New Year New Treats

 How better than to start a New Year than with new and fun recipes. You don't have to look far. It's right at your fingertips .

Yesterday's New York Times Food section had some great ideas for parties and the morning after  for this weekend.One of the highlights and it should be the highlight of  any New Year's dessert table is the Paris Brest- Claire Saffitz a regular contributor and author of may a baking cookbook gave the recipe. This is a grand choux pastry filled with a complicated pudding like creme of hazelnuts  almond butter , vanilla, eggs milk and butter. The sweet was created in honor fo the famed Paris-Brest bike race back in 1910 by Louis Durand.It's a spectacular choux pastry cake which is both light and filling along with being an elegant end . Serve it after a dinner of lobster, oysters and filet mignon.It will require a lot of work which should begin on New Year's Eve. For something a little less intensive J Kenji Lopex-Alt goes the Nigella Lawson route  wiht a comforting  and simple chestnut risotto followed by gaily colored cream cheese pound cake.The rice is topped with cremini mushrooms and cut onions and celery.Arborio or carnaroli rice is cooked with chestnuts and white miso. Sour cream is surprisingly added as a topping. dessert is moist pound cake topped with raspberry preserves and whipped cream. Freeze dried raspberries give the bright pop of color.

There's even a dish for the day after. start 2023 with Melissa Clark's mushroom butternut squash strata. Squash seems like an unusual ingredient to add to a breakfast dish , usually laden with bacon toast, eggs and cheese. Yet it works. She also adds a mix of different muishrooms such as cremini, white shiitake and oyster cut into chunks along with one and three quarter pounds of butternut squash (this has a lovely sweet flavor.)There are also eight large eggs for richness as well as  three quarters of a cup of heavy cream or two and three quarters cups of  half and half . Shallots and sage give it a burst of green along with flavor.Yes there is a cheese. Ms Calrk adds in three quarters of a cup fo Parmesan and two cups of shreded mozzarella. There is no meat in this. You can add red pepper flakes for some bite.Stratas require bread and there is a  cubed French bagutte , added for testure and flavor. The mushrooms, and shallots are cooked first . The liquids are mixed together  with the veggies being added to it. The last is the bread cubes and the whole batter is poured into a prepared pan to be baked at 350 degrees Farenheit for an hour. It's then set under the broiler for a few minutes for a crispy top,

Start 2023 with new recipes. They could be for an elegant dinner , a cozy supper or a restorative brunch. All are perfect with their flavors.