I should now declare to everyone that is willing to listen that I have had some really bad New Year’s Eves. They range from the bizarre to the hilarious in retrospect but rather dismal on the night. There was the time when I went to Queen Viv’s house and came across her flatmate-a disagreeable beast who loathed me on sight. In the middle of dinner she took a shower, came out in a white bathrobe and then proceeded to get even more drunk and well you may know where this is headed…
There she was sitting on the chair stark naked under her bathrobe. Her arms were flailing and her bathrobe went askew with every gesture. Then the robe fell open with her sprawled legs and she pointed her lady parts at me while I tried to carry on a conversation with everyone else in the room while simultaneously facing away from them-not an easy thing to do. It has now been referred to as the “white bathrobe” incident. And this is apropos of nothing but the white bathrobe lady is an in-law of one of the biggest directors in the world today, and I have no doubt that he won’t be casting her in anything unless it is as “the hot mess”.
So you see I don’t hold much hope for New Year’s Eves. I thought of Queen Viv who told me last week that she finds it hard to stay awake. Well for me, I find it hard to drink since I am such a lightweight and really only like sweet alcoholic drinks. I thought of a way to cater to both of us-and that was with an espresso Kahlua granita served with ice cream. I found inspiration in one of the cookbooks I was sent over Christmas, the Kitchen Coquette. Knowing that espresso and Kahlua would help keep sleepy souls awake and keep sweet loving souls soused, it was an easy choice.
The granita didn’t set quite solid as it had alcohol in it and the photo in the recipe looked nothing like it-perhaps another example of something used for styling but not being the actual recipe, I’m not sure. However the taste of the sweet granita and creamy ice cream was a lovely pairing. If you want a crunchy, hard granita, I would omit the kahlua to get a granita that sets hard and make and pour a little of the Kahlua over the ice cream at the end.
Spot me? Yep the grumpy looking one…
This year we will be no doubt improve on past NYEs but I did want to share with you a picture from the blooper reel this past year. I thought that the photo above was so funny that I laughed for a good ten minutes before forwarding it to Mr NQN. I had effectively photobombed a lovely touristy group photo of everyone smiling by looking like a complete b***h! Everyone else but me and the confused looking gentleman at the left looks happy. Mr NQN was in hysterics as he knows how I am not at one with adventure or nature but I doth protest, I actually was having a good time at this point and the camera merely captured my annoyance at forgetting my sunglasses. Nevertheless, this is going up on the photo wall in the house 
I hope you all have a lovely New Year’s Eve, and I sincerely hope that none of you get flashed by inebriated messes-unless of course that is your intention. I’m not judging! 
So tell me Dear Reader, what is the best and worst NYE you’ve ever had? And have you ever been flashed by someone?
Espresso Martini Granita
Adapted from Kitchen Coquette by Katrina Meynink, published by Allen & Unwin $39.99
Serves 4
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup caster or superfine sugar
- 1/2 cup espresso (I used my Nespresso CitiZ with the new seasonal “dark chocolate” coffee pod)
- 1/2 cup Kahlua or Baileys
- Four scoops of ice cream to serve (I used some Booza ice cream balls in halva flavour)
- chocolate shavings to serve
1. In a small saucepan, dissolve the sugar in the water and bring to the boil until it becomes syrupy-about 5 minutes or so will do. Add the espresso and Kahlua or Baileys and mix and cool. Freeze in a freezer proof container or a rectangular metal tray until it becomes crystals and break up with a fork -repeat this once or twice over the next few hours. Serve in individual glasses with a scoop of ice cream and chocolate shavings.
Nespresso CitiZ courtesy of Nespresso
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54 Comments | Add your own
Divine! What a lovely granita.
Best wishes for 2012!
Cheers,
Rosa
Love this Drink/Dessert
Like you, I don’t really like strong drinks so this would be perfect for me 
Too bad I’ve left my unopened bottle of Baileys back home lol might be the first thing I make when I go home ~
Best NYE would have to be the time when we spent it in Korea with my sisters
and my worst…hmmm would probably a few years ago when I was confined at home with my grandmother and parents lol I injured my knee back then SIGH hope it wont happen again hehe
Happy New Years Lorraine
All the best in 2012!
Yum! Thanks Lorraine
I hope you have a fantastic and safe New Years. See you in 2012 x
I love granitas because they are so easy. This one looks great.
NYE has never been one of my favorite holidays for reasons just like the one you mentioned–or close enough. I hope yours is perfect this year! Happy 2012!
I always seem to sleep through New Years. Its just not a holiday I care about. Kahlua granita is something I can fully support.
I have been flashed lots of times, starting when I was young and lived at the beach. I thought it was hilarious. I would run home and tell Mum it had happened again. My sister was flashed while walking our quite large dog on the beach. Our very friendly dog walked up and licked the flasher on the bit he was so keen for my sister to see. It was quickly covered. I have also been flashed several times as an adult. I must have something written on my forehead that only flashers can see.
Hi Lorraine… too funny about the photo. LOL. You do look pretty cranky.
I love both Kahlua and Baileys, so this recipe sounds delicious to me.
I am not a fan of NYEs. I can’t stand drunk people, especially drunk men (my ex drank like a fish), so I prefer to have a quiet evening, dining at home with my lovely Peter and, perhaps, just a couple close friends and family (who don’t flash!).
Happy new year to you and your bevy of wonderful readers.
That’s weird with the photo not matching the recipe, not sure why they would do that
Especially when your looks perfectly lovely as it is. Yes sadly I have been flashed and not in a good way.
Great use of the Booza ice cream and love the styling with those stirrers! Great minds think alike as I am publishing a granita tomorrow too!
This could be good for breakfast, to kick start your day:)
I guess some people like taking the concept of being an open person to a whole new level! (Un)fortunately I haven’t come across this yet in any of my NYE’s.
haha i LOVE that photo!!!!!!
LOL – a terrible event but a very funny story. I have only been flashed by a drunken vagrant in a park. Also love the boat photo. The Kitchen Coquette is a great name for a book. I normally sleep the New Year in – boring, I know.
Your story beats any I could even event!! Certainly entertaining in retrospect
Lovely New Year’s concoction…I adore Kahlua!!!
invent NOT event
Hahah love that photo! Well done, I’m sure you would have been smiling, but it’s a case of poor timing on the part of the photographer, right?
Can’t say I’ve had too many memorable NYE’s. I prefer quiet and so it’s usually a nice dinner at home with a friend.
I have been flashed, although accidentally! I was doing the Bay Run and a man was jogging towards me wearing very short jogging shorts when his, ahem, friend popped out below his shorts to say ‘hello’. I averted my eyes and stifled a smile while he tucked himself back in and blushed. Not terribly explicit, but amusing all the same.
Happy New Year Lorraine!
I love New Year’s Eve and love to party, see the new year roll-in watching the World’s best fireworks display around the Sydney foreshore,saying goodbye to the old one and celebrating with bubbly , of course!
However, this year will be a quiet affair, have put my hand up to baby-sit my two grand-daughters. We’ll be playing card games and Tombola while nibbling on delectable treats and sipping bubbles ( Adults not the littlies),leading up to midnight!
Oops, Happy New Year to you Lorraine, Mr.NQN and family.
Looking forward to 2012 and your much-awaited book signing!
Happy New Year!! i usually have quiet new years but i’m sure that will change when i get older!
Ha, over the years, I’ve been flashed more times than I want to remember. I am definitely not a party animal and have been married for close to 30 years, so I’m not sure why.
Happy New Year to you Lorraine.
OH…I’m start feeling summer is here…!!!
Oh, delicious. I’d definitely make this with Baileys as a treat for my wife.
Thank you for the laugh.
Actually the girl sitting next to you looks very pissed off – with her folded arms and forced looking smile.
Good on you for putting the photo up on the wall.
Haha what a funny story and the photo
thanks for sharing! I hope you have a brilliant NYE this year and that you will tell us all about it. I’m not a huge fan of coffee but if it’s in dessert form then yes please 
Hahaha! I’ve never been flashed at, but I used to work on an advice helpline and took a call from a bloke who told me he enjoyed revealing his parts in public… xxx
I love your photos!! I love coffee and have a Nespresso machine at home as well so this granita is perfect!
The best NYE I had was in Vegas where my whole family and family friends (apart from my underage brother) went to the hotel’s NYE party. It was fantastic and so festive! We got to dress up and take professional photos and eat great food.
I don’t really remember the worst…I don’t think I’ve had any that bad….
I was taught by my parents early on: ‘get to bed early on NYE and get up early on NYD to have a productive day – this will continue t’out the year
‘! You know it works, and, tho’ I love my wine and even occasional spirits, I mostly cannot be bothered looking at the clock until midnight! BUT, good ‘flasher story’: imagine a 22 year-old medical student [me] in a VD [venereal disease] clinic at Sydney Hospital, standing in a row of students to go into an examining room to try to diagnose what was wrong with a particular patient, standing in buff on a dais. Guess I was a bit of eye-candy in those days – so, as I [very professionally 
!] entered the room, the young, wellbuilt gentleman took one look at me and the inevitable happened. Should have had the bl . . . y common sense to exit, shouldn’t I? This stupid child tried to examine him. The group and the Prof were meanwhile absolutely hilarious outside 
! Not a nice result: the ‘flasher’ became a stalker on the streets of Sydney. Took a month and the police to end that tale! Beware of flashers, sayeth I 
!
Oh forgot to say ‘thank you’ to Debra Kolkka for a brilliant story
!
Mmmmm…i need this kind of picker upper!
Most of my NYEs are mundane. Unfortunately…
I love Kahlua and Baileys- I have a tendency to fall asleep when it gets too late so this granita sounds perfect. Your NYE experience sounds horrid- thankfully mine have been much less exciting. I do hope you have a happy one!
I was mooned in high school as I was walking past a pub. I was shocked as I didn’t know bums could be so hairy!
I like the idea of a wake up drink… I really need one some New Years. I have stopped going out on the holiday and now just have dinner in with my fella. I kind of like that… no traffic, drunks throwing up on my remarkably expensive shoes or… incidents.
You have a great NY’s, dear Lorraine… all fun, no foolery.
I don’t think I’ve ever had a really great NYE, but I’ve never been flashed, so there’s that. Alcohol with caffeine is perfect for a night when I need to stay awake past my usual bedtime! The granita and ice cream sound great together. Happy New Year to you–hope you have a great eve this year!
What an embarrassing story, but not as bad as EHA above
Great photo, and love to hear you have a blooper wall instead of an ego wall like politicians have.
Crunchy cold caffeinated granita is a great way to ring in New Years!
I like the idea of an alcoholic granita with icecream. I’m not a big drinker these days either but make it into a dessert and I’m sold.
NY isn’t a favourite occasion of mine either. I’m with Queen Viv on finding it hard to stay away. I usually start everything a lot later on the 31st of December. We have a tradition of a long lunch out on January 1st which is always much more enjoyable.
Have a good night!
Oh Lorraine, I always delete unflattering photos, or grumpy ones, but now I think I’ll have to keep one or two in 2012. I find NYE a strange night. I once had two 12:00 on same night, flying from Paris to California and that was probably the trippiest one. Now as for that hot mess of a flasher, the only flasher in this house is a white robe would be me.
Oh Sweetie, I am not a drinker but this is so much more like a dessert that I would have two! I love this recipe. And I think I’d be happy to settle for an espresso kahlua slushy… and that photo is hysterical but not as funny as the “lady parts”!!?? LOL! Wishing you and Mr. NQN a very very Happy, Healthy & Prosperous 2012! And will I finally be able to read your darn book???
hehe, just got my Nespresso Pixie today, have bombed out on 4 coffees already, looking forward to my first affogato with it, Happy New Year!
I don’t think watching a production of Hair counts as being flashed, even though my ten-year-old self had no idea what was coming
Love, love, love the photo of you! So hilarious, particularly because you’re one of the brightest and bubbliest people I know 
This dessert looks wonderful, and I know I’d love it because of how hard I fell for the coffee jelly with sweetened whipped cream that I ate early one morning on the train in Nara while visiting Japan….
Oh that sounds delicious but would be too sweet for me! Perhaps as a heart-starter the morning-after if one did not have to drive? I love my coffee!
My NYE’s are a mixed bunch too and most of the memorable ones have been between my very late teens and my very early 30s, when I was able to indulge in alcohol, luxury, excess and romance. My most memorable was probably in Dublin, where we drank ‘some of that please’ which was what everyone else was drinking and turned out to be a type of whisky (can’t remember the name, plus lemonade and a red colour). And we didn’t realise it, but they turfed you out at 11 pm. So we followed everyone else to a square where it was lightly snowing and FREEZING and all the enlightened Dubliners had flasks to sip from, but the atmosphere was lovely and not at all violent, and in lightly falling slow and a cathedral ringing, we counted in the new year. Strangers kissed us and danced, and it was just wonderful. We easily caught a cab home to our good value B and B (where my hubby at the time had black pudding for breakfast – ugh) and neither of us were hungover thanks to the 11 pm turf-out time. It was a cheap and chearful break from London and so much fun!
This sounds divine – I would love some for my new years eve! I am in envy of your nespresso too…
Hope this years a good one for you
Hi Lorraine,never been flashed thankfully! Can’t think of a worst but best was last year in our newly purchased unit with all the family watching fireworks from the balcony, nice to be able to enjoy with loved ones. Hope you have a great new year
Love the photo. There’s nothing worse than leaving sunglasses behind when you need them! This New Year’s Eve will be … um … er interesting. Our 16-year-old daughter is hosting her first NYE party, so I’ll be scouring the garden for hidden alcohol,on alert for gatecrashers, and wondering when I can get to bed!!!!
I can’t say I plan on seeing in the new year. An early night sounds like a better idea to me these days
I’d stay up for one of these though
That photo is hilarious, I love it, Lorraine! The expression on the confused gentleman’s face is pretty funny too, lol. The granita sounds delicious, and I think it would be so much fun for New Year’s!
Happy (almost) New Year, love!
Yum! I used to have this incredible espresso granita in a little bar in Italy and have always wanted to recreate it. Looks like I have the recipe now!
This was such a fun read! I’ve had quite a few bad NYE incidents myself, and one is an injury that still hurts when the weather is damp..always a reminder of that night forever! I haven’t experienced a hite bathrobe drunk, exhibitionist moment, though I’ve been slobbered on by a few drunk ladies and gentleman as they spoke to me in slur. I’m a lightweight too..so I always stop at one or two..leaving me the most sober at the party. I love these granitas so much..and in fact, I’m going to make them! This is the proper way to ‘drink’ in my world – dessert! Oh, btw..you look so cute grumpy! Wishing you a much better New Year’s eve this time, and happy and healthy New Year to you and your family! xoxo
I am not much of a sweet drinker (read massive hangover) but this one sound deeeelish! What are those boxes beside your espresso maker? Worst NYE was in Chicago where we fell asleep; we woke for Toronto’s new years, but then slept through Illinois’. It was very sad indeed.
“If I hear ‘relax and have fun’ one more time, somebody’s gonna get stabbed.”
My dear Lorraine, that (untimely) expression is pretty hilarious.
you do look grumpy!
i like a granita with a little punch, and this has it–well done!
I do not love NYE and have had some pretty crappy ones myself, although none involving a white bathrobe, thank goodness!
I remember reading this story. What a view that must have been.
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[...] fancy a granita that’s a little bit creamier and richer, check out my friend Lorraine’s Espresso Kahlua Granita. Why not make them [...]
[...] five of us at a table, four of us staring at her nipple.I know I’ve been flashed before (see much, much worse incident) but we were in a very well heeled establishment and the waiter was about to come over and take our [...]
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