I Suck At Chinese New Year

last night, my parents hosted a chinese new year dinner. my parents absolutely love to host friends and family. i'm guessing their passion for hosting is probably what made them both enjoy their time being part of the waitstaff for chinese restaurants for most of their lives. no doubt, working as a waitperson is hard work... and i admire my parents for all that they have done for me and my brother.

since getting married, chinese new year has been like the super bowl for my parents. after all, they no longer host family and friends on the major holidays because i'm usually with karen and her family... or hosting the holiday itself. i actually think they miss hosting a lot.

so it comes as no surprise to me that my parents get all excited for hosting chinese new year. in fact, my parents apparently began preparing the menu at 5 in the morning (which was one of the reasons why they could not attend the evergreen memorial ceremony for my son, braden.) yes, my parents always cook way too much food. growing up, i didn't get my svelte body eating just bread and water you know.

this year, however, my parents wanted to try something a little different. in the past, they have made food that was generally visually appealing to non-asian people. after all, there are a lot of people who tend to dismiss food without even trying it based on appearances. this year, my parents wanted to throw a little twist in the menu and incorporate some more chinese dishes.

i don't know if i could even list all of the items that my parents made. there was just that many dishes ranging from duck to scallops to sushi. and all of the dishes were actually good. (cue rachael ray's "yum-o" sound.)

i think everyone who attended enjoyed the food as well. karen's parents came. my favorite sister-in-law (janine) and her family (pj, pj, and kaleigh) came. my friends (bill and jen) came. my cousin (betty) and her son (marvin) came. my parents's friends (jane, heidi and richard) came. there seemed like so many people in my parents's house yesterday. to any unsuspecting person, they might think the stereotype that asian houses are crammed full of people is true.

my parents, however, were sad to hear that my friend (carlos) would not actually be attending. i made the mistake of telling my parents that carlos really enjoyed the chinese soup that she made one day. (it was the soup that a bunch of us had tried at janine's one night.) i think since that time, my parents really liked carlos. so they were disappointed to hear that he was not coming. yes, my parents get really excited when people enjoy their cooking. perhaps that is why i get all paranoid over people enjoying my cooking...

(pictured below are [clockwise from the top left] karen, karen's mother, my mother, marvin, pj, kaleigh, betty, and jane.)


anyway, i think everyone had a good time. i was actually quite impressed with my nephew, pj. he tried all of the dishes. he also tried a lotus... which jen also tried. karen's mom even tried the soup (it was a different soup than the one carlos enjoyed... this soup has mushrooms, tofu, and seaweed in it).

all in all, it was a great time. i think my parents definitely had a great time too. my mom laughed a lot (which is perhaps where i get my giggling from) and was complemented numerous times on the food... which also made her day. my father got to tell his usual stories... so he was good. when i think about my parents, it makes me happy to know that they are happy as well. i probably don't tell them enough, but i love my parents.