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What better way to welcome the Year of the Tiger than to eat like one? Every year our friend Anny (don’t be fooled by the name, she’s Chinese) and her partner Sara host a fabulous dinner for Chinese New Year at Mark’s Duck House in Falls Church, VA, and this year we were lucky enough to score an invite.

Winter Melon Soup arrived in the giant gourd, its sweet translucent flesh offset by bits of pork. We devoured Drunken Garlic Prawns– heads, shells and all — and slurped down oysters the size of my entire hand (Three Mile Island oysters one of the guests called them.) Bamboo fungus, a new item for all of us, bounced like sponge between tongue and teeth and absorbed every bit of flavor, like a very porous tofu. But the highlight for me was the Peking Duck, so seductively fatty and crisp that we skipped the time-consuming presentation of individually wrapped packets and just dug in with our chopsticks as the lazy Susan twirled.

I know very little about Chinese traditions. But the New Year feast is one I strongly favor! Please chime in with any traditions you and your family and friends might have. (photos: Jim McCallum)

Oysters before.....

...oysters after....

Here is a photo of our  kitten. His name is — not making this up — Apple Pie. Yes, the six-year-old named him. That said, we’re not SERIOUS. Nobody’s slapping a wad of butter pastry around him. But perhaps if we were Tuscan….

Italian TV suspends cat stew lover
From Associated Press
February 17, 2010 3:50 PM EST

ROME (AP) — Italian state TV has suspended a cooking show host who shocked the nation by saying cat stew is a Tuscan delicacy he has enjoyed many times.

RAI TV confirmed on Wednesday that it had suspended Beppe Bigazzi, the 77-year-old host of a popular morning program that offers food tips and recipes in a country renowned for its cuisine.

When a young woman on the show was startled by Bigazzi saying he has eaten cat stew many times, the host defended his culinary tastes, noting Italians eat rabbit, chicken and pigeons. Horse meat also is sold in Italian shops.

His critics included Health Ministry Undersecretary Francesca Martini. She says Italian law protects pets from mistreatment and that Bignazzi’s comments contradict growing public sensibility toward animals.

Italy, where the first McDonald’s outpost inspired the creation of the Slow Food Movement, now praises the burger chain for its authenticity….