We can finally celebrate the end of a not-so-stellar year in our nation’s economy and what better way than a wine and cheese party. Normally when my wife and I host these parties we go out and spend a bunch of money on great wine and cheese. This year to honor the rest of the country, we decided to give ourselves a bailout.

Rather than supply all the food, we asked that each party guest bring their favorite bottle of wine and favorite cheese. I know we took a risk and could have possibly ended up with cheese from a can, but thankfully everyone brought great cheese and equally great wine. It was also a lot of fun anticipating what everyone was going to bring. We also asked for board games and ended up playing Apples to Apples.

Now you know I couldn’t just stop at supplying fruit and chocolate and crackers. It’s New Year’s Eve! I decided I would do a trio of flatbreads and a dessert. I ventured out to Central Market the morning of NYE and was shocked at how crowded it was. While shopping I realized I wouldn’t have time to make my own bread dough, so reluctantly, I bought some fresh pizza dough from the bakery. I promise that’s the only thing I cheated on.

The three flatbreads I came up are as follows:
1. Basil Pesto with toasted Pine nuts and shaved Parmesan.
I bought fresh basil to make the pesto along with a great hunk of Grana Padana.

2. Goat cheese with roasted red peppers and fillet of beef. Topped with micro greens.
I roasted the red peppers, sliced them and placed them in a jar of olive oil ahead of time. I also pre-cooked the flatbreads on my grill. I bought a great fillet and sliced it thin to place on top of the goat cheese and roasted peppers. For my presentation, I seared the beef with a torch to slightly cook it.

3. Marscapone cheese and sliced pear with balsamic glaze.
This one was simple. I spread the marscapone on the flatbread and thinly sliced the pears which I placed on top. I quickly warmed it under the broiler and drizzled the balsamic glaze over the top.

For dessert, I made grilled cheese sandwiches. Not the one’s you’re thinking of. I actually got the idea from one of the episodes of the show After Hours with Daniel Boulud. I made a dark chocolate ganache ahead of time and poured it into a baking dish so it was about a 1/2 in thick. I then placed it in the refrigerator to set up. The other two ingredients were cream cheese and brioche. To assemble, I cut the brioche into large squares about an inch think. I cut the ganache and cream cheese into the same size squares as the brioche. I then melted some butter, dipped the brioche and placed it on the griddle. After the first side was lightly browned, I turned them over and placed a layer of ganache and a layer of cream cheese on top of the brioche. I then topped it with the other piece of brioche.  Once the inside barely started to soften, I removed them from the griddle and cut them in wedges. I made a blackberry compote to serve with the sandwiches.

I’d have to say it was the perfect goodbye to 2009. Great food, and the company of even greater friends. Here’s to 2010!