There was also another trip to Vegas which included some great meals and wines...but let's get on to the business at hand - New Year's Eve Dinner! This year we decided to stay in and avoid driving, high priced meals and waiting around for taxis. We chose to go with an Indian theme for our meal and this meant I'd need to clear off the deck and Big Green Egg from the recent snow fall.
For the dishes in the evening's meal, we went pretty meat heavy with Indian-Spiced BBQ Ribs, Tandoori Chicken along with some naan bread and basmati rice. We pretty much forgot about veggies but if you follow the recipe for the Bobby Flay's Indian-spiced ribs, you'll see that there were tomatoes in the sauce, so veggies are covered. ;)
We started with the ribs first as they needed the most prep time. Kelly looked after the sauce, which to be honest was the brunt of the work. For the ribs, I chose pork spare ribs and got to work removing the membrane, a very important step because the membrane actually prevents smoke and flavor from passing through to the meat. I used pliers as you can see as you really need something to maintain the grip when pulling it off. Many sites suggest using a paper towel, but I say go with pliers.
I put the ribs on for roughly three hours and during that time, aside from visiting our friends across the street, we (Kelly) also prepared the tandoori marinade and prepped the chicken thighs for the grill. Now some of you may be thinking that Kelly has been doing all the work, and you'd be right, but let's not forget that I am the one who has to go out in the cold and man the grill. It wasn't crazy cold out, but it's never pleasant outside when it's below zero.
Special thanks to the Shawns for my special hat, direct from Russia!
By now, between the rum and cokes at our friend's Susanne and Paul's place, and the beers that Kel had given me, the evening was getting a bit hazy so I'll fast forward to the meal shots as to be honest, there's not much to mention. After the ribs, I grilled the tandoori chicken and even the naan bread and did my best to stay warm.
The meal was awesome and the combination of a full stomach, the fireplace and alcohol, had me falling asleep in my chair by about 10:30pm on New Year's Eve! Kelly woke me about an hour later and we celebrated at midnight with a very stubborn small bottle of champagne that almost refused to open.
Anyway, was a great night and it was great to get grilling again, regardless of the weather. In fact, I grilled again this evening and it's close to 20 below with the windchill, but if you dress appropriately, keep the grill hot and something warm in your glass, grilling can still be fun in the winter. Enjoy!
