Plan a Chinese New Year Party to Ring in the Year of the Monkey

by: ARA

(ARA) - If you went to China to ring in the new year, you’d be overwhelmed by a frenzy of family, festivities, food and fireworks! On Jan. 22, as the Chinese say goodbye to the Year of the Ram, you can bring a little bit of China into your home by celebrating the beginning of the Year of the Monkey. A vivacious, inquisitive creature, the monkey indicates that the new year will be full of passion, liveliness and prosperity!

Chinese New Year festivities are just as dynamic and spirited as the monkey and are a traditional part of ancient Chinese culture. Bring Chinese New Year joy into the lives of your friends and family with time-honored cooking, colorful decorations and activities for everyone.

Get colorful!

Red and gold are traditional symbols of luck and prosperity. Red also frightens away evil spirits and keeps them from creeping into the new year. Nian is the new year monster known in China for terrorizing children around the new moon and is easily frightened by loud music and bright colors. The Chinese use dancing, firecrackers and red costuming to ring in the new year, and keep out Nian.

Decorate with traditional colors and themes by stacking red plates and cups at one end of a buffet table and allowing guests to serve themselves from the variety of entrées laid out before them. For added flare, dust gold confetti over a black tablecloth. Wrap chopsticks (which can be found at your local Panda Express) in a red napkin and tie them together with shimmering gold ribbon. Grab your wok from the kitchen, fill it with the napkin sets and place it at the other end of your buffet. If your guests -- or any children in the group -- don’t know how to use chopsticks, see below for tips on teaching them how! Family-style dining is a convenient way to make sure your guests enjoy this feasting experience together.

Replace ordinary party gift bags with traditional red couplets. Your guests will love these small red envelopes which are usually inscribed in black with one of four Chinese characters signifying wealth prosperity abundance and long life. It is customary in China to give gifts in monetary form to denote paying off credit or debt. Enclose a small dollar amount in each red couplet, or fill them with gift certificates. Panda Express can provide you with gift certificates for any amount. You can also hang the couplets around your house as decoration and to ward off evil spirits.

Peonies symbolize love, affection and beauty and are known in China as “Flowers of Riches and Honor.” Float them in glass bowls or sprinkle them across your buffet table. According to the Chinese, if a peach blossom blooms during the new year celebration it is a sure sign of future good fortune. Try stringing a flower garland to ornament your mantels or doorways.

Adorn your ceilings with red and black balloons tied with long gold ribbons. Line your walkway with traditional Chinese lanterns to draw light and luck -- along with your friends and family -- straight into your home.

Get hungry!

An expert in blending Chinese tradition with American culture, Panda Express serves up the perfect amount of spice for the new year. If you want to impress your guests by preparing your own Chinese dish, just follow the recipe below for tasty and traditional Kung Pao Chicken. It’s easy to make and will fill your home with savory smells. If you’re looking for a truly hassle-free celebration, let your local Panda Express come to the rescue! The restaurant makes party preparations easy by offering Firecracker Shrimp on its catering menu. Succulent shrimp, colorful peppers and black beans are sautéed with onion, ginger, garlic and wok-charred red chili peppers to create this festive dish.

The monkey is an impetuous creature and, much like the year ahead, it constantly sniffs out variety and rejuvenation. Make your buffet sparkle with an assortment of entrées. Group unique dishes, like the Firecracker Shrimp, with old favorites, like Orange Flavored Chicken and Broccoli with Beef. Quantities can be prepared for gatherings of any size -- wokked fresh and ready when you are. Serve each dish large serving bowls on your lavish buffet table.

Get festive!

When your guests arrive, encourage them to take off their shoes and walk softly into your home. Walking tenderly invites a smooth transition into the new year. While it’s tradition to start any new year on a clean slate, brooms and dustpans must be stored out of sight before New Year’s Day to prevent good fortune from being swept away. Fill your home with loved ones, laughter and light. Enjoy the sweet smell of peach blossoms, the company of close friends and the traditional dishes of Panda Express. Kung Hay Fat Choy is Chinese for Happy New Year! Panda Express is Chinese for Yummy.

For more information visit www.pandaexpress.com.

Teach Your Friends to Use Chopsticks

First: The sticks are attached, but sectioned up the middle. Simply pull each end away from the other. Don’t twist them apart or try a fancy way of snapping them; you wouldn’t want a few splinters to hinder your dining experience! Once separated, you can rub the sticks together to smooth any rough edges. Step 1) The Base Stick: Place one stick so that it is cradled between the base of your thumb and forefinger. Hold it in place with the tip of your middle finger, as though you were holding a pencil.

Step 2) The Pivot Stick: Position the next chopstick so that it is pinned against the side of your index finger by the end of your thumb. Make sure the ends of the two sticks line up.

Step 3) The Pick-Up: Holding the base chopstick firmly in place, place a small amount of pressure on the Pivot Stick using the tip of your thumb as its base and your index finger to entice movement. The chopsticks should move like a pair of tweezers with the end of the Pivot Stick moving toward the end of the Base Stick. Slowly try to pick up a big piece of Orange Flavored Chicken, and then go for a small bite of your Kung Pao Chicken. Once you’re a pro, try for a single grain of rice!

Courtesy of ARA Content



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Plan the Perfect Wedding Shower

by: ARA

(ARA) - A wedding shower should be fun for everyone involved: the bride, the guests, and even the hostess. A little advance planning ensures that happens.

First, a bit of etiquette: the shower is usually hosted by the maid or matron of honor, or a close family friend. The guest list should include only people who have been invited to the wedding, unless the shower is hosted by co-workers. Showers are traditionally held a month or two before the wedding; this can be a very stressful and busy time for the bride, so make sure the date fits into her schedule before making all the arrangements.

Showers are supposed to help the bride and groom equip their new home, so they’re often planned around a specific theme: recipe showers, camping showers, linen showers, etc. In choosing a theme, consider things that are important to the bride. Does she love to cook? Consider a recipe party. Does she like to entertain? How about a “stock the bar” shower? Is the couple moving into a new home after the wedding? A tool shower can help them collect the essentials they’ll need. Once you decide on a theme, you can use it to tie in decorations, gifts, even the food and games.

* Invitations

The theme starts here. For a cooking shower, send invitations written on recipe cards, or cut out leaf shapes for a garden shower. Make it clear if guests are expected to bring a certain type of gift.

* Decorations

Your local party supply store is a good place to start, and the Internet is also a great resource. Look for paper goods that carry out your theme -- a floral design for a garden shower, for example. Another good option is to decorate for the shower in the colors the bride has chosen for her wedding.

* Food

Showers usually involve a light lunch or appetizers. Tastefully Simple sells gourmet food products that make it easy to put together an impressive menu. Most of the company’s products require only one or two ingredients to prepare, or can be enjoyed right out of the package. For example, the Creamy Wild Rice Soup mix can be used to make a delicious wild rice casserole that can be the main course of your menu. Or spread softened cream cheese on flour tortillas, top with Tastefully Simple’s Sweet Pepper Jalapeno Jam, roll tortillas, chill and slice into spirals for beautiful hors d’oeuvres.

The company’s Web site has a complete selection of products and more serving and menu ideas. You can even choose Tastefully Simple as your shower theme. A consultant will organize a home taste-testing party, offering samples, easy meal ideas, recipes and serving suggestions. Guests can order for themselves and for the bride.

* Games

People tend to be split into two camps where shower games are concerned -- either they think no shower would be complete without them, or they’d rather visit the dentist than play them. Take your lead from the bride on this one; after all, it’s her party. Check your local bookstore, library, or the Internet for party game ideas. Chances are you’ll be able to find a game that ties in with your theme. For example, if you’re having a recipe shower, you could play the apron game: attach a variety of kitchen utensils to an apron and have the bride put it on and model it for a couple of minutes, then leave the room. Have guests write down as many items as they can remember; the person with the longest list wins.

* Party favors

While party favors are not essential, they are a nice touch. Choose wisely, and your party favors can double as part of your decorative theme. For example, for a garden party, use small potted plants with guests’ names painted on the pots as a place card on the table. When the party is over, guests can take the plant home as a memento. You can also use personalized photo frames, champagne flutes or candles in the same way. If you’re throwing a kitchen shower, send guests home with a tasty treat such as Tastefully Simple’s Spinach and Herb Mix, or their Garlic Garlic and Bacon Bacon dip mixes.

Use these tips to plan the perfect shower. You’ll be a relaxed, gracious hostess and the bride will have a very special day to remember.

Tastefully Simple products are sold through home taste-testing parties. To find a consultant in your area, or for more information on products, visit www.tastefullysimple.com or call (866) 328-6673.

Courtesy of ARA Content






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Sandwich Rolls

by: News Canada

2 3/4 cups (675 ml) Five Roses All Purpose White Flour or Never Bleached, or with Wheat Bran

1 tbsp (15 ml) sugar

1 tsp (5 ml) salt

1 tbsp (15 ml) Instant yeast

1 cup (250 ml) water

1 tbsp (15 ml) olive oil

1 beaten egg

Reserve 1/2 cup (125 ml) flour. Mix remaining flour, sugar, salt and yeast in a bowl. Heat water with oil until warm to touch (50ºC/125ºF). Stir warm liquid into dry ingredients. Mix enough reserved flour to make soft dough that does not stick to bowl. Turn out onto floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic about 8 min. Cover; let rest 10 min. Divide dough into 10 or 12 equal portions. Shape each portion into small elongated loaves. Place in tight rows onto greased baking sheet. Cover; let rise in warm draft-free place until doubled in size about 30 min. Brush with beaten egg. Bake at 190ºC (375ºF) for 15 to 20 min.

For "free" recipes call Five Roses at 1-800-561-3455 or visit www.fiveroses.ca.

- News Canada

About the author:
News Canada provides a wide selection of current, ready-to-use copyright free news stories and ideas for Television, Print, Radio, and the Web.

News Canada is a niche service in public relations, offering access to print, radio, television, and now the Internet media, with ready-to-use, editorial "fill" items. Monitoring and analysis are two more of our primary services. The service supplies access to the national media for marketers in the private, the public, and the not-for-profit sectors. Your corporate and product news, consumer tips and information are packaged in a variety of ready-to-use formats and are made available to every Canadian media organization including weekly and daily newspapers, cable and commercial television stations, radio stations, as well as the Web sites Canadians visit most often. Visit News Canada and learn more about the NC services.

www.newscanada.com
admin@newscanada.com

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