Time to turn the oven on at 400 degrees, put a very large pot on the store and turn the grill back on, and start prepping for the main course ~ by now you should guessed it, Surf and Turf, though we do 2 kinds of surf and 3 kinds of turf available.

The surf choice is Fresh Maine Lobster (normally 2.5 to 3 pounders) or 1.5 pounds of King Crab. The lobsters will boil in a bay leaf, salt water + beer (Stella Artois) mix for 18 minutes. The crab will be placed in the oven over a tray of water + beer (Stella Artois) and baked for about 8-10 minutes.

The turf choice are: #1 a very, very nice cut of 28 day dry-aged black angus filet mignon, approx. 12 ounces in size, or #2, the king of steaks, a thick T-bone (30 ounces minimum) steak that has not been aged, or last but not least my favorite, a 28 day dry-aged, 24 ounce bone-in Delmonico rib-eye steak with tons of beautiful marble.

Accompanying the Surf & Turf are garlic smashed skin-on red potatoes, steamed Swiss chard leaves, green beans with heath bar pieces and shaved almonds, red + white + orange steamed carrots served with a dash of maple syrup, baby corn with butter and fresh ground pink salt, steamed snow peas and last but not least, Brussels-Sprouts with a little bit of butter and white vinegar.

Caymus Special Selection 2001 is the red wine of choice for dinner and strong and bold enough to stand up to the steaks. Without a doubt the best wine I have ever had and will most likely be the best wine I will ever have.

Desert, well, that’s the one item I make the day before because it needs time to chill. None other than Blood Orange Crème Brule. I got a torch for an xmas present about 10 years ago as my wife loves Crème Brule. Plus, it gives me a reason to play with fire. I will also serve Ben + Jerry’s vanilla ice cream and goto a local bakery called Desert Deli and pick up a very rich, dense chocolate as some of my guests look for chocolate for desert.

Drinks for desert include a White Russian or Mudslide for my wife, and I’ll bring out the Grand Marnier Cuvee Speciale Cent Cinquantenaire, or as we call it, GM-150. Stuff is liquid gold and just amazing.

AND THAT, ladies and gents, is how you do dinner.

@Baccarat

I was going to say (before you mentioned it anyways) you sounded like a Wegman's chef there for a minute. I was also going to say you could probably get alot of these ingredients from Weggies ;-) Where do you live? I'm in Rochester in case you are curious.

I'll be over around noon on New Years Eve. ;-)

As an aside, I really enjoyed reading that breakdown of what you like to do for New Year's. You are very passionate about your food and I, as an avid eater, have a watering mouth because of this lovely depiction. TYVM, SIR!!

dam @baccarat0809 i'm coming over for nye!

@baccarat0809: Sounds like everyone should head over to your place for New Year's Eve dinner..!!! :-)

@Baldy

Williamsville (just outside of Buffalo) NY. Lived in Lancaster, NY til I was 17, then moved to Belgium for 2 years as an exchange student where I did my last year of high school and first year of college, then back to western new york and canisius college for my undergraduate (BS in Finance) and graduate (Masters in Business Admin) degrees.

I LOVE WEGMAN'S.

Plain and simple the best grocery store in the world. To find fresh (not frozen) prawns and black truffels at any store is amazing - to find them at any of 30 stores in the western new york region and at two stores within 5 miles of my house is phenomenal. I probably shop 3 to 4 times a week as we only buy what we need fresh. Their quality is just crazy.

Oh - and wife pointed out I forgot to include the chocolate covered strawberries and home-made whip cream that come out right after dinner is finished before the Creme brule is served. I stole that idea from a restaurant in Vegas called Hugo's Cellar.

Lastly - sorry guys, I'm plum filled up this year and even have a waiting list for people looking to attend the soiree and unfortunately I've closed the waiting list. I normally cook for about 11 or 13 people as (my wife and I + 3 kids + 3 other couples we invite), however this year we're already at 17 as some family is attending as well. At 11 people this will run me north of $2,000. At 17 people I guess it'll be over 3 grand.

We've been hosting these big dinners now for about 15 years and this is the biggest we've done. It's probably too big and I might not finish the cooking until 4am or so by the way things look. Actually hoping that one of the couples drops out but I doubt that will happen.

@baccarat0809 IRON CHEF Achievement Unlocked!