

Creme brulee.

Sophisticated, huh? Elegant. Delicious.

But I know what you're thinking...good grief, will I spend the rest of my life cooking?!?

Well, yes, if you fixed it all from scratch. But what would you say if I told you you could buy all these things pre-prepared from your grocery store and that all you have to do is open packages and heat up?

Hey...ok....stop kissing me!

I decided that this was the year for an elegant, but EASY, New Year's Eve dinner for me and my other half. We've done so much cooking and entertaining over the last couple of weeks that we need a break. But we also deserve a December 31st to remember. So, I hit two major grocery stores and found all I needed. (Hint: The more "gourmet" a store you hit (ala Central Market or Whole Foods here in Dallas), the more choices you'll have. But even the larger Tom Thumb and Kroger stores can serve you well.) Here's my shopping list and a few more hints.

Appetizers
Start in the frozen food section and buy a box of the many pre-made phyllo appetizers available. We tried a variety assortment that included spinach and cheese, potato and garlic, and roasted vegetable. After about fifteen minutes, we were enjoying gourmet nibbles.

First Course
I bought a dozen giant pre-cooked shrimp at Central Market's seafood counter. I let them thaw for a couple of hours in the refrigerator and dunked them in bottled cocktail sauce that I doctored up with a little more horseradish.

Also tried Safeway brand lobster bisque, available here in Dallas at Tom Thumb in their deli section. I enjoyed it, but my other half found it a bit artificial tasting. (I think they went heavy on the cheap sherry in the recipe, but I think it could have been redeemed with a squeeze of lemon and a couple additional chunks of lobster (or even crawfish or shrimp).) Found a great soup at Whole Foods Market though that made him happy. An artichoke crab bisque that was delicious and creamy. So scour your groceries and gourmet markets for a sophisticated soup that you'll enjoy. Check the seafood and deli sections for any gourmet versions they might carry.

Main Course
Hit the frozen food section for this one. Cuisine Solutions makes wonderful individual Beef Wellingtons. Two to the package, they're not cheap at $24 a box, but they were quite good. Filet mignon topped with a mushroom duxelle sauce and beautifully wrapped in puff pastry. Ignore the directions though. After the suggested 20 minutes of cooking the beef was still frozen solid. So get out your instant read thermometer and start checking after about 40 minutes. 135 degrees will give you a great medium rare. And make sure and tent your baking sheet with foil so the puff pastry doesn't get too brown.

I served the beef Wellingtons on a pool of bottled Bearnaise sauce (Reese brand-they make a decent Hollandaise too) that I heated in the microwave. With Stouffer spinach souffle on the side, we had a wonderfully decadent dinner.

Dessert
Then polished everything off with creme brulee. We are big fans of the version that Central Market sells in their bakery, but this time we tried a frozen version from Tom Thumb. Just has to be thawed and then the sugar broiled on top. Quite easy and delicious.

We had Champagne with all courses and it was wonderful. Check my entry from a day or so ago about great sparkling wines you can buy.

I love to cook and could have fixed much of this menu from scratch. I'm also a fan of the simple solution though, so finding these gourmet convenience products was lots of fun. This menu is elegant enough for you to fix not only for New Year's Eve, but also Valentine's Day, an anniversary, or anytime you want to treat yourself without all the work.

Bon appetit!