Monday, February 6th marks the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year. Which means I've been trying to keep to my family's tradition of cleaning the house, fresh haircuts for the boys, and setting mandarin oranges around the house for good luck. Now that the boys are older, they love learning about these traditions - and superstitions like these New Year's Day taboos:

• No sweeping/cleaning or you will sweep away your luck and fortune
• No crying children as this will bring bad luck
• Don't wash your hair or you will wash away luck and fortune
• Don't wear white, black or blue (signifies mourning). Wear something new and something red for good luck

It's that time of year again. Highlights (and lowlights) of the past year are flooding my newsfeed. New diets and detox regimens for a "new you." New Year Resolutions. For me, I like to review some of my best meals and with that, moments in the past year. Drum roll please...

#10: Matzo Ball Soup - this was my second time ever making matzo ball soup. I made them with schmaltz (melted chicken fat). No matzo ball mix here. The result? Crazy good.

#9: DIY Rice Bowls with Fried Egg - Such a humble dish but all-around family favorite. Rice topped with some stir-fry veggies and a fried egg. One dish you won't need a recipe for.

#8: Scallion Pancakes - These golden beauties from Joanne Chang's Flour, Too cookbook are now a must-have during Chinese New Year celebrations.

#7: Roasted Pumpkin Soup at Henrietta's Table - I had the good fortune of getting a cooking demonstration by Chef Peter Davis for making this luscious soup. It's a bowl full of Autumn.

#6: Asian-Style BBQ Chicken - from one of my 2014 favorite cookbooks, Dinner: The Playbook, this BBQ chicken dish is packed with flavor. Plus my kids love it and it's so easy to make. Yep, it's a keeper.

#5: Warm Couscous Salad with Roasted Autumn Vegetables and Ginger-Scallion Dressing - from my other favorite 2014 cookbook, Flour, Too, this dish is hearty but so good for you, you can't help but love it.

#4: The Countdown - this was my favorite cocktail at one of my new favorite restaurants this year - Alden & Harlow. I can't recall what's in this drink (their drink menu changes regularly). What I can remember was this was a perfect drink for raising a glass to turning the big 4-0.

#3: Momofuku Noodle Bar's Shiitake Bun - this was a bittersweet meal. My long-awaited first visit to Momofuku Noodle Bar in NYC only happened because we were in the city for my grandmother's funeral. It was sad having to say goodbye, but so lovely being with family over some of the best food I've ever had.

#2: Sharing platter - there was nothing extraordinary about this charcuterie and cheese board. What makes it one of my favorite meals is the fact that this was our last picnic dinner on one of our favorite beaches on Cape Cod. Sigh.

#1: Mother's Day Breakfast - Oh my God, was this good. Umdaddy surprised me with the best breakfast a mom could ask for: Fried egg over baby arugula, skillet fried fingerling potatoes and monkey bread french toast. Not only was this out-of-this-world-good, but I got to share it with my family. I am so very lucky.

Here's to even more delicious meals with those you love in 2015!

Today is the first day of the Chinese New Year. So what does that mean? Well, according to Chinese astrologists, it could mean a whole lot depending on what animal you are in the Chinese zodiac. I guess if your business has anything to do with wood or fire, it will be a good year for you! Oh, and beware of volcanoes this year according to a recent article in The Independent.

Well, in our house it means giving the boys red envelopes with money, setting out a pair of mandarin oranges with red envelopes in each room, visiting family and friends and making a New Year's feast. The Chinese believe it is important to serve food symbolizing prosperity and good fortune. So on this year's menu, I plan on making:

• Scallion Pancakes: roundness = togetherness, gold = wealth
• Pork Dumplings: the shape of the dumplings resembles old ingot-shaped coins = wealth
• Chinese Broccoli: blossoming flowers = life
• Longevity Noodles: long noodles = long life
• Tea Eggs: Gold-colored eggs resemble gold nuggets = prosperity

Happy New Year and Gong Hay Fat Choy!

Today marks the first day of the Chinese New Year with this year being the Year of the Dragon.  Chinese New Year is the most important Chinese holiday. It is a celebration of change - out with the old and in with the new. And hopefully with newness comes an abundance of good health, happiness and prosperity. Who couldn't use some of that?

As with many things in Chinese culture, there are some *basic* superstitions you must adhere to that will bring good luck and ward off bad luck:

• Sweep away any bad luck from your home by cleaning your house BEFORE New Year's Day
• Wear something new (and red) on New Year's Day to bring good luck
• Place a pair of tangerines in each room to bring good luck
• Do not wash your hair on New Year's Day (!)
• Serve food with auspicious characteristics
• Give kids gifts of money in red envelopes

We're a little lax on some of these (yes, I did shower this morning), but I am trying to start our own family tradition of a big feast to introduce my boys to some traditional Chinese dishes I grew up eating on this holiday. To celebrate the Year of the Dragon, I'll be busy in the kitchen making the following:

• Steamed whole fish: the Chinese word for fish is Yu, which sounds like the word for abundance.
• Chinese broccoli: broccoli symbolizes blossoming flowers
• Dumplings: symbolizes wealth
• Lion's Head: Lion = strength and roundness = togetherness
• Almond Cookies: symbolize gold coins and wealth

Wishing you good fortune and happiness - or GUNG HAY FAT CHOY!


Chinese Almond Cookies
Adapted from Simply Recipes

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/3 cups of almond flour, lightly packed
• 1 cup of unsalted butter, chilled and cut into cubes
• Pinch of kosher salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon of almond extract
• 1 3/4 cups of flour
• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons of sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
• Sliced almonds

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Place the almond flour, salt, and butter into an electric stand mixer with a paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for three minutes. The mixture will become course and chunky looking.
3. Add one of the eggs and the almond extract. Mix on low speed until just incorporated. 
4. Sift together the flour, sugar, and baking soda then add to the butter mixture at low speed. Mix until just combined.
5. Take the dough and flatten it into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Place it in the refrigerator for two hours to chill.
6. Place other egg in bowl and whisk  
7. Take pieces of dough and roll them into balls about a half-inch wide. Place them on the sheet about and inch apart and then press them down slightly with your palm to make a coin shape.
8. Place a slivered almond onto each cookie and lightly press it into place, then paint the surface of the cookie with some of the beaten egg using a pastry brush.
9. Bake for 13-15 minutes or until the edges just being to tan. Cool on the sheet on a wire rack.

Serving Lion's Head to celebrate the Year of the Rabbit

Chinese New Year and the Year of the Rabbit begins on February 3rd and is celebrated for 15 days. The holiday was always a joyous and exciting time of year when I was growing up. There was always a big Chinese New Year feast at our family's restaurant. All my aunts, uncles and cousins would come together and dine on whole steamed fish and chicken (representing abundance). Also on the menu was braised Chinese mushrooms, longevity noodles (representing long life) and my dad's famous lobster Cantonese. No one was allowed to speak of anything sad or fight as this was considered bad luck. And the highlight of the day had to have been when the adults handed out red envelopes stuffed with money to all the kids. 

So now as an adult with my own family, I find myself wanting to pass down some of these Chinese New Year traditions, superstitions and all. The house is clean, cleaning out any bad luck. We placed a pair of clementines in each room of our house symbolizing happiness, good fortune and health. Red envelopes are stuffed and ready to hand out to the boys. All that is missing is the big feast. I'm a little behind with menu planning and shopping due to all the friggin' snow we've been getting. But thought I'd share a new recipe we tested this week that was a huge hit and will definitely be part of our family's Chinese New Year tradition.

Lion's Heads with lots of mane (or cabbage)

Lion's Head 
Adapted from Ming Tsai's Simply Ming One-Pot Meals

Note: Chinese dishes have evocative names. The lion's head refers to the meatballs and the cabbage represents the mane. A lion represents strength and the roundness of the meatball represents family, togetherness.

INGREDIENTS
3/4 lb ground pork
3/4 lb ground beef
1 medium onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 tbs minced garlic
2 tbs minced ginger
2 tbs Worcestershire sauce
1 tbs sesame oil
1 cup steamed white rice
2 large eggs
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 small head napa cabbage, cut into thin strips

DIRECTIONS
1. Set up steamer (bamboo steamer or dish elevated above water-filled wok)

make-shift steamer in a wok

2. In a large bowl, combine the pork, beef, onions, garlic, ginger, Worcestershire sauce, sesame oil, rice and eggs. Season with salt and pepper and mix by hand until combined.

3. Using your hands, lightly form the mixture into 2-inch balls. Place a 3/4 to 1-inch bed of cabbage in the top of the steamer and top with the meatballs. Season with salt and pepper and steam until the meatballs and cabbage are cooked through (10-12 minutes). Transfer the cabbage to a platter , top with the meatballs and serve.

The Good: Super easy to make. No rolling around meatballs in oil.

The Bad: The cabbage cooks down dramatically. Wish there was more cabbage to go around.

Grade: A. The boys could not get enough. Great, quick, healthy weeknight meal.