A make-ahead New Year’s Eve dinner

The menu for Thu 31 Dec

Each recipe makes 8 portions. The ones marked vegetarian replace the beef for anyone who doesn’t eat meat.

With the fizz

Three each, baked from frozen as people arrive and piled warm on a board.

• Gruyère gougères Choux cheese puffs, piped and frozen raw, then baked straight from the freezer.

Starter

One each, baked again in cream and served in its own dish.

• Twice-baked Gruyère soufflés Baked weeks ahead, then puffed up again in cream on the night. They can’t fall.

Main

Brought to the table whole and carved there, with the potatoes and a warm jug of jus.

• Beef Wellington Fillet of beef, mushroom duxelles and prosciutto in puff pastry, wrapped the day before.
• Squash, goats cheese and cranberry Wellington Vegetarian For anyone vegetarian, made in December and baked from frozen.
• Potato dauphinoise Baked in small containers, frozen and warmed through on the shelf below.
• Red wine jus Reduced weeks ahead; the cold butter goes in as it comes back to the boil.
• Onion and red wine gravy Vegetarian The vegetarian’s gravy, from the Christmas freezer.

Pudding

Set in 8 cm rings, lifted off at the pass, with a swoosh of coulis and a few raspberries.

• Vanilla cheesecakes in rings No-bake, set in rings and frozen, so each one comes out with clean straight sides.
• Raspberry coulis Frozen in cubes; stir it and it’s ready.

When to make it

• Sat 19 or Sun 20 Dec Gougères, soufflés, red wine jus, dauphinoise, cheesecakes and coulis, on one cook day. All of it goes in the freezer.
• Wed 30 Dec Sear the beef, make the duxelles and wrap the Wellington. It goes in the fridge unbaked.

Making Christmas ahead too? The vegetarian Wellington and the gravy come from the make-ahead vegetarian Christmas, so make enough for both.

The night before and on the night

These come from the Food Standards Agency.

New Year’s Eve

1. Bake the gougères from frozen as people arrive, as their recipe says.
2. Bake the soufflés again in their cream while everyone sits down.
3. Bake the Wellington straight from the fridge, with the dauphinoise warming on the shelf below.
4. While the Wellington rests, bring the jus back to the boil and whisk in the butter.
5. For pudding, lift the rings off the cheesecakes and add the coulis and raspberries.

Questions

Can you make a New Year’s Eve dinner ahead?

Almost all of it. The gougères are frozen raw and baked from frozen. The soufflés, jus, dauphinoise, cheesecakes and coulis are made before Christmas and frozen. Only the beef Wellington is made fresh, the day before, and baked on the night.

Can you freeze beef Wellington?

Yes, unbaked, and the recipe says how. For New Year’s Eve we wrap it the day before instead, so the pastry bakes crisp and the beef stays pink.

Is there a vegetarian main?

Yes: the squash, goats cheese and cranberry Wellington from our Christmas menu, with onion and red wine gravy. Classic Gruyère and Parmesan are made with animal rennet, so check the labels say vegetarian if it matters to anyone at the table.

How many does it feed?

Each recipe makes 8 portions. Nomstash scales the shopping list and the cook day to the number coming.