Executive Chef Jason Tilmann has assembled stunning flavors and visual excitement, making this the menu we want to eat on New Year’s Eve.

Normally, we eschew words like “decadent” and “sinful” that some people inaccurately use to describe luscious foods. But in the case of luxurious excessiveness, we bow to Benjamin Franklin in “Poor Richard’s Almanac”:

No wonder Tom grows fat, the unwieldy Sinner,
Makes his whole Life but one continual Dinner.

Let Chef Tilmann’s menu inspire your own thoughts for New Year’s Eve dining. And may the richness of your dinner inspire restraint in the new year—at least, until Valentine’s Day.

SEVEN DEADLY SINS MENU

1. ENVY: a feeling of discontent or covetousness with regard to another’s advantages, success, possessions, etc.

Dish: osetra caviar, buckwheat blini, onion, egg and chives.
2. VANITY: excessive pride in one’s appearance, qualities, abilities, achievements, etc.

Even if you can’t make complex dishes like Triomphe’s, you can combine ingredients simply, like smoked salmon, salmon caviar (at the bottom of the dish), black caviar, a dab of crème fraîche and an herb garnish. Photo courtesy Tsar Nicoulai.

Dish: lobster dumplings, wakame salad and ginger butter.

3. WRATH: strong, stern or fierce anger; deeply resentful indignation; ire.

Dish: spicy prawns, lemon, roasted garlic and herbed risotto.

4. GLUTTONY: excessive eating and drinking.

Dish: Pol Roger champagne sorbet, gold leaf and crispy grapes.

5. SLOTH: habitual disinclination to exertion; indolence; laziness.

Dish: slow-cooked cassoulet with duck confit, slab bacon and white northern beans.

6. GREED: excessive or rapacious desire, especially for wealth or possessions.

Dish: smoked Kobe tenderloin, fingerling potatoes, asparagus and bordelaise sauce.

7. LUST: an overwhelming desire or craving.

Dish: Valrhona chocolate soufflé with Grand Marnier crème anglaise.
 
These seven “sinful” courses are certain to engender a day of restraint on January 1st.

Today’s tip is inspired by these delicious cupcakes from Perfect Endings, a Napa Valley bakery that sells them online via WilliamsSonoma.com.

You can buy or bake and frost your own cupcakes, then decorate them with festive elements. It’s a fun family activity. Consider:

 
Make a double batch: They’ll disappear quickly!

But the special holiday popcorns are the our favorites: Dark Chocolatier Sea Salt Holidrizzle Kettle Corn and White Chocolatier Holidrizzle Kettle Corn.

We like both the chocolate and peppermint popcorn so much, that we’re stocking up for the next few months:

 
Plain popcorn is just 35 calories per cup; the chocolate and peppermint popcorns are 135 to 150 calories, but worth it! And, if you need a sugary snack, popcorn is a whole grain.

Check the store locator for the retailer nearest you, or head to AngiesPopcorn.com.

WHAT’S A CHOCOLATIER?

Find more chocolate terminology in our delicious Chocolate Glossary.
 
Find more of our favorite snacks in our Gourmet Snacks Section.
  

It couldn’t be easier: drizzle the cheese with
honey and sprinkle the almonds. Photo
courtesy VermontCreamery.com.

So how about this couldn’t-be-easier hors d’oeuvre or appetizer for entertaining? Simply:

 
What’s your favorite easy hors d’oeuvre? Let us know!

Learn all about goat cheese and our other favorite cheeses in our Gourmet Cheese Section.

December 19th is National Hard Candy Day; July 18th is National Sour Candy Day. National Candy Day is December 4th.

> See all the candy holidays below.

We’ve all had hard candy of some type: butterscotch, horehound drops, lemon drops, lollipops, mints, root beer barrels, sour balls, and fruit flavors galore.

Hard candy begins by boiling sugar and water, then adding flavors and colors. As the syrup boils, water evaporates, and the sugar concentration increases.
 
 
Who invented hard candy?

> The year’s 60+ candy holidays are below.
 
 
HARD CANDY HISTORY

Cavemen ate honey from beehives. Ancient Arabs, Chinese, and Egyptians rolled fruits and nuts in honey. That was it for many centuries.

In the Middle Ages, merchants brought sugar back from the Indian subcontinent, where sugar cane originated. But it was very costly. Whether for tea, baked goods, or confections, sugar was a treat for the wealthy. Honey was the sweetener available to those of lesser means.

By the 17th century, there were many more sugar mills, and sugar became more affordable to the middle class. Confectioners began to express their creativity, resulting in the large selection of hard candy we have today.

With the Industrial Revolution (1750 to 1850), candy-making developed into an industry and hard candies became accessible to everyone. Hard candy on a stick followed: The word “lollipop” (originally spelled lollypop) first appeared in print in 1784.

Here’s more about the manufacture of hard candy. Read it as you enjoy a piece.

Pick up a bag or two at the supermarket, or head to the candy store to customize a nostalgic selection.
 
Find our favorite candies in THE NIBBLE’s Gourmet Candy Section and by pulling down the “Gourmet Food” menu at the right.
 
 
THERE 50 NATIONAL CANDY HOLIDAYS!

Actually, since we’ve published this list there are now 60 candy holidays. Here’s the updated list.
January

 
February

 
March

 
April

 
May

 
June

 
July

 
August

 
September

 
October

 
November

 
December

[1] Head to the supermarket or candy store and pick up some hard candies (photo © Q Candy.

[2] Christmas hard candy, an old-fashioned gift available seasonally from Wisconsin Cheeseman.
 
Related Candy Holidays

[3] January 8th is National English Toffee Day (photo © Bakingdom [alas, now closed]).

[4] January 26th us National Peanut Brittle Day (photo © See’s Candies).

[5] February 15th is National I Want Butterscotch Day (photo © Taste Of Home).

[6] July 18th is National Candy Day. Sour balls and other penny candy became popular in the mid-1800s (photo © Boyd’s Retro Candy)[source].

[7] July 20th is National Lollipop Day (photo © Insung Yoon | Unspslash).

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