Chinese CRew Year: The Year of the Snake

It was another relaxing and wonderful weekend up north at the beloved Love Shack! It was our last Chinese New Year celebration at the Love Shack, which is of course bittersweet. We all have excellent, fun memories at the Gress house in West Mansfield, (including mine & Mingus's epic road trip that started it all for us), but the departure from the Love Shack will also mean we get the Gress's back in Kentucky--Louisville to be exact--and we are all stoked about that news.

Ten of us traveled from Kentucky to make a crew of 12 for the weekend. While we had layers of ice in central KY, no snow to be seen, but luckily it was coming down in Ohio. No blizzard repeat of 35 years ago (thank goodness!) but enough for my Mingus to play from the time we arrived on Friday night (MIDNIGHT!) until 2am! The next day, after a delicious brunch at the Amish restaurant in Plain City, Der Dutchman, we got some disc sleds and Gress took us on 4-wheeler rides through the snow. We may have all come out with some bangs and bruises but all totally worth it.

At least they still get snow in Ohio! Had lots of fun playing outside!

Four Wheeler Rides = Excellent idea!
Except $5 disc sleds don't last long... we destroyed three!

Mingus getting me all safety strapped in for my turn!

We of course did the traditional Chinese feast, which this year's menu included: Orange Chicken, vegetable spring rolls, miso soup, and vegetable fried rice. We of course made an elaborate cupcake display in honor of the Year of the Snake and to celebrate BenDeisel's birthday. 

Host Sara-Boo working on delicious Orange Chicken for our Chinese feast!

The fumes were SO strong--which was great for the flavor
of dinner itself, but bad for the eyes. Miche improvised well!

Double Headed Wang for the Year of the Snake!

While the ladies took care of most of dinner prep, the men had an epic couch burning. The old yellow couch, originally belonging to Gress's grandmother, traveled with him from place to place through our party years in Louisville and we finally bid it farewell (as it's not something the two of them want to tote back to Kentucky in their move.) After the sharing of fond memories around the couch, the men took it outside for a giant bonfire.

Reminiscing Apartment and 1040 memories from the epic yellow couch that
lived through it all... The couch went out with a bang!

A great way to spend our last Chinese New Year at the Love Shack!

Fantastic group of friends! We are so blessed!

Chinese New Year 2012: Puff The Magic New Year.

PUFF! The Magic New Year!

One of my favorite holidays has come to be Chinese New Year. There are multiple reasons. My favorite, beloved professor in college had quite a passion for the holiday and made sure all of us in the communication department acknowledged the holiday. Her excitement over what we saw as an obscure holiday made us love her all the more.

Another reason is two fold. My group of friends began a Chinese New Year's get together tradition a couple of years ago. Most of us are Kentucky-based but our newly married friends near Columbus, OH host the annual celebration. The road trip to their house in the middle of the Buckeye countryside always feels like a mini-retreat. It was on this first Chinese New Year celebration that sparks flew for my husband and I. (There's a reason we've dubbed their house "The Love Shack"...)

This year's celebration was anything but a let down, despite my brothers and hubster having a conflicting event. Our feast was unbelievable and props go to our hostess for planning and prepping the kitchen with all of the necessary supplies! 

The Chinese New Year Menu:

Appetizer
Fried Shrimp Wontons

Spring Rolls

Soup

Miso soup

Main Course

Shanghai Vegetable Fried Rice

Ginger Broccoli

Steamed or Baked Sichuan Duck

Dessert

Chocolate Dragon Cupcake Cake

Almost all of the supplies used for dinner... I believe the spring rolls are missing...
Not to mention the 3 ducks Sara had pre-seasoned for us,
as well as the shrimp stuffing for the wontons she'd prepared.

She checked out a recipe book from the library
and had several authentic Chinese dishes picked out for our feast.

Everyone helped out in the meal prep,
making the 3 1/2 hours in the kitchen extra enjoyable!

We had to stir fry in portions because of the amount we were fixing
in order to feed 12 hungry bellies!

Our Chinese buffet, ready for us to dig in!

Don't forget dessert!! The year of the dragon!

A successful dinner is bound to leave a messy stove top!

The whole gang minus taken by our hostess who took the picture.