What to Cook for New Year 2025: Festive Table Menu

The upcoming New Year 2025 is associated with the expectation that the wishes and dreams that people make at the stroke of midnight will come true. The New Year means new opportunities, so many people make serious decisions and promises on this night, wishing each other a happy New Year. When the New Year 2025 arrives according to the eastern calendar, people will welcome a new symbol according to the Chinese horoscope - the Green Wooden Snake.

Traditionally, the symbol of the year is greeted with his favorite treats, table decoration in the appropriate color scheme, and the design of the room for the meal. To attract good luck in 2025, find out what dishes decorate the New Year's table.

Making a list of dishes for a New Year's Eve dinner is a serious task. It is worth choosing classic, proven dishes that taste great and are symbols of the holidays. This approach to organizing the menu will be positively appreciated by the symbol of the year, the Green Wooden Snake.

Hot dishes

When choosing the main ones hot dishes Start with hot appetizers based on pork, beef or poultry. You can cook a roast, which can be made in one of your favorite options. Baked knuckle, salmon in white sauce are also great for the New Year. Check out other New Year's recipes to make the right choice and appease the symbol of the year.

Baked pork loin

A classic dish that is worth reminding about on the eve of the holiday. This treat will please all guests, because many are accustomed to seeing a ruddy and juicy loin on the table during the holiday.

Ingredients:

• 1 kg pork neck;
• spice mix for pork;
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil.

Recipe:

1. Rinse the pork neck and pat dry with a paper towel.
2. Make a flavorful marinade by mixing meat seasoning with oil and rubbing it over the meat.
3. Place the prepared pork neck in an oven preheated to 180°C and bake for about 1 hour. After baking, cut into slices and serve hot or cold.

Mexican cod

Ingredients:

• 800 g cod fillet;
• 3 bell peppers;
• tomato paste;
• 2 potatoes;
• 600 g canned corn;
• 1 cup canned red kidney beans;
• 1 pinch of black pepper;
• salt to taste.

Recipe:

1. Fry the red pepper in a frying pan and cut into slices.
2. Boil the potatoes, peel and cut into rings.
3. Place in the dish one by one: potatoes, cod, pepper, corn, beans and add tomato paste diluted in water.
4. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and bake for about 40 minutes. Add pepper and salt to taste.

New Year's salads

If you love salads from mayonnaise try Christmas potato salad. It has few ingredients, it is very simple, but this is its main advantage.

Also try the Christmas turkey salad – this dish will fit perfectly into the New Year 2025 theme.

New Year's vegetable salad

This dish is very easy to prepare. Housewives can be sure that guests will be delighted.

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs;
• 4 tablespoons mayonnaise;
• 1 carrot;
• 1 bunch of parsley;
• a small piece of celery;
• 2 pcs. potatoes;
• 0.5 pcs. apple;
• 3 pickled cucumbers;
• 0.5 cups canned peas;
• 1 onion;
• 1 teaspoon mustard;
• 1 pinch of black pepper.

Recipe:

1. Peel all vegetables (except leeks and peas) and boil until soft in lightly salted water. Cool.
2. Cut the cooled vegetables, leeks, cucumbers, apple and eggs into small cubes approximately 0.5 x 0.5 cm.
3. Combine all salad ingredients in a bowl, adding canned peas and mayonnaise.
4. Mix the salad and season to taste with mustard and pepper. Transfer to a salad bowl and chill before serving.

Herring salad with egg and mayonnaise

The recipe is not only easy to prepare, but also incredibly delicious due to the combination of ingredients. Many guests will ask you for this recipe as soon as they taste the salad.

Ingredients:

• 250 g herring fillet;
• 3 potatoes;
• 4 tablespoons mayonnaise;
• 1 pc. red onion;
• 2 eggs;
• dill a few sprigs;
• 2 pickled cucumbers.

Recipe:

1. Peel the potatoes and boil them until soft. Then set aside to cool. Boil the eggs hard for about 8 minutes. Cut the eggs into wedges.
2. Cut the onion into rings and the cucumber into cubes.
3. Also cut the boiled potatoes into cubes and mix in a large bowl with the herring, onion (set aside a few rings for decoration), cucumber and mayonnaise. Season to taste.
4. Place the salad on a plate. Top with pieces of boiled egg, onion rings and dill sprigs.

Delicious snacks

New Year's snacks are just as important as the main course. It is with them that the New Year's dinner begins, so from the very beginning you should take care of traditional accents and delicious combinations of products that will please the symbol of the year, and also awaken the appetite of the guests before the main course.

Ham rolls

A delicious dish that can be prepared in 15 minutes. The rolls have a delicate taste due to the cheese filling.

Ingredients:

• 6 thin slices of ham;
• 200 g ricotta cheese;
• 2 tablespoons Provencal mayonnaise;
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice;
• 1 tbsp finely chopped dill;
• 1 tbsp finely chopped onion.

Recipe:

1. Mix the soft ricotta cheese with mayonnaise and lemon juice in a bowl.
2. Add dill, green onions. Mix again to combine all ingredients into a single mass. Put the filling for meat rolls in the refrigerator for an hour.
3. Place the cheese mixture on each slice of ham and roll it up. Chill the rolls in the refrigerator for an hour.
4. Before serving, cut the roll into 2 cm pieces. Arrange the portioned rolls on a decorative New Year-themed platter.

Baked Turkey Pate

This dish can be served on slices of bread or hot toast. You can also cut the pate into pieces and arrange them beautifully on a plate, garnishing them with dried cranberries. Try making the most delicate turkey pate for the holiday table – your guests will be delighted.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 boiled turkey fillet (can be mixed with boiled turkey liver 1:1);
• 250 g chicken liver;
• 1 bay leaf;
• 3 pcs. allspice;
• 3 pinches ground black pepper;
• 3 tablespoons dried cranberries;
• 2 eggs;
• 100 ml red wine;
• 4 tablespoons breadcrumbs;
• 1 teaspoon starch;
• 3 tablespoons of sugar;
• salt to taste.
• 30 ml oil for frying;
• 700 ml of water;
• 1 pc. onion.

Recipe:

1. Chop the boiled poultry meat and liver into smaller pieces.
2. Peel the vegetables and chop finely.
3. Boil the wine with sugar and soak the cranberries in it.
4. Heat oil in a saucepan and fry chopped vegetables, add leaf, greens and pepper. Add turkey meat to vegetables, fry a little. Pour in 700 ml of water and bring to a boil. Then let cool.
5. In a separate pan, boil the poultry liver in a small amount of water. Sprinkle the liver with flour and fry in a frying pan with chopped onion (about 3-4 minutes). Season with salt and pepper.
6. Cool all ingredients and mince. Then add eggs, season to taste with salt and pepper and mix thoroughly until smooth.
7. Drain the wine from the pan with the cranberries. Roll the berries in potato flour. Add to the mass and stir.
8. Grease a baking pan (like for muffins) with butter and sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Pour the mixture into the pan, smooth it out and put it in a preheated oven. Bake for about 45 minutes at 180 degrees.

Desserts and sweets

On New Year's Eve 2025, carefully consider your sweet menu. To appease the symbol of the year, the Green Wooden Snake, try to serve quality desserts from natural ingredients. If it's baking, make it yourself from the most delicious products.

Stuffed prunes

An ideal dessert dish that will be relevant to try after a hearty feast, because many guests will no longer want to try a high-calorie cake. Stuffed plums are a mini appetizer that will be a pleasant bonus after numerous first courses and salads.

Ingredients:

• 500 g dried large prunes;
• 200 ml of alcohol for soaking the plums (rum, cognac, sweet plum brandy, possibly sweet red wine);
• 1 handful of chopped orange zest (candied);
• 100 g chopped nuts (preferably hazelnuts);
• whipped cream;
• 1 pc. packet of vanillin.

Method of preparation:

1. Pour alcohol over the plums and leave them until they increase in size and become softer.
2. Mix the orange zest with the crushed nuts and stuff the plums (you can secure them with toothpicks).
3. Mix the cooled cream with vanilla in a separate bowl. Put one teaspoon on each plum. The finished dessert can be sprinkled with cinnamon.

Chocolate balls with marshmallows

One of the simple desserts that does not require much time to prepare. Your guests will be delighted with the combination of chocolate and marshmallow, and serving the dessert in balls will also amaze them.

Ingredients:

• 120 g milk chocolate;
• 30 pcs. mini marshmallows;
• 2 teaspoons cocoa powder;
• 1 teaspoon powdered sugar;
• 1/5 teaspoon cinnamon.

Recipe:

1. In a bowl, mix cocoa, powdered sugar and cinnamon.
2. Break the chocolate into pieces. Place it in a bowl and melt it in a water bath.
3. Grease the ball-shaped molds with melted chocolate. Place them in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
4. Place a serving of cocoa and mini marshmallows into one chocolate mold.
5. Place the other half of the chocolate hemisphere on a hot frying pan for 2-3 seconds and glue the two parts together into a ball. The balls can be served on an elegant platter, decorated with marshmallows and berries.

New Year's baking

New Year should smell like cinnamon, honey and orange peel. At this special time, the sweet treats on the table are: gingerbread, candies, New Year's cakes, poppy seed rolls. You can take as a basis several simple baking recipes for the New Year Green Wooden Snake.

Delicate gingerbread cookies

Prepare the basic, the simplest one gingerbread variant You can use ingredients that many housewives have at home. The cooking time is quite long, so knead the dough a day before making the dessert.

Ingredients:

• 500 g wheat flour;
• 200 g honey;
• 170 grams of sugar;
• 1.5 tablespoons cocoa;
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger;
• 120 grams of butter;
• 120 grams of cream 12%;
• 1.5 teaspoons of soda;
• 1 pinch of salt;
• 4 chicken yolks;
• 3 egg whites.

Method of preparation:

1. Place butter in a saucepan, pour in honey, add ginger seasoning. Heat until the ingredients dissolve. Leave in the saucepan to cool.
2. Pour the cream from the pack into a separate bowl. Add soda, stir and leave for 5 minutes.
3. In a separate bowl, beat 2 egg whites with a pinch of salt. Then add sugar and continue beating until the foam becomes shiny and stiff. Finally, add 4 egg yolks and mix again.
4. Mix the whipped foam with flour and cocoa. Then pour in the cooled butter with honey and ginger seasoning, as well as the cream with soda. Knead it all until you get a smooth but fairly liquid dough. Cover the bowl with the dough with foil and put it in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
5. Preheat the oven to 180 C. Sprinkle the work surface with flour and roll out a piece of dough about 5 mm thick. Cut out the gingerbread and place it on a baking sheet covered with baking paper.
6. Brush the gingerbread with egg white using a pastry brush. Bake for about 10-12 minutes until golden brown.

Cappuccino Cake

This cake looks delicious and impressive. As a pastry, it is ideal for the pre-New Year time, when you want to surprise your family with something special.

Ingredients:

• 5 eggs;
• 190 g sugar;
• 190 grams of wheat flour;
• 60 grams of starch.

Cream:

• 250 grams mascarpone;
• 200 grams of cream 30%;
• 4 tablespoons powdered sugar;
• 3 tablespoons of granulated coffee;
• 2 tablespoons sugar;
• 150 milliliters of Amaretto liqueur.

Glaze:

• 100 grams of chocolate;
• 2 tablespoons powdered sugar.

Recipe:

1. Separate the whites from the yolks and beat until peaks form. At the end of beating, add sugar and egg yolks one at a time, continuing to beat. Pour sifted flour into the egg mixture. Mix gently with a kitchen whisk to combine the ingredients.
2. Carefully pour the dough into a springform pan lined with parchment paper and bake at 160ºC for about 40 minutes. Remove the hot cake from the oven, from a height of about 40 cm, and let cool.
3. Using a mixer, beat the cream with the powdered sugar, then gradually add the mascarpone cheese and instant coffee. Mix well.
4. After the sponge cake has cooled, cut it lengthwise into 3 parts, soak each layer with liqueur mixed with 2 tablespoons of sugar, and put the prepared cream on top. Grease the entire sponge cake with the remaining cream.
5. Melt 80 g of chocolate in a water bath and stir until dissolved, set aside and add powdered sugar. Mix.
6. Pour the prepared glaze over the cake and sprinkle with the remaining grated chocolate chips.

Setting the New Year's table

If you have decided what to cook, it's time to move on to table setting. On a decorated table for the New Year there should first of all be an ironed tablecloth. The tablecloth can be emerald, red or snow-white. Now the question remains of placing on it all the cutlery and plates necessary for a gala dinner. In order for everything on the festive table to be properly organized without chaos, in one color scheme and aristocratic style, choose the same dishes for everyone.

If the appetizer is served first, it should be placed on large, flat plates. Place the cutlery for the different types of food on both sides of the plate in the order in which they will be used, starting from the outside. Dessert cutlery and coffee/tea spoon should be placed horizontally above the plate.

If you have decorative glasses for water or alcoholic drinks, put them on the festive table too. This is the perfect time to put on the table the best dishes that you have in your buffet and minibar. If you care about a beautiful and effective New Year's table decor, you can take decorative dishes with patterns. It is advisable to put out dishes in the same white or dark green shade.

On a decorated table, neatly laid out napkins will look interesting. Give them an interesting shape: triangle, roll, square or other and put them next to the plates, or wrap cutlery in them, tying a bow on top. If the tablecloth is plain, you can choose napkins with different patterns, for example, with the symbol of the year 2025.

Before you start seeing off the old year, make sure first of all that each guest feels comfortable at the table at their place. This means that when preparing the table for the meeting, it is necessary to maintain the correct distance between the chairs. The optimal distance between guests sitting at the table is 80-90 cm. Thanks to this, everyone will have freedom of movement during the festive meal.

Use bright, saturated colors to decorate the New Year's table. The beginning of 2025 is a special time when red, green, gold or silver shades of tablecloths, napkins, decorative candles will be relevant when decorating the table.

According to signs, good color combinations for a serving table in the year of the Green Wooden Snake 2025 are:

• green-golden;
• silvery green.

Before you settle on one of these options, check to see if it matches the room's color scheme. If the table setting has too many shades, it will create a motley effect that will have little to do with festive elegance.

Red and green is a classic New Year's duo. This most typical combination for table decoration immediately creates a winter atmosphere. You will find that the energy of the house will become more cozy, warm and at the same time energetic (thanks to the color red).

If you decorate the table in green and iridescent shades, the shine of silver and gold will only emphasize the splendor and magic of New Year's Eve.

These colors are also synonymous with elegance. Silver itself brings coolness to the interior, so it is combined with other colors. Gold is very elegant and glamorous. In combination with green and red, you can decorate the table in the spirit of Christmas classics.

What shouldn't you cook on New Year's Eve?

Since the symbol of the year has a powerful and explosive energy, it does not tolerate too bland foods. You should not serve stewed meat for the holiday. Also, such dishes as pelmeni, vareniki and manti will not be quite relevant. Soups and borscht are also not suitable for the New Year's table 2025.

Meet the Green Wooden Snake in the spirit of the symbol of the year. You can set a modest table, but let it have a variety of snacks and sweets. Try to buy quality products as ingredients. Avoid cheap alcohol, semi-finished products and store-bought cakes - the symbol of the year will not like this very much.