New Year Traditions (and a Recipe)

When I was a kid, my family had our New Year traditions. On New Year's Eve we'd stay home, play board games, eat snacks (from aluminum bowls that we didn't see all year, for some reason), and stay up late. On New Year's Day, we'd spend all day watching the Mummers parade on TV.

It's a Philadelphia thing:

Mom would keep the food ready so that, whenever we liked, we could help ourselves to meatball sandwiches, smoked bratwurst, baked beans, potato salad, and more.

When my husband and I married, we started our own tradition for New Year's Eve. The first year, we purchased boxes of assorted frozen appetizers and nibbled on them all evening. Since then we've modified the menu, and we now make a big tray of marinated mozzarella, roasted red peppers, sharp provolone, and salami. We sometimes play board games, but more often we just hang out and watch TV. These days, I'm the one who's ready for sleep by 8pm. Our 12yo is the one who wants to stay up until midnight, and he's usually the only one who can!

For New Year's Day, we continue my parents' all-day buffet tradition, with a few changes. We'll have meatball sandwiches, potato salad, and baked beans. Instead of smoked bratwurst, I'm making Italian sausages. And we're also having veggies with Real Onion Dip (adapted from How to Cook Everything). It's easy and quick ... can literally be mixed up in five minutes or so. This is good with potato chips, and also with raw veggies like carrots, celery, tomatoes, and bell peppers.

Real Onion Dip

1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup sour cream
parsley (shhh ... I use dried parsley, about 1 tablespoon)
black pepper to taste
salt, if desired

Mix well and chill to let flavors blend.

What are your New Year's Eve or New Year's Day traditions?