Happy Year of the Tiger - Our Annual Chinese New Year Party Begins

Today we are celebrating Chinese New Year with our annual gathering of friends. This is the year of the Tiger, so if you were 1914, 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, or 1998, then this is your year and you should expect it to be a good one based on Chinese Astrology. We gather all of our local friends and put out enough food to feed Beijing. This year I will be making short ribs, flaming duck, sticky rice and my girl will add scallion dumplings, spicy tofu and Chinese Hot Pot (think fondue, but with better ingredients) to the mix.

To kick off the day, I have started the ribs grilling. These beauties were soaking in a mixture of spices, Guiness beer, soy sauce and garlic since Tuesday. I flame seared them on high, added a secret five-spice rub of my own creation and then will let them cook for the next four hours on low heat until the meat literally falls right off the bone. The final touch to this dish will come when I top them off with my home made Chinese BBQ sauce right before serving. Prepare to drool.

Stay tuned throughout the day today for updates and more pictures.

3:00 PM Update: the Ducks have been added to the grill. After roasting on low heat for approximately 4 hours, they will be drenched in a sweet orange glaze and then set aflame for serving. YES, there will be pictures of the presentation when finished, so stay tuned.

Here are some pics of all the food we had once everything was cooked and all our guests had arrived

The "Meat Table" with ducks, ribs and several sides. The Captain Morgan's rum was poured over the duck and the set aflame just before serving to crisp up the skin. Very tastey.

Here is the Main Table with dumplins, several rice dishes, the Hot Pot and sauces and sides for all the good food.

Our friends enjoying the meal and trying to get motivated for Round II.