By Monique Costello on December 26, 2011

New Year’s Eve is a wondrous night, but it does not have to be a china-only night. It’s possible to have a simple dinner party without the fuss. A roast beef allows for the option of a super sit down meal or simple sandwiches to nosh on all night long.

A little seasoning on the meat, a few roasted veggies and this plan will allow you time to party with your friends and have left overs to boot. Two people or twenty, this dinner comes together pretty easily using a mix of homemade food and purchased food.

• Roast Beef in a Port Wine Sauce
• Oven Roasted Veggies
• Appetizers: Roasted Nuts and  Brie with Raspberry Jam
• Dessert: Ice Cream With Baileys and Biscotti

Simplify your evening with these Fat and Happy easy moves:

• Pour your favorite jam over the top of the brie, serve with crackers
• Purchase a nut mixture or roast your own up to a week before the party.
• Roast the veggies a day or two ahead of time; allow to come to room temperature before serving.
• Serve a high-end potato chip and warm them in the oven.
• Set out potato buns with a simple horseradish dressing for sandwiches.
• Serve ice cream and store bought biscotti for dessert. Top with whipped cream and Baileys liquor just before serving.

Simple Roast Beef New Years Eve Dinner

• 3 pounds Roast Beef
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• Seasoning salt and pepper
• 1 cup port
• 3 cups red wine
• 1 Tablespoon mustard
• 1/4 cup cream
• 1 Tablespoon butter

Allow the meat to come to room temperature. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cover the meat in seasoning salt, pepper and minced garlic. Place the meat in a shallow pan, place in the hot oven for 6 minutes per pound. Then turn oven off and let the roast sit undisturbed for about 2 hours. Use a meat thermometer to test for doneness. Remove the roast from the oven when it reaches 120 degrees, remove from the pan and set on a cutting board, cover with piece of tinfoil and let it rest for at least 15 minutes before slicing.

While the roast is resting, place the roasting pan over medium heat. Add the port, wine, cream and mustard – whisk together and let the mixture simmer about 10 minutes to thicken. Whisk in the butter and remove from heat.  Add salt and pepper as needed.

Thinly slice the roast beef and serve with the wine gravy.

Oven Roasted Veggies

Cut a variety of root vegetables (potatoes, beets, turnips, leeks), drizzle with olive oil and fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme or your favorite herb.)

Roast in the oven at 400 degrees until the vegetables are fork tender.

Fat and Happy Food Blog Tips and Techniques: Talk to your local butcher, or the guy behind the meat counter- they will help you decide which cut of meat is right for you and how much to buy.

For more recipes, go to Monique’s blog: FatandHappyBlog.com