Chinese New Year Lucky Dog Cookies

Chinese New Year is always a festive, colorful celebration.

2018 is the Year of the Dog 

and I want to make sure it's extra fortunate, lucky and fun with 

Lucky Dog Fortune Cookies...

Nothing pairs better with easy DIY cookies, than a scratch off lottery ticket,

for what could not only be a sweet year, but a lucrative one as well!

To make the cookies you just need:

Edible Markers

Fortune Cookies

Candy Melts

and a handful of chocolate chips to melt

Draw a simple dog face onto the melt...

(I have the best luck doing a tapping motion to write on the melt as opposed to drawing on it. 

You may need to wipe tip off frequently on a piece of paper

 if you have difficulty getting a clear image.)

Melt chocolate chips...

apply to back of melt like "glue"...

and place on your fortune cookie,  holding for 30 seconds or so until it sets.

You can either do ears up, like a chihuahua or doberman...

or down and floppy like a beagle or bloodhound...

So get those tails wagging...

it's the perfect time for a litter of pups!

I'd love to know your New Year's wishes...

I'm all "ears"...

Wonton Time - Celebrating Chinese New Year

There is nothing like Chinese New Year to brighten things up!

It's a perfect time to celebrate the passing year, look forward to the future and 

take a moment to rest, reflect and relax with family.

I love the bright vibrant colors, the optimism and especially the food.
We always celebrate with a festive Chinese inspired meal
and wontons are the star of the show.

They are so simple to make and easy to customize...

Position your wonton skin on the diagonal and place about a teaspoon of filling in the center.

Have a small bowl of water on hand...

with a clean finger, lightly wet the edges...

fold up and seal the sides...

then dab water on the bottom 2 corners...

and fold in so the tips meet and press ends together so they adhere...

Ta-da...

You can find my Wonton Soup Recipe on 

The La Crema Winery Blog

Gong Hey Fat Choy!

Chinese New Year Favors - Good Luck and Fortune

I don't know exactly what it is about Chinese New Year that makes me so happy.

Maybe the colors, maybe the animals, maybe the overall feeling of optimism...

We are celebrating this year with a few tokens of 

Luck and Good Fortune.

I mean really, what better way to ring in the rooster 

than chocolate covered fortune cookies and lottery tickets?

Happy New Year!
新年快乐

Chopped Chop Suey Salad

Every summer as a child, I would spend a few weeks with my grandparents in Washington state.

We would often eat at the Chinese restaurant in their small town 

and my grandpa always got the Chop Suey.

It's a dish that for some reason has always gotten a bad rap but,
I loved the combination of the warm chicken, crunchy bean sprouts and cabbage, 

topped with savory chow mein noodles.

I can't tell you the last time I saw Chop Suey on a menu, 

so I'm bringing it back in a salad...

Crisp veggies and tender chicken

all topped with a tangy Soy Vinaigrette and noodles...

The perfect way to celebrate Chinese New Year or enjoy any time...

And if you feel like "monkeying" around,
DIY for the Monkey Chopsticks here

Chopped Chop Suey Salad
serves 4
for the salad:
4 cups shredded chicken
one head of shredded green cabbage
2 cups bean sprouts
2 large carrots, peeled and grated
4-5 celery stalks chopped
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced

Combine all ingredients in a large salad bowl, then toss with Soy Vinaigrette

Soy Vinaigrette
whisk together:
1/2 cup light olive oil
2 Tablespoons sugar
2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
4 Tablespoons white wine or rice wine vinegar
1 garlic clove finely minced
1 teaspoon sesame oil

Follow Alexis Murphy's board salads on Pinterest.

bloomdesigns linkpartypalooza skiptomylou

Chinese New Year Chopsticks - These are a barrel of fun

Chinese New Year is almost here,
and since it's the Year of the Monkey, it is bound to be a barrel of fun.

You have got to celebrate with these silly, playful
Barrel of Monkeys chopsticks.

George might be Curious but these couldn't be easier to make.

Let your monkeys out of the barrel...

(I got mine here)

Spray front and back with paint, 

I used metallic gold because I wanted elegant apes...

and look what a difference a spray makes!

Hot glue onto wooden chopsticks,

 and you are ready to monkey around with all of your food.

(if washed carefully these could be reused 

but I only intended them for one time use)

Need a fun meal to eat with your new chopsticks?

My salad recipe is here...

Gung Hay Fat Choy!

Follow Alexis Murphy's board Crafty on Pinterest.

bloomdesigns linkpartypalooza skiptomylou

Wonton 101

We love to go to San Francisco's Chinatown.

Full of color, good food, treasures, culture 

and if you ask my son, most importantly, you can buy fireworks.

We all have our favorite things to eat and recently we started talking about Wonton Soup. 

My family was shocked to learn that I used to make it all the time in high school.  

My friend's mom was infamous for her soup. 

She would whip up huge batches for her family, for parties or whenever anyone asked. 

If you were at their house, Mrs. Fong enlisted you help her fold the wontons.

Although I am no expert by any means, 

these were the tricks that Jetty taught us...

Position your wonton skin on the diagonal and place about a teaspoon of filling in the center.

Have a small bowl of water on hand...

with a clean finger, lightly wet the edges...

fold up and seal the sides...

then dab water on the bottom 2 corners...

and fold in so the tips meet and press ends together so they adhere...

Ta-da...

I am sharing my Wonton Soup Recipe and lots of other fun for Chinese New Year on 

The La Crema Winery Blog, 

Join me there and Gong Hey Fat Choy!