I have a philosophy or maybe just a misguided thought, that whatever I do on New Year’s Day is what I will do the most of during the year.  Thankfully, whatever struck me on the eve, was out of my system in a day.  So, I was able to devote my day to more earthly pleasures like eating, drinking and revelry; I even put on a new set of clothes, that were a Christmas present.  Life is good.  Of course, we may have purchased an over abundance of appetizers, real food and wine (did I really say that we may have bought too much wine?).

We had an abundance of fresh fruit sliced up, several cheeses including a Lemon Ricotta and a Cheddar with Truffles (which disappeared before I even tried it), and a Liver Pate.  She was baking some miniature muffins, and several types of Quiches.  She also had classic and Canadian Bacon for meat for the brunch.  Of course, it wouldn’t be brunch without some Mimosas. The Mimosas were a continuation from the sparkling wines from just twelve hours ago. Domain Chandon Brut California NV is a delightful wine, that my Bride and I had a chance to visit, years ago.  It was the first time that a French sparkling house owned a winery in Napa, a joint venture of Moet and Chandon and John Wright, back in 1973.  The fruit is from cooler regions of Napa, and including their own estate in Yountville.  It is a blend of seventy-three percent Chardonnay, twenty-six percent Pinot Noir and one percent Pinot Meunier.  The wine is made in the Methode Traditionelle and a minimum of twelve months is required to make the finished product.  The initial fermentation is done is Stainless Steel and the second fermentation is done in the bottles after riddling, it then corked and aged for at least three months before release.  The wine is a pretty straw color with tiny bubbles and offering notes of stone fruit, toast and vanilla.  On the palate a nice cream texture of fruit, vanilla and bright acidity with a touch of sweetness (how I enjoy my Brut wines) and a nice finish.

As the brunch continued, some guests showed up after a tradition in Detroit, not necessarily in our house, but the Detroit Lions were playing football, real American football not the game played elsewhere, and maybe another time in my lifetime they may be a real team again.  And they won, well we had more people that arrived and brunch morphed into a dinner.  Thankfully my Bride had made some stuffed cabbage that she didn’t want to compete with our son’s version, as well as other foods that she prepared last minute to keep everyone fed and of course, no one died of thirst either.   All the desserts came out in full force from cookies, pies and a tray of Baklava.  I guess I should never tease my Bride about having an over abundance of food, as one never knows when you may have a ten-hour brunch, as one never knows when you may have a ten-hour brunch.