NEW YEAR'S DAY LUNCHEON

Happy 2019!!  A few weeks before the new year, I got it in my head that I wanted to make duk guk (Korean rice cake soup that is traditionally eaten on Korean New Year's) and have some friends over for it. This was a feat because 1) I had never made duk guk before, much less for a large crowd, and 2) I didn't know how I would seat everyone, because soup is most definitely a sit-down type of meal.  Ultimately, I moved the kitchen island to the foyer area and made it a bar for drinks, and then added another table to our dining table to seat 17 adults. I was extremely pleased with myself for figuring this out.  And happily, it was a balmy day (highs in the 60s!) so we were able to utilize the sunroom to seat all the kids (14 of them).  Guys, this sort of problem-solving for the purpose of having friends seated around a table to eat food is the sort of thing I live for. I got these heavy duty paper bowls from Amazon (along with paper plates, plastic gold silverware and these black and white checkered napkins) and got a bunch of eucaplytus from Trader Joe's to spread down the table as a runner.

So it turns out making duk guk for this many people when I've never made it before, along with a huge batch of japchae (Korean sweet potato noodles with vegetables and beef), is no easy feat, and at one point the day before when I was cooking, I did question my sanity....but Mignon helped me cut up the vegetables for the japchae and I had cleared my schedule the day before to make everything the day before so that I could enjoy the process without feeling rushed and stressed out....and it was totally worth it. For food, Ken also made his wontons that are always a crowd favorite, and guests brought supplies as well (I asked guests to bring either champagne, dessert or dumplings) so we had ourselves a proper feast.

For some reason I didn't take any photos of the food that I made, but I DID take a photo of Ken's wontons as Lois formed them and Ken fried them. Look at them in their crispy brown goodness.

Lately, I've decided that the hanging light and chandelier needs to be up higher and it's driving me crazy. Actually, what I really want is to replace it altogether (and we actually have one in the wings, waiting) but it would take some finagling and this is a task low on the list of things to update.  I've been very daydreaming about replacing all of our light fixtures lately, but I need to wrap my mind around things like electrical wiring so I'm pushing it off until we get some other priorities taken care of first - like updating the guest room!

We scrounged up every chair we had, including a long bench to make sure we had enough seats. (Also, this is why, when I see a good chair for $5 at a thrift store, I can't pass it up!) 

Our bar! 

Kids table #1. 

Kids table #2. 

The adults feast table! After lunch, we sat around and discussed the things that were most influential to us in the past year of 2018, and it was really good hearing everyone's answers and sharing in the hopes of a new year.