Red Rice and Beans...Peking Duck...Dark Chocolate?

There is a  trio of foodie opportunities if you like to cook according to the season and the event (and I do).

Yesterday marked the Chinese New Year, the Year of the Dragon.  I had the great opportunity to watch a master chef prepare a Chinese New Year feast, and it was memorable.  From the Peking duck to the Winter Wolfberry Soup, the Coconut Pudding and the poached whole fish, the Chinese pancakes and a crisp Pinot Grigio, there was some excellent eating and lots of cooking tips, as always.

I immediately prepared the Winter Wolfberry Soup.  The smell of the simmering broth, with hefty slices of ginger, onions and mushrooms in a chicken-based stock, perfumed the house.  Once done, fat skimmed and chicken removed, I followed the chef''s instructions and chopped the chicken into small pieces, added green onions and sliced mushrooms, some crunchy water chestnuts, goji berries,tiny bits of winter melon and a dash of red pepper.  On a chilly and dampish Northwest afternoon, it was completely satisfying.  I will try the duck next, and am confident that the end result will be equally delish.

Next up, Valentine's Day.  I like to make a memorable and easy meal that includes favorites, rather than going out to a restaurant.  It seems more relaxing, and by now, you have probably figured out I'm a little persnickety about my food. 

Following my usual pattern, I focused first on dessert.  I like to know what the dessert is in advance, so I can build my meal around it.  If that sounds counterintuitive, so be it.  I like dessert!  Being Valentine's Day, I had to prepare something chocolate.  I opted for chocolate-dipped strawberries, but then decided to make a big batch of deep chocolate cupcakes with chocolate buttercream frosting.  Can I just say that the frosting was the very best ganache I've every tasted?  Three sticks of butter, a cup of heavy cream, confectionary sugar, vanilla and nine squares of semi-sweet chocolate made this the frosting you could really just eat on its own.  But on the cupcakes...ah, totally satisfying and  deeply, darkly rich.  I skipped the chocolate-dipped strawberries and just served them sliced in a nice dish.  The rest of the meal: mahi mahi lightly grilled and sharply seasoned, a fresh baked Idaho potato and some of the new asparagus in a ponzu-based (citrus and soy) sauce completed a basic, but just right meal.  There was a green salad, too, with a sprinkling of slivered almonds and small slices of clementines.

Now it's on to tomorrow's Mardi Gras meal, supposedly the excess before the minimalism of Lent begins.  I am thinking of red beans and rice.  It's another hearty choice, it lends itself well to lots of spices, like file powder,  to make the flavors really pop, and you can toss in sauteed celery, onion, carrot, okra and even some greens if you want.  Now, if you add a big and bold spicy sausage, your Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday meal is ready to rock those taste buds.  Bread pudding is a traditional New Orleans favorite, but I've got more of those smooth chocolate cupcakes secured at home.

This is a food-centric time of year, and it comes at the right time, when we're about ready to leave winter behind and longing for some warmth.  Take a leap with the three February celebrations with your menu and see if it doesn't brighten up those grey mornings.