Not Too Late For A Happy and Prosperous New Year

Here it is, New Year's Eve, and most people are either out celebrating or have chosen a quiet evening at home with a good movie and a bowl of popcorn. But just in case you are on your computer, looking for ways to bring in the new year in Latin style, you have come to the right place.

A few weeks ago, in conversation with a friend who had spent time in South America, she shared a few New Year's Eve traditions that Latin cultures believe bring good things in the new year. Depending on your time zone, you still have time to make them happen before the new year.

For prosperity, eat 12 grapes at midnight, one for good luck each month of the year. Or, put jewelry in the bottom of your glass of champagne. And for heaven's sake don't swallow the jewelry in the glass, or you may be traveling to the emergency room, which is not a good indicator for the new year.

Want to travel more in 2012? Put a suitcase by the front door. I assume it's supposed to be an empty suitcase because one would pack very differently for Florida than for Alaska.

Throwing a bucket of water out the window at midnight will ward off back luck in the new year. Easy enough, but be careful not to throw it on anyone if you are above main floor.

One of the traditional foods for New Year's Eve in Spain is shrimp or prawns, so I am sharing a shrimp appetizer recipe that is easy and can be tossed together in just a few minutes. This is a variation of the Hasty Hots that my friend Susan is requested to make at every party. Guests will stand around the oven, waiting for the hot appetizers to come out from under the broiler and on to the serving plate. This will make 15-18 appetizers and can easily be doubled for a larger group.

 Hasty Shrimp-Hots Appetizer
1-1/2 cups chopped, cooked shrimp.
1/3 cup softened low-fat or non-fat cream cheese
1/2 cup grated cheddar or cheddar and Monterrey jack cheese blend.
3 T. fire-roasted tomato or chipotle salsa
2 tsp cream horseradish - if you have straight horseradish, start with 1 tsp. it's hotter and stronger.
1-1/2 T. finely grated white onion
dash of salt and fresh ground pepper
Mix all in bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes to an hour.

12-15 Fresh button mushrooms or 1/2" thick baguette slices, or a combination of both.

For stuffed mushrooms: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wipe fresh mushrooms with damp paper towel to remove any dirt. Remove and discard stems. Stuff about 1 T of shrimp filling in each mushroom cap and place each on baking sheet. Bake for 12-13 minutes until tops are sightly brown and mushrooms are slightly soft. Serve immediately.

For baguette rounds: Heat broiler. Slice bread about 1/2 thick. Top each slice with about 1 T. of shrimp filling. Place on baking sheet and broil for about 2 minutes on 2nd from top rack, until slightly brown. Watch these closely so they don't burn.