Chinese New Year!

With the Chinese New Year coming up on the 23rd, I thought it would be fun to make Chinese (instead of Superbowl Food.) This is the year of the Dragon, girls. Not that that means anything really.
This will be held at Missy's house (I'll email the address) at 7:30 on Thurs Jan 12th

Main: Missy BBQ Chicken Chinese Lettuce Wraps
Side: Kristen
Side: Jeri Spicy Orange Beef
Side:
Salad:
Dessert:
Dessert:
Drink:
While many cultures around the world celebrate New Year's as a time of renewal, the Lunar New Year means that and much more. It is a time to gather with family, honor ancestors and celebrate with a big banquet that symbolizes prosperity in the New Year.

Food Symbolism

Most of the dishes served during Lunar New Year (also known as Spring Festival) are symbolic of something positive and hopeful.

Chicken and fish, for example, symbolize happiness and prosperity--especially when served whole.
Dishes made with oranges represent wealth and good fortune because they are China's most plentiful fruit.
Noodles represent longevity: therefore, they should never be cut!
Duck symbolizes fidelity, while eggs signify fertility.
Bean curd or tofu, however, is avoided because its white color suggests death and misfortune.

Dishes are also chosen based on homonyms--words that either are spelled the same or sound the same as other words. Fish (yu) is served because it sounds similar to the Chinese word for plenty; whole fish represents abundance. Turnips are cooked because their name (cai tou) also means "good luck."

Another popular Lunar New Year dish is jiaozi, dumplings boiled in water. In some areas of China, coins are placed in the center of jiaozi. Whoever bites into one of these dumplings will have an exceptionally lucky year.

November 16th: Comfort/Childhood Favorite

Do you have a favorite dish whose smell or taste rushes back memories of growing up or sitting together as a family in the dining room? Or at the end of a hard day, this dish seems to melt all your cares away? This month we'll bring back fun childhood memories of favorite dishes your mom or dad use to make! Join us this month at Kristen's house as we take a walk down memory lane! It will be held on Wednesday November 16th at 7:30pm. Directions will be e-mailed out a few days before. Hope you can make it!

Main Dish: Kristen
Side Dish: Missy
Side Dish:Heather
Salad:
Salad:
Dessert:
Dessert: Jeri (chocolate chip cookies)
Drink:

Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
splash milk (enough to incorporate all the flour into the butter)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup chopped dark chocolate or semi-sweet chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream the butter and powdered sugar until fluffy. Add vanilla and a splash of milk. Mix baking powder and salt into flour and add the dry ingredients to the wet by thirds. You might need to add a little more milk to get all the flour in (I usually taste to make sure the dough is not too sweet). Dough will be very thick. Add in chocolate chips, stir just to combine. Drop in tablespoon-sized balls (or even slightly smaller) 1” apart on parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Hide half of the dough so you’ll have cookies for later.

October 13: Pumpkin

The leaves are beginning to change, there's a chill in the air... Can only mean one thing - fall time and pumpkins! Let's celebrate the upcoming season with delicious pumpkin dishes. Cooking Club will be held on Thursday, October 13 at 7:30 p.m. at Holly Faux's house (I'll email my address and directions out; I live close to Jeri and Missy). Hope you can come and enjoy!


Appetizer:
Main Dish: Holly (Harvest Pumpkin Soup)
Salad:
Side: Jeri (Pumpkin Ravioli)
Side:Becky pumpkin pasta
Side: Jenny crepes
Bread:
Dessert: Natalie
Drink: Missy - Pumpkin Juice

Pumpkin Ravioli

Filling
3/4c Pumpkin puree
1/2c Ricotta cheese
1/3c grated parmesan
1 egg
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
9 (or so) gingersnaps, processed into crumbs.

Mix all ingredients except cookie crumbs together, add the crumbs to thicken the filling, you want a light paste.

Pasta dough from the Tyler Florence recipe. I followed his directions for making the dough and filling the ravioli except for this change: Put the flour and salt into your mixer bowl and make a well. Crack all the eggs into the well and, with a fork, beat them slightly. Start to incorporate the flour at the sides of the well. When the eggs seem beaten, put the dough hook attachment on the mixer and turn it on. It will gradually continue to work in the flour. When the dough starts to all come together, drizzle the olive oil in slowly. It should come together to form a lovely, dense, elastic dough that is easy to knead.


Harvest Pumpkin Soup (from marthastewart.com)

Ingredients:
1 small sugar pumpkin, halved, seeds & stringy fibers removed and reserved
6 T unsalted butter
3 c homemade or low-sodium chicken stock
3 c water
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 small parsnip (abt 4 oz), peeled and coarsely chopped
1 small yukon gold potato (abt 6 oz), peeled and coarsely chopped
1 small turnip (abt 4 oz), peeled and coarsely chopped
2 small shallots, minced (abt 1/4 cup)
1/2 c dry white wine
3 T heavy cream
1 tsp packed light-brown sugar
2 tsp coarse salt
freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place pumpkin halves, cut sides down, on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until soft, about 50 minutes. Scoop out flesh, and puree in a food processor (you should have 2 cups).

2. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add reserved seeds and fibers from pumpkin, and cook for 4 minutes. Add stock, water, and thyme, and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook for 9 to 10 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, melt remaining 5 tablespoons butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add pumpkin puree, parsnip, potato, and turnip, and cook for 5 minutes. Add shallots, and cook until soft, about 4 minutes. Add wine, and cook until liquid has reduced by half.
4. Strain pumpkin-seed mixture, reserving broth and discarding solids. Add broth to pumpkin-wine mixture. Bring to a simmer; cook 20 minutes. Let cool.

5. Pass soup through a food mill into a clean saucepan, or puree in a food processor in small batches until smooth. (If soup does not reach desired consistency using a food processor, press it through a fine sieve to remove any remaining lumps.) Heat soup in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in cream, sugar, salt, and pepper, and serve.