The Acre Substack Dinner Party | NYE
Ring in the New Year with dips and sips.
I am loving the community on Substack. There are so many brilliant creators, and I am inspired everyday to create, cook or learn something new.
Each month I will pull together my curation of what I am loving into a themed dinner party, with tableware and additional ideas to round it out. This is going to be so fun to see how these evolve over the year. Join me at The Acre Substack Dinner Party New Years Eve.
It’s nearly time to celebrate 2026, and I wanted to pull together a dinner party that is high brow meets low brow in the perfect mix of dips and sips. A dip party makes it easy for guests to bring their own no matter their level of expertise - bring a hot dip, cold dip, premade dip topped with a drizzle of oil and sprinkle of Maldon, a sweet dip, a spicy dip - the options are endless. I have pulled together a curation of dips from a party I hosted earlier this December, as well as some Substack favs.
The Aesthetic
Glass, Silver, Radish Red
Vintage silver serve ware is seeing a resurgence, and I am here for it. I love the addition of metal, the sheen and shine elevate with little effort. Practically, metal dishes are a great addition as they naturally stay cold, making it great for cold dips, shrimp or crudités. Here are all the metal serve ware I pulled for this spread: Two tiered snack tray, Stainless Steel Ice Bucket, metal platter, Seashell Tongs
I love the combo of metal and glass, showing off here in Tasty Magazine by Nimisha Inc image above, as well as Maddy chic snack curation below. The natural twinkle of both glass and metal take center stage on NYE. I pulled a martini style glass as well as an aperitif glass for a fun mix of shapes and styles for the beverages featured: Trumpet Aperitifs, Piano Cocktail Glasses
I am a sucker for red. It has crept into my wardrobe and home more and more over this year especially, adding a vibrant pop to my more neutral palette. Radish reds range from vibrant cayenne intensity to deep pink-red, making it a lovely shade to transition from Christmas to NYE. Inspired by Rivki Rabinowitz radish image, I am curating a few dishes and elements throughout that bring in this punchy red: Red Rim Platter, Striped candles, Cherry red candle holder, Burgundy plate
The Dips
Briny, Salty, Sweet
Let’s get to the diiiip. I love dip so much. A single dipping vehicle (aka chips) gets coated in flavor, as much or as little as you want. Every bite is different, a real choose-your-own-adventure of a meal.
I have pulled together a menu featuring a balance of savory and sweet, based on an amazing spread of dips my friends brought to a favorite things gift exchange I hosted.
Ellie’s Dirty Martini Dip
My friend Ellie brought this stunning spread of crudités and dirty martini dip. The Dip was creamy and punchy, a perfect pairing with the crisp veg. She styled the dip in martini glasses she had thrifted and arranged the crudités on a metal serving platter covered in ice. Thank you Ellie for sharing your delicious dip recipe!
8oz. Whipped Cream Cheese
1 heaping Tbs. of Plain Greek Yogurt
4 to 6oz. Bleu Cheese
1 Tbs. Gin
2 Tbs. Chopped Chives
1/3 c. Castelvetrano Olives, plus 3 Tbs. of brine
½ tsp. White Pepper
½ tsp. Garlic Powder
1 tsp. Onion Powder
Zest from 1 Lemon
Pinch of Kosher Salt
Put everything in a food processor and mix your little heart out (Ellie’s words lol).
Transfer into a serving dish (piped into martini glasses are Ellie’s move) and top with an olive oil drizzle.
Garnish with bleu cheese stuffed olives and/or lemon twists and more chives.
Serve with crudités (endive, snap peas, carrots, radishes, green onions, cherry tomatoes) on ice.
Rachel’s Dirty Martini Dip
Inspired by Ellie’s dip, I wanted to try to make a dirty martini dip that fit into my style of dips. I love a layered dip–a creamy base topped with chopped, flaked, and herbed bits is my go-to. It looks stunning on the plate, and each bite is full of texture and flavor. If you loved a bite with more olive, or more preserved lemon, your next dip can have that! I also love how this dip looks so retro on the plate, with the olive and pickled tones. Enjoy this dip with crudités as well. If you are a spoon or spread user, these Aperitivo Spoons would make the perfect addition to this dip.
1/4 Red Onion, thinly sliced into half moons
1/4c. Red Wine Vinegar
1/4c. Crumbled Feta
1/4c. Sour Cream
4oz. Cream Cheese
3Tbs. Olive Brine
One 10oz jar Martini Olives, chopped
1/2 Tbs. Preserved Lemon, chopped
Olive oil
1 Sprig Fresh Dill
Add the red onion and red wine vinegar to a shallow bowl, making sure all of the red onion is submerged - add more vinegar if needed. Let sit out while you make the rest of the dip (5 to 10 minutes).
Add the feta, sour cream, cream cheese, and olive brine to a blender. Blend until smooth.
Spread the feta mixture onto a large platter and top with the chopped martini olives, chopped preserved lemon, pickled red onion slices, a drizzle of olive oil and fresh dill. Enjoy!
Sweet & Spicy Smoked Salmon Dip
This dip is so good. It is the perfect balance of smoky, sweet, creamy and spicy. I made a version of this dip for summer, and knew I had to bring it back for winter. I would serve this dip with a giant bowl of potato chips, mounded in the new Noble x Hetty bowl.
4oz. Cream Cheese, softened
4oz. Hot Smoked Salmon, I used Honey Smoked Fish Co. Original Salmon
2 green onions, whole onion thinly sliced on the diagonal
3 Dates, pitted and chopped
1-2 Tbs. Harissa
Fresh Dill to garnish (optional)
Potato Chips (I love Ruffles chips for this dip)
Spread the cream cheese onto a serving plate.
Gently flake the smoked salmon with your hands, arranging it evenly over the cream cheese.
Top it with the chopped dates and green onion.
Top with small dollops of harissa across the top of the salmon to your own heat preferences.
Finish with fresh dill.
Enjoy immediately with a big bowl of potato chips of choice.
More dips
I rounded out the spread with a few additional dips, including Marissa Mullen simple Tater Tots & Harbison Cheese. A simple combo you cannot help but dip into.
I came across Eat Sfizi Taralli crackers recently and purchased all three of their flavors. I would pair them with a homemade or store bought spinach artichoke dip for a quick and easy addition.
Lastly, I would finish the spread with a Cannoli Dip with strawberries. My friend Paula brought this to our dip party and it was so good. This dip is light and sweet, a delicious end to the dip spread.
The Sips
Bubbles, Brine, Jello
Let’s start with a dip that doubles down on olives– Julianna McIntosh Freeze door martini and caviar stuffed olives. So elevated and fun, they would be perfect in the Piano Cocktail Glasses.
I would also serve my favorite bubbly rose Piazza Grande as a light counter to the dips. I also chose NA Apertif to create a non-alchoholic spitz, a great sip without the booze. Any lastly, for something very playful and fun, I have added the sunday stack Lychee Martini Jello Shots - Cheers!
