Best of 2021: 10 New Year's Eats & Treats

Bagels, grilled cheese, babka and an ancient clock to chime midnight

Green Chili Stew from the Santa Fe School of Cooking.

Happy New Year!

I’ve got the perfect meal to see out the old year and welcome in the new.

Since most likely it’ll be a cold day, begin with some green chili stew and grilled cheese, maybe open-face on a bagel. If you prefer, whip up a mess of beef stew in your Crock-Pot. Serve it with a steaming, foam-topped cup of coffee made in an AeroPress. For dessert, pull out all the stops and pile a platter high with rugelach, babka slices, and wedges of cheesecake for good measure. Then cap off the meal with fortune cookies from San Francisco’s Chinatown.

Dish up this feast to the accompaniment of a chiming 300-year-old grandfather clock with secrets to tell of an 11,000 mile journey by land and sea from Nazi Germany to Berkeley, California, to Denver, Colorado, to its current home near the beach in Southern California.

Okay, this is written half in jest as I don’t expect anyone to create a spread like this. The meal is actually a greatest hits of what we talked about here in 2021. Sounds good enough to eat though, right?

With the pandemic roaring back to life, eating out just doesn’t seem like a safe bet for a while. In case you’re thinking of returning to the kitchen and need a few ideas, here’s a recap of 10 food adventures (well, mostly) I wrote about this past year in the RuthTalksFood newsletter—including links to all the items on that fantasy New Year’s menu referenced above!

If you haven’t subscribed yet, please do. It makes a great holiday gift! And it won’t cost you a thing!

Green Chili Stew. It was on the menu at the Santa Fe School of Cooking, which I visited during our fall road trip to New Mexico. A mix of chicken, corn and broth, it was the ultimate in comfort cuisine.

Okay, I cheated and made this on white bread, not rye.

Grilled Cheese. This is my husband’s all-time favorite meal. He likes it on rye, with cheddar cheese. Others might choose to vary the cheese, the bread (I like sourdough!), add a sliced tomato, some grilled onions, salsa, or a sliver of avocado. But honestly, melted cheese on anything—it’s a winner!

Crock-Pot Stew. Do you have a Crock-Pot? It’s the ultimate retro cooking appliance, but now, since all that’s old is new again (wasn’t sourdough something the 49ers invented in California during the Gold Rush?), it’s back in style. And don’t knock it—it’s a wonderful way to keep soup or chili warm if you just happen to be having guests over sometime between now and next New Year’s Eve!

Coffee. My cousin Margalit’s husband Peter turns his wife’s morning latte into a work of art with the help of a $30 accessory that he can’t live without. Now my brother-in-law Jez can’t do without it either. It’s called the AeroPress.

Bagels. Are the best bagels in Los Angeles, not New York or Montreal? That’s what some people are saying, thanks in part to a new shop that opened in L.A.’s trendy Silverlake district called Courage. Long lines still form outside the restaurant, especially on Sunday mornings. Perhaps that explains the name. It takes fortitude to control your hunger while you wait and your frustration when you finally reach the front of the line and learn that your bagel quota is only two because they’re running short. The injustice! But oh is that bagel worth the line and the quota!

Rugelach. Okay, I’m terribly biased. I just love this cookie. I’m going to have to stop singing its praises and republishing the link. But I can’t help myself—it’s a favorite. I don’t think the store-bought varieties can compare. Truly. Make your own and let me know if you don’t agree.

Babka. There are many variations, but chocolate is almost everyone’s favorite. The famous Seinfeld episode has only upped the ante. I’ve yet to make a cinnamon babka to compare, but according to Elaine, it’s the “lesser babka.” What do you think?

Cheesecake. Okay, I made it in an Instant Pot—a little gimmicky, I know. And it caused me a lot of tsuris (aggravation in Yiddish). But now that I know it can be done, I’m going to do it again—maybe marble with a chocolate cookie crust this time!

Fortune cookies. It’s too late to order them in time to usher in 2022 , but there’s always the Chinese New Year, which arrives on Feb. 1. And any time is good to visit this busy factory in the heart of San Francisco’s Chinatown.

The Clock: I hear its pendulum tick-tocking away as I write this. Only a few hours left until 2022. The clock knows.

Thanks, everybody, for taking the time this year to read my blog—and to subscribe! Next year, I begin by diving into some new ways of eating with a brilliant friend who has turned his passion for veganism into a fascinating YouTube channel. Make sure to subscribe so as not to miss it!

Wishing you and yours a very happy, healthy 2022!