a toast to 2009

Cheers to the New Year 2009!

Our simple New Year celebration food consisted of Italian wedding soup, a comforting starter which warmed us up on that chilly evening. It's traditional in the Philippines to serve round food at New Year's Eve. There's a belief that they would bring good luck for the new year. This goes true with having an assortment of round fruits on the dinner table as well. For a little Asian touch, I made gyozas or potstickers with a ginger and soy dip. The Filipino-style macaroni salad was one of the many traditional new year foods we make back in the Philippines. We usually make it with cooked shredded chicken, diced ham, diced pineapple, cubed apples, diced celery, finely minced carrots and chopped walnuts, but the ingredients may be altered depending on taste or availability of the ingredients. Crepes Suzette was our dessert that night, with Grand Marnier liquer stirred into the syrup for a most authentic and intense orange flavor. It was garnished with sweet and juicy orange slices.

In the Philippines, we have a belief that an assortment of round fruits (shown above) on the dinner table at New Year's Eve will bring good luck to the household.