New Years

The flavors of milk chocolate, rum, and coconut in these truffles complement each other perfectly.

These truffles are shaped into disks instead of balls, then dressed up with flakes of edible gold leaf for decoration. If the marvelous flavor doesn’t impress your family and friends, the look of these truffles will.

This dish calls for purple globe eggplants. Instead of cooking them over an open flame, you can use the oven: Place the eggplants on a shallow baking pan, and place under the broiler. Broil, turning the eggplants every 5 minutes, until the skin is blackened all over and the flesh is falling-apart tender, 20 to 30 minutes.

For extra-fudgy results, make these cakes 1 day ahead; wrap them well in plastic wrap, and refrigerate. Serve them chilled or at room temperature.

Piquant jalapeño chiles complement the earthy flavor of black-eyed peas in this fiber-rich side salad; they also add crunch, along with the diced red onion.

A popular dish in the Lone Star State, where it is called Texas Caviar, this flavorful salad is sure to become a favorite in your household, too.

What could be more fun than popping open oysters on the grill or on the coals of a fire? Large oysters work best for the grill. Or you can nestle them in a skillet lined with rock salt. In either case, the cooking skill needed to make mouth-watering oysters is minimal. The basic rule: Don’t overcook the oysters! here, they’re served with an Indian-spiced barbecue sauce that’s cooked over the fire for added flavor.