New Year’s Eve Without the Mob

New Year’s Eve no longer has to mean loud mobs and heavy drinking. Consider celebrating New Year’s at home with just a couple of special friends. Italian seems to be the cuisine of the moment, and that’s the inspiration for the following New Year’s Eve menu, which is easy to prepare and can be made well in advance.

Start by providing bread with the pre-dinner drinks, as restaurants often do: a Rosemary-and-Onion Focaccia . If you want another hors d’oeuvre, perhaps some prosciutto with melon.

At the table, begin with a fennel and red-pepper salad dotted with pine nuts and olives. Then eggplant and spinach lasagna, easily assembled early in the day. Should you want a more substantial meal, simply add roasted chicken, Cornish hen or ham.

Dessert can be simple too: crisp cornmeal wafers with a lemon gelato or sorbet. For an elegant touch, pour orange liqueur over your choice.

Don’t forget chilled Champagne as a preliminary and a light red wine to accompany the salad and lasagna. Have some sparkling fruit juice on hand for the designated driver.

Nothing is easier than transforming readily available Boboli bread into mouthwatering focaccia. If you’re up for it, minced garlic can be added to the onions and cheese sprinkled over the top.

ROSEMARY-AND-ONION FOCACCIA

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 small onions, thinly sliced, separated into rings

Salt

3 packages small-size Boboli bread

Crushed hot red pepper

1 tablespoon snipped fresh rosemary leaves

Heat olive oil in large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion rings and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Cook, uncovered, until heated through and almost tender, about 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Divide onion and oil drippings evenly between bread rounds, brushing edges of crust with oil. Sprinkle with crushed hot pepper and more salt, if desired.

Place rounds directly onto center oven racks. Bake at 400 degrees until edges are deeply browned, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with rosemary. Cut each round into 6 wedges with pizza cutter. Arrange in cloth-lined basket. Serve hot. Makes 6 servings.

Each serving contains about:

370 calories; 916 mg sodium; 5 mg cholesterol; 14 grams fat; 51 grams carbohydrates; 13 grams protein; 2.2 grams fiber; 34% calories from fat.

This is my idea of a perfect salad; it’s colorful and refreshing, even though it can be combined a day ahead .

FENNEL AND RED-PEPPER SALAD WITH PINE NUTS

3 trimmed small fennel bulbs, cut into fine juliennes

1 medium red onion, cut into fine juliennes

3 medium sweet red peppers, cut into fine juliennes

15 Kalamata olives, pitted, flesh cut into thirds

3 tablespoons snipped fresh chives

Mustard Dressing

1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted

Boston lettuce leaves

Combine fennel, red onion, red peppers, olives and chives in 2-quart mixing bowl. Toss well with Mustard Dressing to combine and coat vegetables.

Spread pine nuts in single layer on baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees until light brown and fragrant, about 10 minutes, stirring twice and watching carefully so they do not burn.

Toss salad with pine nuts. Adjust seasonings to taste. Arrange lettuce leaves on individual serving plates. Mound salad attractively on greens, dividing evenly. Serve chilled. Makes 6 servings.

Mustard Dressing

6 tablespoons light-tasting olive oil

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

3/4 teaspoon sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground pepper

Combine oil, vinegar, mustard, sugar, salt and pepper in small dish. Mix well.

Each serving contains about:

267 calories; 855 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 24 grams fat; 15 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams protein; 1 gram fiber; 80% calories from fat.

This vegetarian lasagna is substantial enough to stand alone but light enough to accompany chicken or ham. You can use either traditional lasagna noodles or won-ton skins, which I prefer because they are thinner and more delicate. However, cooking and layering the wrappers take some patience.

SPINACH-AND-EGGPLANT LASAGNA WITH GOAT CHEESE

9 lasagna noodles or 8 ounces won-ton skins

Spinach Filling

Eggplant Filling

6 ounce package sliced part-skim mozzarella cheese

4 ounces soft, mild goat cheese

3/4 to 1 cup spaghetti sauce

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons julienned fresh basil

Cook lasagna noodles according to package instructions. (If using won-ton skins, bring large pot of salted water to boil and have ready tongs with smooth, rounded edges and large bowl of cold water. Drop skins 1 by 1 into rapidly boiling salted water. As soon as water boils up again after adding last skin, quickly remove skins with tongs and place in cold water.)

Grease shallow 7-to-8-cup-capacity rectangular or oval baking dish. If using won-ton skins, lift gently from water (by centers--not edges, which tear easily) with hands and set on paper towels to drain.

Divide noodles or won-ton skins into 3 equal parts. Divide Spinach Filling, Eggplant Filling, mozzarella and goat cheese in half. Cover bottom of baking dish with 1 part lasagna noodles or skins, patching together as necessary. Spread with 1/2 Spinach Filling. Cover with 1/2 mozzarella slices. Press gently in place. Spread 1/2 Eggplant Filling over mozzarella. Dot with 1/2 goat cheese, pinched off in small pieces.

Cover with second part noodles or skins, and repeat layers, ending with third part noodles or skins. Press gently into place. Top with spaghetti sauce as needed to cover top layer. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Place dish on baking sheet. Bake on center rack of oven at 375 degrees until bubbling and browned on edges, about 1 hour. Let rest 10 minutes at room temperature before serving. Garnish with basil. Cut into servings. Use metal spatula to transfer lasagna to serving dish. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Spinach Filling

2 (10-ounce) packages frozen minced spinach, thawed

1 large clove garlic, minced

2 large egg whites

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Wring spinach in cloth towel to remove most of liquid. Place in mixing bowl. Toss in garlic, egg whites, salt, nutmeg and pepper.

Eggplant Filling

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 large red onion, minced

1 (1-pound) large eggplant, peeled, cut into 3/4-inch cubes

1/4 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon crushed hot red pepper

1 cup homemade or bottled spaghetti sauce

2 tablespoons julienned fresh basil

Heat oil in 12-inch non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, eggplant, sugar, salt and crushed hot red pepper. Cook, uncovered, until eggplant starts to become tender but still has texture, about 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Add sauce. Heat through. Remove from heat. Stir in basil. Adjust seasonings to taste.

Note: If using won-ton skins, expect some waste. Be prepared to patch skins in baking dish to make solid layer. Double or triple thicknesses are no problem in finished dish.

Each serving contains about:

515 calories; 1,235 mg sodium; 20 mg cholesterol; 16 grams fat; 69 grams carbohydrates; 26 grams protein; 1 gram fiber; 28% calories from fat.

Plain, buttery and crisp because of the cornmeal, these cookies go well with fruit, ice cream or sorbet. They can be made ahead and kept at room temperature in an airtight container for three days or frozen up to three months.

ORANGE CORNMEAL CRISPS

1/2 cup unsalted butter or margarine, softened

1/2 cup light-brown sugar, packed

1 large egg, separated

Grated zest of 1 orange

1 cup cake flour

1/4 cup yellow cornmeal

1/8 teaspoon salt

Cream butter, sugar and egg yolk in mixer until light and fluffy. Add orange zest, cake flour, cornmeal and salt. Mix until smooth. Gather into ball. For easier handling, wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill until firm, about 45 minutes.

Shape dough into about 1-inch balls. Place 1 1/2-inch apart on greased baking sheets. Using fingers, flatten each ball into 2-inch disc, about 1/4-inch thick. Froth egg white with fork. Lightly brush surface of cookie with egg white.

Bake on center rack of oven at 350 degrees, about 10 minutes on conventional aluminum baking sheet, much longer on new cushion baking sheet. Let stand 1 minute before transferring to cooling rack. Makes 24 cookies, 2 3/4 inches in diameter.

Each serving contains about:

76 calories; 17 mg sodium; 19 mg cholesterol; 4 grams fat; 9 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram protein; 0 fiber; 49% calories from fat.