Prepare a special New Year's Eve dinner

I traditionally dedicate my last column of the year to a kind of Babette's feast where the most appealing recipes of 2012 are selected and organized into a three- to five-course meal.

Since the menu is quite a bit demanding, we will start with a simple hors d'oeuvre consisting of endives filled with creamy blue cheese and candied walnuts. Adding the persimmon salad, roasted butternut squash soup, glazed pork tenderloin and lemon meringue pie would make this unique meal experience memorable.

Happy New Year!

ENDIVE HORS D'OEUVRES

4 endive heads (ideally a combination of red and light colored for contrast)

8 ounces blue cheese

1⁄2 cup heavy cream

Ground pepper, to taste

1⁄2 cup candied walnuts (see fuyu persimmon salad recipe)

Preparation

Cut the edge of the endives and select the larger leaves, which can accommodate the filling.

In a blender, mix the blue cheese with the cream and pepper. Taste and add more ground pepper if needed.

Fill lightly the endive leaves with the blue cheese mixture and place a candied walnut on top.

FUYU PERSIMMON SALAD WITH HACHIYA PERSIMMON VINAIGRETTE

Serves four to six

1⁄2 pound organic mixed greens

1 cup pomegranate seeds

4 Fuyu persimmons, cut in half then sliced thinly into 10 to 12 wedges

1 cup candied walnuts or pecans, see cook's notes

For dressing:

1 cup ripe Hachiya persimmon (when ripe, cut off the top and squeeze the ripe fruit out of the persimmon)

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1⁄4 cup Dijon mustard

1⁄4 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Cook's notes: To candy the walnuts, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan over low heat. Add the nuts and sauté lightly for a few minutes. Add 1⁄4 cup local blackberry honey and stir together until the honey melts and coats the nuts well. Using a spoon, separate the nuts on a flat surface to cool. The honey will dry as it cools.

Preparation

In a food processor or blender (I use Blendtec), add all the dressing ingredients together and process until the dressing thickens.

Toss the mixed greens in a large bowl, gradually adding the dressing and tossing until you get the desired balance. It is often preferable to toss the salad in smaller batches in order not to under- or over-dress the salad. Ideally the greens need to remain fluffy and not collapse.

Serve the salad on individual plates. Place 6 to 7 persimmon wedges on top of the salad. Add the candied nuts and spread with the pomegranate seeds.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP

2 medium butternut squash, cut in half with seeds removed

Kosher salt and ground pepper, to taste

1⁄3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

8 ounces butter

2 yellow onions, thinly sliced

4 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch rounds

6 garlic cloves

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Kosher salt and ground pepper, to taste

8 cups water

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a baking dish, place the butternut squash cut sides up. Pour 1 cup of warm water in the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle the squash with salt and pepper and drizzle with the olive oil. Bake for 45 minutes, or until dark brown. Remove from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes, then scoop the squash from the rinds. Place squash in a container and set aside.

In a deep pot, melt the butter. Add the onions, carrots and garlic and cook for 20 minutes. Add the nutmeg, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Gradually add the water and cook for 30 minutes. Add the roasted squash and simmer for 10 minutes over low heat.

Remove from heat and let the soup cool.

Transfer the soup mixture to a food processor and puree until smooth. (I have been using a Blendtec very successfully.)

Serve the soup with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil.

GLAZED STUFFED PORK TENDERLOIN

Serves six to eight

4 small pork tenderloin (about 1 pound each), generally found in a package of two tenderloins

Kosher salt and ground pepper, to taste

16 ounces butter, divided use

3 cups fresh orange juice

For stuffing:

3 cups chopped dried apricot

1 cup toasted chopped walnuts

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

With a sharp knife, split each tenderloin lengthwise about three-fourths of the way through. Open each tenderloin and lay it flat on a cutting board. Using a meat tenderizer, flatten each open tenderloin to a 1⁄2-inch height. Sprinkle salt and pepper on each open tenderloin.

Stir the stuffing ingredients together in a bowl, then spread the stuffing evenly on one long side of each of the butterflied pork tenderloins to within 1 inch from the edges. Tightly fold the tenderloins and tie closed with kitchen string.

In a large frying pan, melt 8 ounces of butter over medium heat. Sprinkle the stuffed tenderloins with salt and pepper and then sear until each side is dark brown. Transfer the tenderloins to a baking pan. Add the orange juice and bake, covered with aluminum foil, for one hour.

Let it cool for two hours and then refrigerate.

When ready to serve, remove the kitchen string and cut the tenderloins into 1-1⁄2-inch slices. Reserve the orange sauce from the pan. Melt 8 ounces of butter in a frying pan and sauté the slices over medium heat for two minutes on each side.

Pour the orange sauce over the slices and cook, covered, for 10 minutes. You might need to prepare two or three batches, depending on the size of your frying pan.

Once heated through, serve the pork tenderloin slices with the basmati rice, cranberry sauce and mixed vegetables. Drizzle the caramelized orange sauce over tenderloin and serve hot.

CRANBERRY SAUCE

8 ounces unsalted butter

1 pound fresh cranberries

1 cup fresh orange juice

1 cup organic raw sugar

1 cup raw honey

1 cup dessert wine, sherry or white sweet vermouth

Preparation

In a casserole, melt the butter over low heat. Lightly sauté the cranberries. Gradually add the orange juice, sugar and honey. Let the mixture cook for 30 minutes, then add the wine. Let the sauce cook over medium heat until the cranberries are tender and their sourness is reduced to a minimum. Add more wine, if necessary. Once the sauce is ready, serve the cranberries while warm with the sliced pork tenderloin.

MEYER LEMON MERINGUE PIE

For the gluten-free crust:

1-1⁄2 cups toasted walnuts

3⁄4 cup ground almond "flour" (available at health food stores)

1⁄2 cup butter, softened

1⁄4 cup sugar

1⁄4 teaspoon sea salt

1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the lemon filling:

1 cup Meyer lemon juice

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons cold water

3 tablespoons cornstarch

3 egg yolks

For the meringue:

3 egg whites

1⁄8 teaspoon salt

1⁄8 teaspoon cream of tartar

1⁄3 cup sugar

Preparation

Prepare crust: Place the walnuts in food processor and process to a meal. Add remaining crust ingredients and process until smooth. Press into a well-buttered and floured tart pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool slightly while making the filling.

Prepare filling: In a saucepan, combine the lemon juice, sugar and butter. Bring the mixture to a boil. Once it boils, turn heat off. Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, dissolve the cornstarch in the water and whisk into it the egg yolks. Whisk a small amount of the hot lemon mixture into the eggs to "temper" them, then add the remainder of the lemon to the eggs and whisk thoroughly.

Place a strainer over the empty saucepan and pour the lemon custard through it and back into the pan. Over medium heat, stir the custard continuously (scraping the bottom of the pan) until the mixture thickens, about five minutes. Pour the custard into the slightly cooled pie crust and smooth the top.

Prepare meringue: Using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites with the salt and cream of tartar until they hold stiff peaks. Add the sugar and beat until glossy. Spoon the meringue on top of the lemon custard, smoothing it to the edge of the crust to seal. Bake pie on the bottom rack of the oven at 375 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the meringue is golden.

Salim Ben Mami is head chef and owner of Café Collage restaurant in Oregon House, Calif. Contact him at 530-692-2555 or ccollage@succeed.net. His website is cafecollage.net.