Feasting with Dragons: Dragon Party 2012

(Dragon Cake by Cakemaster Roger Bridgewater)

In true Tran Clan fashion, we decided to celebrate the Year of the Dragon by throwing a Dragon Party.

I handmade some invitations, complete with Borgia maps and dragons, and distributed them to some old and new friends in the area. We debated whether or not to extend interstate invitations, but decided in the end that it was quite too far for our friends to travel -- even with the tempting offer of dancing with Dragons.

For this party, we had 3 live dragons in attendance (2 Water Dragons and 1 Fire Dragon). I quickly realized that, being the only Goat, I was the youngest zodiac animal to be present in the Lair on this auspicious occasion,  but unfortunately, I did not receive any lucky Li Xi envelopes. Alas...

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A 10-course menu of dragon hors d'oeuvres was presented under the leadership of Chef Mai Le of the Tran Clan. Off the top of my head, the menu included:

Dragon's Hair Salad with Dragon Scales:
Sturgeon salad with prawn chips as scoops

Dragon-in-the-Forest Roll:
Shrimp and pork, bean sprouts, fresh mint, butter lettuce, and  vermicelli wrapped in rice paper, dipped in spicy peanut sauce

Dragon's Bait, Steamed and Stuffed:
Baby eggplant, zucchini, and summer squash steamed and stuffed with pork and shrimp

Dragon on a Stake: Grilled shrimp on sugar cane sticks, with sweet and spicy pineapple sauce

The *hit* for the evening were the Rolled Dragons (grilled beef rolled in perilla leaves).

Dragon drinks and flavors were tested 2 weeks in advance (we have never had so much liquor in the house except for this Dragon fest!). On the night when the drinks were served, the most popular was the Sister's twist on the Dragon's Bite, featuring lychee syrup and Bacardi Dragon Berry Rum, and the Tran Clan's version of Dragon's Blood Punch. Also available were: Flying Dragon, White Dragon, Dragon Slayer, and a tamed version of Dragon's Fire. Although I came up with a fantastic concoction for Dragon's Snot, no one ventured to try it. Wonder why? (I left out the absinthe so that might have been the reason...?) 

The special guest, as you might have guessed, was the Dragon Cake, which was commissioned by one Dr. DN. The cakemaster was our very dear Roger Bridgewater of Bridgewater Bakery [if you live in the STL area and want cakes, let me know because I would be happy to send a reference -- you won't regret it].

From the moment the guests walked in the door, Dragon was the topic of conversation. You can see only some of the details from the photos, but trust me when I say that the Dragon took center stage. Complete with golden tiara and golden wings (edible!!), Dragon graced our makeshift Dragon's Lair with serenity if not indifference. Chef Bridgewater took about a month to design the Dragon, and actual work began on the Tuesday before the Dragon Party. Chocolate and buttercream, with gum paste fangs, Dragon was truly a magnificent guest of honor -- which we carved up into delightful slices at the end of the evening. It was the best way to end the night: Chocolate Dragon cake served with juicy red strawberries. Delightfully sinful. Welcome to Year of the Dragon.

Tet Nham Thin: Year of the Dragon, 2012

Bold. Vibrant. Flamboyant. Nham Thin promises to be an extraordinary year. For almost all of us, the Year of the Dragon will bring exciting new changes. This is the year to stay on our toes, to focus on growth, creativity, challenges. Take risks; be inventive; be bold.  Take the opportunities when they arise, because dragons soar and tigers leap... 


For goats like me, this is a call demanding a response slightly larger than our normal fare. Invest, build, thrive, create, advance... The Dragon year holds a lot of promise, but only if we immerse ourselves in all that pageantry. 


Goats, line up:

3 February 1907 – 1 February 1908: Fire Goat 1 February 1919 – 19 February 1920: Earth Goat 17 February 1931 – 5 February 1932: Metal Goat 5 February 1943 – 24 January 1944: Water Goat 24 January 1955 – 11 February 1956: Wood Goat 9 February 1967 – 29 January 1968: Fire Goat 28 January 1979 – 15 February 1980: Earth Goat 15 February 1991 – 3 February 1992: Metal Goat 1 February 2003 – 21 January 2004: Water Goat 19 February 2015 – 7 February 2016: Wood Goat

I'll have the Viet "tu vi" posted in a short while, but for the time being, I offer you the following notes about Earth Goats in the Year of the Dragon (excerpted from Neil Somerville's Your Chinese Horoscope 2012): 


Tips for the Earth Goat in the Year of the Dragon:


"Events happen quickly in Dragon years and during this one, the Goat will need to keep her wits firmly about her. The Goat will sense change in the air, and will need to take advantage of her joie de vivre. The Goats conversational skills will become an asset; positive new friendships can be made; February, April, July and December could see the most social activity; 


"There will need to b good cooperation and flexibility... This is very much a year for sharing and openness...

"Although some of the year's eents can cause uncertainty, the Goad should not always assume the worst. Some of the pressures or problems will be short-lived...

"With this year of innovation, the Goat could find herself having to adapt to new procedures and regulations... This is no year for the Goat to close her mind to change...


"The Dragon year can see important developments. To benefit, Goats will need to be flexible, and widen the scope of what they are prepared to consider... March, May, September, and October could see important work developments, but throughout the Dragon year, the Goat should be prepared for change... 


"Restraint in the early months of the year will give the Goat more chance to go ahead with activities later on in 2012. This is a year for good control of the purse strings...


"Overall, the Year of the Dragon offers the Earth Goat considerable potential, but the Goat does need to focus on priorities and be flexible when situations change. Though this can be a demanding year, it is a progressive one and the Earth Goat can do herself and her future a lot of good..." 


Famous Goats: No doubt there are many interesting profiles who are Earth Goats. I list below only a handful that I found from Somerville's list:


Jane Austen
Lord Byron
Coco Chanel
Charles Dickens
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Oscar Hammerstein
Norah Johns
James McAvoy
Marcel Proust
Rudolph Valentino
Joni Mitchell
Franz Liszt
Bill Gates
Sir Ben Kingsley
Barbara Walters
John Wayne
Philip Seymour Hoffman
Mark Twain
Steve Jobs
Eva Peron

One Whole Voice

One Whole Voice Various

"Poems ask us not to understand in the same way that we often find ourselves not comprehending the possibility of a God in this world."

Hic Sunt Dracones

The Tran Clan is blessed, or challenged, depending on how close you get to the firebreathers, with not one but TWO dragons in our lair. Both my sister, The Elder, and my mom, Six Queo, are dragons in their own right.

One is a fire dragon; the other water dragon. Both are courageous, strong, intelligent, and sharp as dragon claws.

I, on the other hand, am Ky Mui -- a lowly Earth Goat (or, Ram, if you want to claim Chinese roots). I am supposedly the artistic one, but I think the dragons have got me beat on that score.  Their creativity astounds me daily... My mom with her amazing skills, my sister with her whipping wisdom. Like the goat, I often have my head to the ground, losing sight of what is truly important.

On the old Borgia maps, you can find cute little serpent dragons that symbolized uncharted territories containing untold terrors.

As we sail into the year of the dragon, with or without our maps -- and whether unbidden or invited -- I am reminded that these two women are my role models, and they are nothing like those dragons of Borgia maps. However, much like the swirling dragon-serpents on those old maps, these two dragons do indeed show me the way, the path, to take.

To them, I turn for guidance, encouragement, and reflection. When lost, the goat seeks out the dragons. And, surprisingly, when things become a bit scary and uncontrolled, this Goat is reassured when the Dragons say:

Here be dragons.

In bloom

2012 begins auspiciously for the Tran Clan. Travels abound for all parties involved, and we begin to think there is a bit of give in the strings that tie us all together. Not too much, but not too little, either.

Winter weather has gentled compared to last year, but despite our relief, I see too much climate change to feel completely at ease. See the amaryllis? Beautiful bloom, but it reminds me daily of how fragile life can be -- at once resilient and fleeting.

We moved from the Lake house into the Niebuhr house... Down the block, around the corner. We moved on the 27th, the only day that snowed during that two-week period.

All the plotting and planning to avoid snow, and yet Mother Nature teaches us once again the difficult lesson of preparedness.

C'est la vie.