January 2009's Recipe: Chinese New Year Celebration

We couldn't let Chinese New Years slip by unrecognized!  After all, China was a delightful travel destination several years ago, and we cherish each moment that we spent there.  The scenery, the people, the cuisine...it was all so special.  However, nothing was more special than Xi Yi whom we met in Quillan.  We've kept up a friendship with Xi Yi over the intervening years, watching her move from a young student to a successful doctor.  So it is that with our Chinese New Year's dinner that we celebrate not only the holiday but also the land and its wonderful people such as Xi Yi.

We're started off our festive dinner with bowls of Hot and Sour Soup with Shiitake Mushrooms, thanks to an incredible recipe published by America's Test Kitchen, and followed this favorite with Twice Cooked Green Beans with Garlic Shrimp and Hedgehogs accompanied by small bowls of rice.