Happy Chinese Near Year!

Here are the remnants of a Happy Chinese New Year feast. One of my closest friends, Irene, came complete with a butane burner to make a traditional chinese hot pot meal. It was the first time that I've had it. She made homemade broth which bubbled on the table on the burner. In went shrimp balls, lobster balls, Napa cabbage, noodles, clams, shrimp, and steak. She called it "Chinese fondue". We drank Champagne and toasted Irene's upcoming graduation as a geriatric nurse practitioner.

It was finished with tea and my Mississippi mud cake (from one of the Moosewood cookbooks). It was fun to have the mixture of both our families there - both in cuisine and traditions. I brought out my grandmother's sterling which were set next to the chopsticks. The placemats are made from Kaffe Fassett fabrics that I quilted (my family tradition). She brought me a hello Kitty Chinese New Year decoration (see, she's a really good friend!) And she shared a traditional family favorite entree. The stories were great too - Irene's memories of the Chinese lion dancers in New York city.

Sigh. Good food, good friendship. A perfect night.