Lunar New Year Tablescape

I guess I have begun to blog about once a year now!  

Not every year, but most years, we celebrate the Lunar New Year's.  This year we invited a cute family from our church over for dinner.  What was on the menu?  We had Lemon Chicken and Pork Dumplings, Basmati Rice, and Almond Cookies.  I have been making the Lemon Chicken for over 40 years now, but the Pork Dumplings were added to our Lunar Menu a few years ago.  The Pork Dumplings were a huge hit with the pre-teen and teenage boy of the family we invited for dinner.  They wished I had made more, and their mom called for the recipe later.  Today, I am just showing my table, and I have plans to post the Pork Dumpling Recipe later.  You can find the Lemon Chicken recipe here on my blog.  Here is a picture of it.  It is funny, I was deep frying to the last minute, and I did not take pictures of the Lemon Chicken, Rice or Almond Cookies we had for dessert.  I apologize for the lighting; we held the dinner at night, and the lighting is not so great.

 Here is a picture of the full table.  Inside the snake envelopes was a dollar coin and chocolate coins for everyone at the table.  The giving of red envelopes is called "hongbao" during the Lunar New Year

Mandarin oranges symbolize prosperity, good fortune, and happiness.  Red is a prominent color during the Lunar New Year symbolizing luck, happiness, and prosperity.  The brass Chinese characters were bought many moons ago in Chinatown in San Francisco.  I believe they symbolize double happiness and long life.  I am not totally sure about this.

This is a mirror right by our table.  I bought the fans, napkins, chopsticks, and red envelopes from Oriental Trading Company.  I have four children that live away from us, and this year I sent a package at the end of January that included Valentine's things and Lunar New Year things like napkins, envelopes, fans, and fortune cookies.

I bought the Chinese strawberry candies from World Market.  The boys enjoyed them.

This is a huge Chinese dragon puppet my sister Jackie gave me years ago.  I didn't have room for him on my table...LOL, so I placed him on our piano.

Well for now I bid farewell.  One of my favorite things in life is to prepare a special meal for people for people I love.

Chicken Korma

Hello, I have not written a blog post in years; I have fallen off the wagon.  I thought I would start off the New Year with a blog post of a recipe that I have made repeatedly since I last posted.  It all started when I went to an Indian restaurant in Utah and had some delicious Korma.  The restaurant food was good, but pricey, and the service was subpar.  When I came home, I searched the Internet for a recipe and found this recipe from the blog Favorite Family Recipes.  It has been a hit with my family.  I have no idea about whether this is authentic recipe, but I do know that it makes a delicious meal.

So, it is a long recipe, but well worth the effort.  There are a lot of spices (six) in this recipe, and that is what makes it so good!

Chicken Korma Recipe

Chicken Spice Marinade

3 chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Chicken Korma

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

3 teaspoons minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 medium tomatoes cut into small pieces (or 1 can diced tomatoes)

4 tablespoons plain Greek yogurt (sometimes I substitute heavy cream)

3/4 cup water

1 teaspoon salt

14-ounce can coconut milk

1 teaspoon Garam Masala (see below for a substitute)

Slivered almonds (optional)

Instructions:

1.  Put the marinated chicken into a large fry pan over medium heat until cooked throughout.

2.  In a large saucepan, put the oil, garlic, and ginger over medium heat until it starts to simmer.  Then add the remaining spices (except the salt and Garam Masala) and simmer for another minute.  Then add tomatoes and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes.  Add the yogurt and blend in with a wire whisk.  Then add the cooked chicken pieces, the water, and salt.  Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

3.  Stir in the coconut milk and the Garam Masala, then simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally until the sauce become fairly thick.  Serve over Basmati rice.

Garam Masala Substitute

Garam Masala can be pricey, and sometimes hard to find.  I found this substitute on All Recipes, and I have always used it for this Korma.  I keep a little spice bottle of it in my cupboard.

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1-1/2 teaspoons ground coriander

1-1/2 teaspoons cardamon

1-1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Mix all spices together.  place in an airtight container and store in a cool, dry place.

NOTES:

1.  The original recipe does not contain slivered almonds, but at the Indian Restaurant I went to, they served it with almonds and dates.  I have tried it with dates, but I believe the dates makes the sauce too sweet.

2.  You can find coconut milk at most grocery stores.  I usually buy mine at Costco, and sometimes they have a sale on it.  

3.  If you are serving this to someone who might be sensitive to spicy things, you might want to use less Cayenne Pepper, but for my family we usually use the full amount.

I usually serve the Korma on these cute elephant plates my son Skyler bought for me years ago.

I think you will love this Korma!

Top of the Mornin' To You

So do you celebrate St. Patrick's Day?   Whether you are Irish or not, it is always fun to show off your green.  My childhood memories are of always having corned beef, cabbage and potatoes for St. Patrick's Day.  The community I grew up in were always ready for Friday night fish fries, and they were always ready to put on the green.

So, just a little note, I have not blogged for awhile, but I hope to begin again.  Life got the best of me....

It is always fun to have a little chocolate decorating the plate.

When my children were going to elementary school, big contests were held to see which child from each grade level would wear the most green.  Sadly, my children always lost.

The gold and white plates were from TJ Maxx last Christmas.  The green plates were from World Market at Christmas time a couple of years ago;I have matching red ones.

I have used these bubble glasses for so many occasions.  I love them.  The green candlesticks were from when we were first married, and we have been married for thirty years!

The napkins rings actually have fall leaves embossed on them, but if you won't tell, I won't tell!

Just another view of the table.

For dessert, how about some chocolate cupcakes with Andes mints on top?

This gives a better view of the two-toned cupcakes.

I hope you enjoyed this table, and I hope you enjoy St. Patrick's Day, with love from Red Couch Recipes.

Posted with Between Naps on the Porch.

Pineapple Cake

My daughter Talley and I had a bit of fun making this pineapple cake.  It was super easy, and fun to make.  We used a Wilton 2D tip to make the cake, and of course, just lopped off the top of a pineapple for the top.  We used buttercream frosting, and just made a cake mix, using six-inch pans.  One cake mix will be enough to make three, six-inch cakes.  Of course, you could have filled it with a pineapple filling; we did not.  We were more interested in just the concept.

My daughter spied a version of this cake on Stevie Henderson's Instagram page (she is a fashion designer).  She had made a cake like this with a face on it for a birthday cake.

Hope you are having a wonderful summer.

I have some ice cream recipes coming up.  Our newest obsession!

Easter Fresh

Dear Red Couch Readers, I have been missing in action for over three months.  We lost one of our sons in January, just 31, and it has been hard to come to terms with it.

I have thought of blogging again, but not until Easter have I done anything about it.  Easter for us is more than bunnies, eggs, and chicks.  Yes, we love those things, and it is always nice to have soothing "fresh" colors around after a hard winter.  Easter for me, means that because our Savior Jesus Christ died for us, and took upon our sins, that life is not over after we die.  We believe that we will see Chris again, and that he will be healed.  Because of Jesus Christ, we have hope.  I cannot imagine losing a son and not having this hope.  So just because I am featuring bunnies on this table; I want you to know how thankful and grateful I am for our Savior this Easter time, and I am so grateful that Heavenly Father loved us so much that he sent his son.  He truly is our source of life. 

We bought these little egg cups years ago, and I just love their little legs and shoes.

I have a small collection of these "faux" chocolate bunnies.  Just don't take a bite of one.

The blue bunny glasses were acquired last year. 

The sterling was brought out for the occasion.  The bunnies like the good stuff!

The little vintage post card screen is so cute, and it provides a nice backdrop.  The little egg plates are new this year.

Here is a better shot of it.

I hope you have a wonderful Easter with you and yours.  I have missed blogging, and I have missed you and your kind visits and comments.

Have a wonderful Easter!

Posted with Tablescape Thursday

Gingerbread Creations at the Grand

Every year at Christmas Christ Kitchen holds a professional gingerbread contest.  Numbers were down this year, but I will share with you a few of the best.

The best, in my opinion was the Nativity Scene done by the Hall Family.  Every detail was amazing, and it is all edible!

A wiseman...

Another Wise Man

 I loved the camel.

 The details on the stable were amazing.  See the little bird.

 The Palm Trees

 I liked this little trove of water.

The lambs were so cute.

There was even a little dog!

My second favorite was done by a local cupcake shop, Sweet Frostings.  It was a depiction of  Family at Christmastime.  There were three scenes.  There was a Christmas Tree and Fireplace Scene, a bringing home the Christmas Tree Scene, and a Holiday Baking Scene.

The Christmas Tree and Fireplace Scene

The bringing home the Christmas Tree Scene, which I thought was charming.

These two just make me smile!

The third scene was a holiday kitchen.

I like the blue appliances.  The cabinets had dishes in them!

The little dog in front of the stove was so cute.

This is a fun event to go to every year.  I will close with a few pictures of the gorgeous Christmas trees in the Grand Hotel.

Thanks for dropping by; hoping you are having a wonderful holiday season with you and yours.