(OK, there’s nothing final — I hope — about tonight’s countdown. We’ve just been watching more Arrested Development this week.)

We’ll be ringing in the new year with blini, sour cream & caviar and toasting with prosecco. A bit of a culture clash, I’ll admit, but our movie marathon this year will be the great American saga The Godfather (parts I & II only), so you could say we’re into the melting pot thing. Though the cultures did clash terribly for Kay & Michael … hmm, maybe this is less a celebration of melting pot-ness than one of capitalism. The caviar is from Trader Joe’s, after all.

Because buckwheat just doesn’t do it for me, I made these blini with a mix of all-purpose and whole wheat flours. Because I’m lazy, I searched for a recipe that didn’t involve yeast. Don’t worry if you’ve never made blini; if you can make pancakes, you can make these. It’s only slightly more tedious measuring out the batter in tablespoon increments, but they cook so much faster than a full-sized pancake, you won’t really notice the extra effort.

As for new year’s resolutions, I try to avoid making them, but think it would be a very good thing if I could manage to worry less and enjoy things a bit more. How about you? Any resolutions this year?

Have a safe and happy turning of the page. See you all in 2009!

recipe after the jump

Blini from Great Party Recipes (no, seriously)

3 eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 cup milk
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup buckwheat or whole wheat flour
1/3 teaspoon salt
melted butter

Whisk together the eggs, buttermilk and milk. Combine the flours and salt. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and whisk again.

Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat. When hot, brush the bottom of the skillet with butter. (The original recipe called for a full stick of butter, but I used only 2 tablespoons, at most. If you don’t mind that much butter, I’m sure they’d be 4 times more delicious than mine were.)

Using 1 tablespoon of batter per blin, cook for about 1 1/2 minutes on the first side, until golden brown. Turn them when they are dry and slightly bubbly around the edges. Cook another 30 seconds or so.

You can cook 4 or 5 blini at a time in a large skillet, more on a large griddle. Recoat the skillet with butter each time.

Serve with caviar and crème fráiche or crème fráiche and jam. Makes 4 dozen blini.

The pale and enormous (and quite googly) eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg are always watching.