6 New Year’s Dinner Ideas

Lamb is wonderful and elegant New Year's dinner option that's big on flavor and cooks quickly. This recipe serves four or more and can be made in less than an hour. Start with lamb chops that you sear on the stove until beautifully crusted and then finish in the oven.

With the lamb's combination of savory, umami goodness, plus the sweetness of pears, rich butter, Gorgonzola cheese, and fresh thyme, you should keep your sides classic and simple — a great garden salad, baked sweet potatoes, or even slices of homemade Autumn Pear Pizza.

Since it's New Year's Eve, don't forget the importance of a good cocktail. We recommend the sweet yet tart Pomegranate Smash, made with pomegranate seeds, fresh mint, apple juice, and vodka (or your favorite non-alcoholic vodka alternative). The drink is perfect for a New Year's celebration since pomegranate seeds are a popular symbol of fertility and new beginnings, and are commonly eaten around the world at the start of a new year.

Seafood is another great New Year's dinner idea to get the party started, and no seafood fuels the occasion better than naturally light, slightly sweet, wonderfully addictive golden king crab legs. They arrive on your doorstep cooked and flash frozen for maximum freshness. Just defrost the legs and claws, rinse, and serve either chilled or slightly warmed with melted butter for dipping.

Crab legs pair perfectly with cornbread or corn on the cob, rustic potatoes (either roasted, baked, or fried), and almost any green salad. And for dessert, cut through all that buttery richness with something sweet yet slightly tart, such as a Pineapple Upside Down Cake. Or, for something even more elevated — and sure to impress — try your hand at making a Poached Pear Chocolate Cake starring the perfectly ripened Royal Riviera Pears.

Whether you feel like going all out to wrap up the holiday season or just have a lot to celebrate and be thankful for, surf and turf — a marriage of mouthwatering filet mignon and wild Maine lobster tails — is a great way to go. While preparing such a beloved dish at home might feel intimidating, this recipe actually requires little hands-on cooking and is ready in just over 30 minutes.

To round out this perfect pairing of proteins, stick with solid, traditional sides like a Caesar salad or even a simple Greek salad made with Romaine lettuce, feta cheese, cucumbers, tomatoes, and Kalamata olives. Or, consider a refreshing Wild Rice Salad featuring pears, cranberry, and blue cheese — a perfect mixture of fall and winter flavors.

And for dessert, impress guests with a “French" Bread Pudding, which substitutes flaky croissants for traditional brioche bread and then melds those pastries with the flavors of cinnamon, vanilla, and bourbon.

Pork is considered to bring good luck on New Year's Day, not just because it's so delicious but also because pigs bury their snout in the ground and “push forward" — in the same way you want your new year to positively barrel ahead.

This pulled pork recipe is an ideal New Year's dinner idea for large households or families hosting a lot of guests. It's incredibly simple to prepare, requiring just a few ingredients, including a delightfully sweet mango chutney. And since it harnesses the power of a slow cooker, you can spend more time reconnecting with loved ones instead of working up a sweat in the kitchen.

Pair your mouthwatering pulled pork with coleslaw (the long strands of cabbage in the slaw are said to symbolize long life), BBQ baked beans, and your favorite muffins or biscuits.

Sometimes you just want a classic dish to serve as your main course on a special day, and there's nothing more classic than roast chicken. However, with its flavorful honey balsamic and rosemary glaze, this is also anything but your grandmother's holiday chicken. It's zesty and juicy and packed with flavor, for a definite “wow" factor that will have your guests clamoring for leftovers. And since the chicken is roasted while surrounded with a selection of butter-drenched mixed baby vegetables, you also get a wonderful taste of seasonal goodness.

To complete your holiday menu, consider making a Roasted Orange and Olive Oil Focaccia — a simple savory olive oil-infused dough topped with olives, navel oranges, and fresh rosemary, and then baked to golden perfection.

And for dessert, turn up the heat and really impress your guests with a Sweet Cherry Jubilee Flambé. If you've never set your dessert on fire before, this is an ideal recipe to do it with. The added brandy burns off quickly, leaving dark, sweet, warm, cooked cherries that taste delectable drizzled over vanilla ice cream. It's the perfect end to a perfect meal.

There's a reason pigs are the most widely eaten animal in the world, accounting for more than one-third of all meat consumed on the planet: Few meats have a more satisfying, savory flavor or can be used in so many varied — and tasty — ways. And when it comes to New Year's in particular, the spiral ham may be the most perfect and seasonal of all the pork dishes out there.

For a true meal to remember, complement the natural salty goodness of the ham with your favorite macaroni and cheese, plus a tart and slightly acidic green salad. Fennel Salad with Cara Cara Oranges and Beets and Sweet and Spicy Mango Pasta Salad are both good options, as is the slightly heartier Strawberry Salad with Maple-Nut Clusters.

Or, take your meal in a more Southern direction and pair your ham with black-eyed peas and collard greens, both New Year's staples. Eating black-eyed peas on New Year's Eve is a time-honored tradition, with the legumes considered a symbol of good luck for the year ahead. And as for the collards, they are said to symbolize money and prosperity in the new year. While you could also hang the greens by your door to ward off evil spirits, they taste much better steamed, braised, or sautéed in bacon fat.