Happy New Year! JustJenn's Oshogatsu New Year's Spread of Deliciousness

Happy New Year! I hope 2014 is off to a great start!

I had to work yesterday so I wasn't able to even stay awake til midnight! Oh, getting old. I woke up this morning and watched the Rose Parade with Bob & Stephanie (Angelenos know this duo as the often bickering commentators of the Rose Parade on KTLA Channel 5. We have all grown up listening to them host the telecast...and when they demoted Stephanie from the broadcast box to the streets in 2006? Remember that LA?! Stephanie in the freaking rain on the streets? Oh...Los Angeles natives were pissed. If that happened today, there would be a change.org petition and a Twitter #bringstephanieback campaign.) Do you watch the Rose Parade where you are? It's tradition in my house to watch it - the floats really are a huge production of countless volunteer hours in a cold storage area and they come out just beautiful. And they smell great. Although I've lived in Los Angeles my whole life, I've never seen it live on the streets of Pasadena...maybe one day!

Anyway, after watching the cool Public Storage float (with the cool aliens driving off the float), marching bands, lots of flowers, and the first same-sex marriage (congratulations newlyweds Aubrey and Danny!), I was off to my friend JustJenn's house for her annual Oshogatsu New Year's Day party!

There was soooo much to eat! Some traditional (you need to eat certain beans and fish for longevity and good luck) and some a reflection of our Los Angeles-Southern California-Japanese-Hawaiian influenced lifestyles. It was all delicious! Go to JustJenn's blog later to find details and recipes.

Footballs! I mean, inari sushi from Gardena's Sakae Sushi - old school sushi the way your grandma used to make it. And Jenn made Spam Musubi - yummy!

I sat really close to the buffet table and kept reaching over for more of these bacon wrapped shrimp with adorable cherry blossom picks.

Remember all that plain mochi my family made last Saturday? Well, here it is in a bowl of ozoni - a special soup eaten on New Year's Day to bring you a year full of good times.

Mochi filled with sweetened red beans (recipe here) and JustJenn also filled some of them with Nutella (recipe here)

I brought a Broken Glass Jello Bundt (recipe here) Bundt love in the New Year!

JustJenn's delicious Chocolate Pumpkin Mochi Cake (recipe here). Yes, you CAN have mochi a million different ways!

Thanks Jenn for inviting me once again to your delicious lunch with your extended family. It's wonderful to see them all again and talk about our love of See's Candy.

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you have a delicious 2014!

- mary the food librarian