A Snowy Chinese New Year

Happy Chinese New Year!

Can I just say it's been a crazy weekend? I really think this is the biggest storm I've ever encountered in my conscious memory. It was fascinating to watch the snow just continue to fall . . . and fall . . . and fall.

The next day, after the storm was over, we ventured out. Check out how deep the snow is! (Yes, it is up to my knees).

Virtually everything was closed in Harvard Square except for the CVS and the Starbucks. It was weird to see the door of the T (subway) closed.

Poor bikes.

The river was frozen over in an oddly yellowish color.

Stuck at home, we obvious couldn't go out. Instead, I ended up cooking . . . a lot! I was a bit bummed that I couldn't have a proper Chinese hot pot on the eve of Chinese New Year. Nevertheless, I did manage to squeeze out something sort of Chinese. :)

On Friday night I made a hearty lamb osso buco in the pressure cooker with saffron rice and cilantro gremolata. It was warm, hearty, and the perfect dinner to accompany such cold weather outside.

We had that with one of my favorite vegetable side dishes, roasted Brussels Sprouts with bacon and habanero peppers. So good.

On Saturday morning, as the snow slowly came to a stop, my mom called me to check to make sure we were OK. She also reminded me that it was the eve of Chinese New Year, a time when families get together and eat Chinese hot pot.

Alas, there was no way I could head out and pick up Chinese groceries, so I did the best I could. Bryan and I enjoyed a fun little lunch of fresh udon with XO sauce, Taiwanese meat sauce, and a simple stir fry of spinach with garlic and carrots, celery, and shitake mushrooms with XO sauce. It was surprisingly simple but really hit the spot, reminding me of home.

For dinner, we enjoyed one of my favorite fish dishes that's so easy to make and tastes fantastic. This is Nobu Matsuhisa's famous miso black cod (I'll publish a post very soon about this, or you can just Google it!). It only takes about 15 minutes of prep and never disappoints.

Happy New Year all! I have a few fun Chinese New Year themed posts lined up for the next two weeks, along with some cool Boston restaurants I've visited lately. Finally, we'll start a couple more travel series very soon.

And if you're looking for Chinese recipes, definitely check out my Asian Food Gallery for inspiration. I've fallen behind on adding a photo for each new recipe, but you can scroll to the bottom to see the entire list.

Happy New Year!