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Party guide

Glam Black Tie: A New Year's Eve Dinner Party

Tuxes and gowns, a seated dinner by candlelight, and champagne at midnight. Best for 6 to 10 people. The menu is classic steakhouse: almost all of it can be done ahead, so you're at the table in your gown.

Host tip: Get dressed before the last kitchen tasks and finish them in an apron, so you're ready the minute the doorbell rings.

Shop the look on Amazon ↗

The menu

Starter
Shrimp cocktailRecipe from Natasha's Kitchen ↗
Main
Beef tenderloin with red wine sauceRecipe from Once Upon a Chef ↗
Side
Twice-baked potatoesRecipe from Spend With Pennies ↗
Garlic green beansRecipe from Spend With Pennies ↗
Dessert
Chocolate lava cakesRecipe from Sally's Baking Addiction ↗

Drinks and ice

  • Martinis, classic or dirty: recipe
  • A good red with dinner, and champagne at midnight
  • An alcohol-free option: a "nojito" or a sparkling NA wine

One big clear cube

For anything served on the rocks, use one large clear cube per glass. It melts slowly and looks like a cocktail bar. Martinis themselves are served straight up in a chilled glass: keep the glasses in the freezer until you pour. How to make clear ice

Make ahead

  1. 3 days before: Make the clear ice. Order the tenderloin from the butcher and ask them to trim and tie it.
  2. 1 day before: Bake, fill and refrigerate the twice-baked potatoes. Make the lava cake batter and fill the ramekins. Make the cocktail sauce. Set the table formally.
  3. Day of, 2 hours out: Tenderloin out of the fridge; martini glasses into the freezer. Cook the shrimp and chill.
  4. 1 hour out: Roast the tenderloin (about 45 minutes) and let it rest. Potatoes in.
  5. During dinner: Sauté the green beans at the last minute. Lava cakes in the oven as the plates clear.

The music

The 25 songs
  1. Sing, Sing, Sing, Benny Goodman
  2. In the Mood, Glenn Miller
  3. Puttin' On the Ritz, Fred Astaire
  4. Ain't That a Kick in the Head, Dean Martin
  5. Mack the Knife, Bobby Darin
  6. Beyond the Sea, Bobby Darin
  7. It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing), Duke Ellington
  8. Take the "A" Train, Duke Ellington
  9. Young and Beautiful, Lana Del Rey
  10. A Little Party Never Killed Nobody (All We Got), Fergie, Q-Tip & GoonRock
  11. Feeling Good, Michael Bublé
  12. L-O-V-E, Nat King Cole
  13. The Lady Is a Tramp, Frank Sinatra
  14. New York, New York, Frank Sinatra
  15. Come Fly with Me, Frank Sinatra
  16. Fever, Peggy Lee
  17. Big Spender, Shirley Bassey
  18. Diamonds Are Forever, Shirley Bassey
  19. Let's Face the Music and Dance, Nat King Cole
  20. Witchcraft, Frank Sinatra
  21. Jump, Jive an' Wail, The Brian Setzer Orchestra
  22. Everybody Loves Somebody, Dean Martin
  23. That's Amore, Dean Martin
  24. The Best Is Yet to Come, Frank Sinatra
  25. I've Got the World on a String, Frank Sinatra

Little touches

  • A gift for the host

    What guests can bring.

    A bottle of champagne or a good red

  • To take home

    A little something at the door.

    A small gold-wrapped chocolate or a mini bottle of bubbly

  • Something to do

    Place cards with a question on the back, and a toast from each guest at midnight

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