More than any other night, New Year’s Eve calls for a touch of glamour and sophistication. Parties and dinners start fashionably late and end in the wee hours of the morning. But it is the food that truly sets the tone. Sparkling wine — particularly Champagne — is the libation of choice, and menus feature it along with extraordinary fare. In the past, I’ve bought foie gras and smoked salmon, cooked whole lobsters and roasted filets of beef for New Year’s Eve. This year, for a small but stylish gathering with good friends, I’ve decided to anchor the meal with a simple main course of garlic-and-rosemary-scented lamb chops served with fettuccine that’s been tossed with creamy bleu cheese. The lamb is brushed with a mixture of minced garlic, crushed red pepper, crushed rosemary and olive oil and left to marinate for several hours. At serving time, the chops need only a few minutes under the broiler to cook to a rosy pink inside. The pasta is even easier to assemble. Fresh fettuccine is cooked until just tender, then drained and tossed with bits of bleu cheese. As the cheese comes in contact with the warm pasta, it melts to form a delectable sauce. A mixed green salad dressed in a Champagne vinaigrette and warm, crusty French or Italian bread are ideal accompaniments. Bowls of good imported olives, a martini glass filled with whole roasted almonds, plus a plate of smoked salmon would make fine starters, and an indulgent dessert — a rich chocolate torte, creme brulee or tiramisu — could be served just as 2004 arrives.

Garlic and Rosemary Lamb Chops with Fettuccine Tossed with Creamy Bleu Cheese

Fourme d’Ambert or Bleu d’Auvergne are other good blue cheeses to use in this recipe. 3 tablespoons minced garlic 1 tablespoon dried crushed rosemary 1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper 4 1/2 tablespoons olive oil 18 rib lamb chops, about 3/4-inch thick, about 3 ounces each, trimmed of excess fat Kosher salt, to taste 1 1/2 pounds fresh fettuccine 12 ounces creamy bleu cheese, such as Saga Blue, rind removed and cheese cut into 1/2-inch pieces Black pepper, freshly ground, to taste 1 bunch fresh rosemary Combine the garlic, dried rosemary, crushed red pepper and olive oil in a small bowl. Brush some of this mixture on both sides of each lamb chop. Sprinkle the chops lightly with salt on both sides and place on a large nonreactive (nonaluminum) platter. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or as long as 4 hours. Bring to room temperature 30 minutes before ready to cook. When ready to cook, bring a large pot of water to a boil for the pasta. Arrange a rack 4 to 5 inches from the broiler heating element and heat the broiler for the lamb. Spread the chops on a foil-lined baking sheet. When the water comes to a boil, add 1 teaspoon salt and the fettuccine. Cook until al dente (tender to the bite), for about 5 minutes or according to package directions, then drain in a colander. Return the pasta to the pan in which it was cooked and add the bleu cheese pieces. Stir until the cheese has melted. Taste the pasta and season with more salt if desired, then with several grindings of pepper. Cover the pot with a lid or wrap tightly with foil while you broil the lamb chops. Broil the chops until rosy pink inside, for about 3 minutes per side or longer, if desired. Remove from the oven. To serve, mound the pasta on a serving platter and surround with a border of lamb chops. Garnish the center of the pasta with the bouquet of rosemary. Makes 6 servings (3 chops each). Betty Rosbottom is a cooking school director from Massachusetts. Her next cookbook is “Big Book of Backyard Cooking” (Chronicle Books, 2004).

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