What better way to start the new year (not to mention, what better first post to write) than to prepare some good food? While Tawn was away at his family’s annual New Year’s Eve party and didn’t return home until ten minutes before midnight, I hosted a missionary friend from Chiang Mai and one of her friends who is visiting from the US.
Kari and Brandi were wonderful company and we spent almost four hours visiting and eating. For dinner, I prepared a simple meal that thankfully used up the last of the lasagna ingredients that I produced earlier in the week. Remind me next time not to double an already large batch of pasta and bolognese sauce!
To begin with some Thai style pumpkin soup. Made with homemade stock, this soup features tumeric, fresh ginger, and a little bit of coconut milk to add richness. Garnished with a few drops of garlic-chili oil, which was enough to give it a definite kick.
An interesting recent discovery, a vegetable called kanaeng in Thai. An American restaurateur friend calls these “baby cabbages” on his menu, but they are more akin to loosely wrapped Brussels sprouts. I followed his preparation, stir-frying them with garlic, soy sauce, and crispy pork.
Probably a little heavy on the crispy pork, but is anyone going to tell me you can really have too much pork? I think not! (Well, okay, Dr. Zakiah, Lalima, and a few others will, but that’s for religious, not flavor reasons!)
The final dish of lasagna. I added a bit of meat and more tomatoes to the bolognese sauce to make for a richer, meatier dish. It worked out beautifully, except that the bubbling sauce burned on the handles making for unsightly presentation. The guests liked it enough to bring a few slices back to the mission house with them, though.
Homemade bread, a rye-wheat combination. Notice the faint lines running along the length of the loaf? Those are from a banneton. I’ll write more about those soon.
Dessert was a chocolate chip and pecan bread pudding served with creme Anglaise sauce. Very tasty, although perhaps a touch rich after this filling meal. But why not end the year on a rich note with the hope that the new year will be equally rich and satisfying?
I hope your celebration was just as wonderful as mine.
christao408 
looks like a delicious new years celebration! that pumpkin soup sounds great, and i agree, you can never have too much crispy pork.
Oh Chris…everything looks wonderful as usual!! It is a good thing that I don’t live closer to you…I would be wider than I already am…lol. The kanaeng and pork looks delectable…and I am sad to see the last of your lasagna!! I hope that you and Tawn have a fabulous 2011 ( only that isn’t the year YOU are celebrating…I can’t keep the year in my head!!). Happy New Year!!! Ruth Ann
I love soups and pumpkin is on the list. Actually the whole meal looks great – more crispy pork!!!
Hehe! Love this last of the old and more of the new food porn feast! Sounds like a perfect beginning! Hope you have a fabulous new year! (did you say more cowbell?)
Looks delish!
Now why am I not surprised that your New Year celebration would revolve around food Lol Great way to end the old and start the new. A Happy New(food porn)Year to you and Tawn. š
That bread looks really amazing, Chris!PS I finally found you on facebook, so accept me when you check yours next, please š
That was a good dinner. The soup sounds so delicious. Crispy pork with cabbages? hmmm…I can make it too. Me, just had dumplings and red wine.
Happy New Year! Delicious way to begin 2011. I like the idea of crispy pork with cabbage/Brussels sprouts, both of which I have in my vegetable crisper at the moment. I’ve used bacon before, but am curious about the pork. It takes prep time, but shredding the Brussels sprouts, then stir-frying works well, I’ve discovered. The sprouts remain crispy, but not chunky, of course. I think they really fry more evenly as well.
That bread…. Ya know, if you weren’t married / gay I’d probably propose just to have good food for the rest of my life. You do make beautiful food porn.
You are quite the host, and a great cook!
omgosh, everything looks so good! =) I wish I could cook like that, all the food I make never turns out quite right >< and Thank you for your message, that was very kind of you – I’m definitely going to keep dancing, your message just solidified that =) Happy New Year, and all the best to you! Here’s to 2011, and to more wonderful blog posts from you!
@kunhuo42 – It was mighty tasty, Aaron. I look forward to seeing what you had for your NYE celebration. You did take pictures, right? =D@Redlegsix – Happy new year to you and Pat, too!@Fatcat723 – Everyone seems to be focusing in on that crispy pork. Ha ha…@murisopsis – It was a wonderfully low-key new year, the type that I find most enjoyable. I hope you and your family had a fun celebration, too, Val.@Fongster8 – Thanks David. Sorry you had to work on New Year’s Day.@Chatamanda – Isn’t food a central part of most celebrations? It sure is in my life! Happy new year to you, too, Amanda!@secade – Yep, have you connected. Look forward to chatting more. Maybe you can slip down here for a visit.@foggysunnymorning – Oh, dumplings and red wine sound like a fantastic combination!@jandsschultz – Shredding would have worked well for these mini cabbages, too, as the leaves were very crisp. A splash of cider vinegar would have been a nice addition.@Passionflwr86 – Well, you could always hire me as your personal chef! =D@New_Egyptian – Oh, thank you. You’re much too kind!@aPieceOfTheSky – Oh, I bet in addition to dancing you can continue to cook, too. It takes practice and even then, I still don’t get things quite right: the lasagna is a bit burned around the edges, the bread pudding was a bit dry. But home cooking can be imperfect because the joy with which you make it helps compensate for shortcomings.
@christao408 – haha i just went out to dinner for nye… i didn’t want to cook or invite people over for another party. sorry, no pictures… but the food was quite good.
@christao408 – Many people though tend to go out to eat and celebrate on New Years Eve, (as Tawn did), while others don’t even celebrate at all and go to bed early. Thank you for the good wishes Chris š
crispy pork! The more the better! I say dump the kanaeng and more pork! On second thought, that’d be a bad idea. Fibre is important… very important š
@AzureRecollections – Glad to see you came around on that thought process. Ha ha…@kunhuo42 – Drat, no pictures… Well, at least you had good food.
That cabbage dish is interesting and it looks easy enough for me to cook. I love roast pork!
Everything looks delish! Happy belated New Years! All the best for you two in the new year.
‘kanaeng’ w crispy pork looks SO DELICIOUS… i want to recreate. haha i always say that about your cooking! damit!!
Fantastic! Happy new year Chris!
@icepearlz – Totally easy to cook – Stir Fry 101.@iskrak – Oh, that’s an honor to hear, coming from a professional like you.@LADYLILYTHAO – @yang1815 – Thank you! Happy new year to you, too!