Happy Year of the Golden Pig!

Happy Chinese New Year!

We celebrated Chinese New Year with my in-laws on Friday night and Saturday morning, with my parents on Saturday night and Sunday morning. I am exhausted. Every day was a feast (9+ courses). All of the dishes and decorations with good homonyms. We saw the Chinese New Year Spectacular at Radio City Hall on Saturday night. It was terrible, it was amateur night for local New Yorkers with no real new year theme. Don't waste your money, unless you want to support the Fa Lun Gung Cult (which is the secret sect behind this show). Sunday morning we went to visit my grandmother, where my extended family (on my dad's side) gathers every new years. This is the first year we handed red envelopes out, and it was fun. As a kid, that's what you looked forward to. We even got a pair of red envelopes from my cousin Teresa. She gave it to us for being a newlywed.

I can't believe there are 2 layers in this tiny box.

My husband gave me a box of La Maison Du Chocolat truffles. They are a belated Valentine's Day gift. They are so tiny and so yummy! I had to close my eyes while eating them. When I let him try one, he had to sit down to eat it. It is so good...

Brrrrrrrrrrr

Kimchi Jigae

Because of the recent cold weather, I wanted to make Kimchi Jigae (Kimchi, beef, tofu stew) from The Food of Korea cookbook. My husband orders this dish whenever we go to Korean restaurants in winter. I originally was supposed to make this on Wednesday, but I forgot to buy beef broth and I got locked out of the apartment. I had 4 bags of groceries and I couldn't get the key to turn on our apartment door. So, I sat outside and waited for hubby to come home, which didn't take too long. The neighbors thought it was funny to see me sitting in the hallway. I didn't make the stew as spicy as it should be, since my tolerance for spice is low. But I think it tasted pretty savory.

It has been so cold. For all those who complained about winter being too warm in December, is it cold enough for you yet? I tend to hibernate (sleep, eat too much) during winter. So, I am glad there are always holidays to look forward to, to get me out of the house. Actually, restaurant week got me out and about. Good food will make me brave the elements. I met up with some good friends and tried 2 new restaurants, the Water Club and Inagiku. The Water Club was quite a trek to get to, and with my bad sense of direction, I had to resort to a cab to get there. The prix fixe menu was very disappointing and the service was slow. Inagiku was in the Waldorf Astoria, which was a nice surprise. They of course served small portions, but the seafood was fresh and everything was good. I would return there again.