New Year's Eve in Paris with Ina Garten

Here's consolation for those of us who always worry that our New Year's Eve plans aren't fabulous enough: Ina Garten used to feel the same way. "Expectations are too high," she says. So she decided a while back to simplify. Every year, she and her husband, Jeffrey, meet friends for cocktails, then head back to their Paris apartment for an easy dinner and, believe it or not, a store-bought dessert.

Granted, this is Paris, so even the mundane is extraordinary: whisky sours at a gorgeous spot like Hotel Le Meurice near the Louvre, dessert from the world-class La Pâtisserie des Rêves. Nevertheless, her plan is one we can all re-enact at home. And her main course would seem special anywhere: lemony buttered pasta topped with caviar. It's done in minutes, which leaves that much more time to spend with good friends.