Solo New Year’s Eve dinner

There's a certain pressure attached to New Year's Eve. The implication that if you're not clinking glasses in a crowded room, or juggling too many courses for too many people, you're somehow doing it wrong.

I disagree.

This year I'm at home, on my own by choice, because one of my dogs isn't well and needs a quiet, familiar evening. That suits me perfectly. No noise, no deadlines, no fuss — just proper food, cooked well, and eaten slowly.

Cooking for one on New Year's Eve isn't settling. It's choosing quality over quantity, calm over chaos, and treating yourself with the same care you'd give to guests.

Two courses. That's enough.

The Main Event: Chicken Leg à la Marco Pierre White

Dinner starts with a single corn-fed, free-range chicken leg (cuarto), cooked the way Marco Pierre White has always advocated — with respect and without complication.

The leg goes skin-side down into a cold pan with a good pinch of sea salt, cracked pepper and a pinch of chilli flakes on the skin, no oil. Gentle heat for 10–12 minutes. Time. Let the fat render slowly until the skin is golden and crisp and releases naturally from the pan. Only then does it go into a hot oven (200°C) for 20 minutes to finish cooking through.

That's it. No tricks. Just patience.

Alongside it:

New potatoes, boiled until tender, lightly smashed, drizzled with olive oil and roasted until crisp at the edges

Kale, simply steamed — nothing more than a vegetable allowed to taste of itself

From the chicken pan comes a mandarin–lemon butter jus: deglazed with vegetable stock, lifted with fresh citrus and finished with cold butter. Light, savoury, glossy. Enough sauce to bring everything together without drowning it.

It's the sort of plate that doesn't shout, but it doesn't apologise either. This is solo dining done properly.

Cheese Instead of Pudding (Always a Good Idea)

I don't have a sweet tooth, so dessert is cheese. Proper cheese.

Tonight it's:

A ripe French Brie, pulled out of the fridge an hour ago and allowed to come up to room temperature

Goat's cheese rolled in pineapple — just enough sweetness to keep things interesting

Served with a good selection of crackers, or possibly a slice of my 50/50 wholemeal loaf baked yesterday, still with that faint smell of fresh bread when it's cut.

And after, I'm going to chill out on my recliner and watch last year's Vengeance Most Fowl — my dogs will love it.

Happy New Year!

Whether you're cooking for one, two, or twenty tonight, I hope your evening is exactly what you want it to be.

Find more recipes and food adventures here.

Footnote: Wonky photos, proper food, genuine adventures — The Flexible Chef.