Welcome to 2010...

Cheers. We're here. Four days into 2010, and as promised, I'm sharing a few shots from the New Year's Eve party--a festive fete complete with a balloon drop and champagne toast at midnight, DJ and dancing and mad libs created just for the occasion. (Yep, you read that right. Random but hilarious, and highly recommended for your next party.) And of course all of those hors d'oeuvres.

I didn't get a photo of everything but managed to snap a few semi-decent shots of a few of my favorite bites:

Special and stylish Whole Foods crackers and what I'm pretty sure is the world's best hummus. My boyfriend doesn't get credit for this one. It's his brother-in-law's recipe. Smooth, full of flavor, and I'm nursing a tupperware container with some of what was leftover.

Oysters on the half shell with a spicy remoulade. One of multiple bowls shucked by a father/son oyster shucking team who literally came in, rolled up their sleeves, got to work and finished mere minutes later. Incredible and incredibly funny. And those little guys in the red bowl in the background are gougeres from the Jacques Pepin recipe I mentioned here.

Braised short rib crostini. Tender, rich and sprinkled with a reduction of the braising liquid, parm and parsley. The toasted crostini added crunch for texture. These went quick. Both platters of them.

Unfortunately absent from my shots are the sushi rolls, which turned out great, and the homemade late night (or, um, early morning) pizza, which just might have been my favorite thing of all. I'm resolving to request more of it in 2010.

Here's to a full, happy and healthy new year.