Recipes for a New Year celebration

New Year is coming! It is a holiday many of us have loved since childhood: a sparkling tree, colorful lights, piles of presents, festive bustle and the midnight chimes. Then come the New Year greetings and the holidays!

The New Year holidays are a wonderful time to gather with family and friends, including people you have not seen for ages. And what better way to celebrate than with a festive meal?

Here I am collecting the dishes I have made, or plan to make, for New Year.

Appetizers

Chicken breasts in milk A great addition to a cold meat platter, and useful for salads too.
Pressed chicken roll. It holds its shape, slices neatly and looks lovely on a cold meat platter.
Lightly salted salmon in brine. A reliable choice for sandwiches, canapes, salads or a fish platter. For a platter, remove the fish from the brine, pat dry with paper towels and partially freeze it. This makes salmon, or any other fish, easier to cut into thin, neat slices.
Meat in a thermos. Easy to prepare ahead. Chicken and turkey – 6 hours. Pork and beef – 12 hours. Choose fattier cuts for a sliced meat platter, or leaner cuts for salads.
Sandwich meat also makes a good sliced meat platter for the holiday table. Prepare it ahead; it can even be frozen.
Pork belly cooked in a bag – another option for a festive meat platter. Chill the cooked meat thoroughly in the refrigerator so it cuts into neat slices.

Salads

Tiffany with chicken and grapes
Nine Princes with tongue
Salad with smoked chicken and Korean carrots
Chafan with radish
Cobb salad
Salad with feta and grapes a delicate, light salad
Herring under a fur coat. There are many versions; this is how I make it.
Large salad with Korean carrots and fern to feed a crowd.
Imperial with chicken and prunes and walnuts
Salad with cherry tomatoes, olives and pine nuts simple, light salad without mayonnaise.
Salad with Korean carrots and chicken, with tomatoes and cheese.
Salad with smoked chicken and pineapple – a classic combination. This salad takes almost no time to prepare, which is especially welcome when getting ready for a New Year feast. It is better to dress the salad just before serving.

Main courses

Stuffed chicken legs. I use prunes in the stuffing: chicken and prunes are a wonderful combination.
Goose baked with apples and oranges makes an impressive centerpiece for the New Year table. It takes time to prepare, but the result is worth it.
Baked stuffed peppers can be prepared in advance and placed in the oven an hour before serving.

Desserts

Poppyseed cake with orange-vanilla cream
Orange cookies. Bright, fragrant cookies made with two colors of dough, perfect for a festive children's tea party. Try making them with your children; rolling the two doughs together is part of the fun.
Prunes with walnuts in sour cream: no New Year in our family is complete without them.
Tartlets with meringue cream: a familiar childhood favorite.
Sour cream jelly with fruits A very light, low-calorie dessert.
Cut-out cookies with a rich, spiced flavor. Just right for the long winter holidays. These cookies are fun to bake with your kids. They like to cut out various shapes from the dough. Decorating the baked cookies is even more fun. The main thing here is to stock up on enough cookie cutters and powdered sugar.
Chocolate biscuit salami Another dessert to make with children during the winter holidays. Many mothers may remember this simple, delicious treat as the first thing they made on their own.