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.

You know you're getting old when....

...an EXCELLENT weekend goes something like this:

Saturday:
- Sleep in and wake up next to your hubster and then enjoy morning coffee and a slice of toast (from homemade bread)
- Tidy up the kitchen from the week's built-up mess with the hubby's help
- Box up and put away all of the Christmas decorations...again with the help of the hubs along with other house clean up/organization
- Hang pictures you've had stacked in a corner
- Rotate, fold and put away 3 loads of laundry
- Try a new recipe for dinner that utilizes garden veggies
- Attend a high school basketball game with your husband
- Wind down with a glass of wine on the couch rewatching an episode of Battlestar Galactica before heading to bed

Chicken, black beans & rice recipe from Better Homes & Garden.
Could have afforded to use more cayenne pepper...next time!

Sunday
- Attend church with the hubster and see family and friends
- Make a quick stop at the grocery (with the man)
- Heat up leftovers for lunch while the hubs preps soup to stew all day for dinner
- Make a batch (3 loaves) of homemade bread
- Visit with family who is visiting the Valley
- Make a batch of sugar cookies from scratch
- Vacuum, dust and other house chores
- Enjoy dinner with the hubs and head to bed early

Final step of the bread-baking process!