Welcoming 2010

We are not big revelers. Even as college kids, we didn't go in much for drunken bashes and, for myself, the idea of kissing strangers at midnight was never appealing. So, when our pal Sari suggested we spend New Year's Eve at her place fixing a festive dinner and watching some laugh-out-loud videos, we jumped at the chance. We brought the champagne, some flowers for the hostess and a pecan pie for dessert, but she made the rest.

Here is the feast. Sari baked a crown roast of pork from an Ina Garten recipe, complete with mustard/green peppercorn gravy, buttery mashed potatoes and haricots verts, those lovely thinny-thin French green beans. Sari likes to pretend that she can't cook but we all know she's a lovable fraud. The pork was perfectly roasted, still juicy and just blushed with pink, the potatoes were agreeably lumpy, the gravy was smooth as silk, and the green beans were tender but still brightly green.

The video really was funny and, although we didn't make it all the way to midnight, the time spent with a dear friend was the best New Year's Eve celebration we could have imagined.

* Sorry for the weird format with white behind the letters. I can't figure out what I've done to get this effect. I changed to the more advanced editing style and all my other posts have looked fine but this one is screwy. If you have any ideas, I'd welcome them.