Pretty red Jell-o hearts make great Valentines but when they are Strawberry-Lilikoi, they taste even better!

ingredients:
1 small box (3 oz) strawberry Jell-o
1 packet Knox gelatin
1 cup boiling water
1 cup Strawberry-Lilikoi Hawaiian Sun juice

In a small bowl combine the Strawberry Jell-o, Knox gelatin packet, boiling water and Strawberry-Lilikoi juice. Stir to combine until the gelatin has dissolved.

Pour into an 8×8 glass dish and refrigerate until firm.

Using a small heart cutter, cut out Jell-o pieces and serve.

Included in this year’s festivities, I decided to make a giant Hello Kitty sushi head. Perhaps not your traditional New Year’s food but it sure was cute. It was so cute no one cut into it! However, after I cut the first slice it was gone pretty quickly!

I’ve been doing this for a few years and I think I’ve finally got my routine down. (Check out 2010 & 2011 here.) After shopping at four markets and cooking for 2 days-here’s the whole menu I put together for this year’s celebration:

Guava Jelly Chicken Wings
Brown Sugar Meatballs
Root Beer Pulled Pork
O.G.’s flank steak
Mac Salad
Hello Kitty Sushi
Spam Musubi
Somen Salad (noodles – for a long life)
Furikake Shrimp
Tazukuri (teriyaki fish – for a prosperous year)
kuromame (black beans – for health and success)
kurikinton (sweet potato w/chestnuts – for wealth)
Gobo (burdock root – for a strong family)
Sushi
Ozoni (traditional new year’s day soup)
Mochi (longevity)
Kamaboko (joy, happiness)
Hawaiian Sunrise Jell-o
Pink An (azuki bean) Mochi
Chocolate Mochi Brownies
Yokan

Guava Jelly Chicken Wings (recipe here)
Nice and sweet with a fruity floral flavor. Chicken wings are the perfect party snack.

Brown Sugar Meatballs (recipe here)
Always a party fave and easy to prep since it’s all in the crock pot.

Root Beer Pulled Pork (recipe here)
Another easy prep – flavorful pork cooked for 8 hours and I serve it on King’s Hawaiian rolls.

O.G.’s Flank Steak
I don’t even need the other dishes, this is all I want for my new year. I always tell her to make it because she does it with all of her ‘secrets’ which I’ve yet to figure out…

Mac Salad
There were a lot of Hawaii family members representin’ at Oshogatsu this year so my Hawaiian Mac Salad was a must.

Giant Hello Kitty Sushi
Yep – I made a giant Hello Kitty sushi, 8″ wide! Sushi rice and seasoned salmon pressed together with a furikake face, egg nose and to top it off, a bow made of Spam.

Now onto the ‘good luck‘ food:

Spam Musubi (recipe here)
I make a double batch and this is always the first to empty out on the table. Nori (seaweed) is supposed to bring ‘joy’ to your life so I ensure it by making it fancy and dipping them in furikake. Extra flavor and extra joy.

Somen Salad
Noodles signify long life and my take on it is Somen Salad. This is our family version as found in the O.G. comic/cookbook.

Furikake Shrimp
All Oshogatsu meals must have shrimp – the ‘bend’ of a shrimp signifies a bent old person’s back which means you will live a long life if you eat a lot of shrimp. If you’ve got a shellfish allergy, well – I guess you’re out of luck?

Tazukuri
These tiny teriyaki fish are supposed to ensure a ‘good harvest’ meaning you’ll have a profitable new year.

Kuromame
Black beans ensure good health. Um. I never eat these and I’m ALWAYS sick. Coincidence?

Kurikinton
Japanese sweet potatoes with golden chestnuts. Anything yellow or golden is supposed to signify gold, so if you eat it you’re guaranteed to be wealthy!

Gobo – burdock root
Eating this keeps your family ties strong.

Sushi
The best New Year’s sushi comes from Sakae Sushi in Gardena but you have to order it early, we’re talking MONTHS early and uh…we didn’t make the cut. So we were stuck with this sad chain-store version. Next year we’ll get on the stick!

Ozoni
Ozoni is traditional Japanese New Year’s soup. It’s supposed to be the first thing you eat on the first day of the year to ensure a fab new year. Some are super fancy, mine is certainly not but I load it up with a bunch of stuff: shitake mushrooms, tofu, char siu pork, mizuna, green onions, nori chips and decorative kamaboko only sold once a year. The kicker – toasted FRESH mochi. You can’t beat that.

Are we done yet? No way.
Desserts and lot of them. That’s my idea of a party:

Hawaii Sunrise Jell-o
I came up with this one day when I was thinking about incorporating Hawaiian Sun juice into layered Jell-o. The taste was AMAZING and it was gone in no time. I guess this will be permanent on the menu for next year!

Pink Mochi (recipe here)
Pink and mochi, my two fave things. I hand-make these the day before the party, it’s both fun and relaxing. There’s nothing better to ring in the New Year than freshly made mochi filled with sweet red bean.

Chocolate Mochi-Brownies (recipe here)
This is another thing that will probably make the menu next year. The minute I put these out they were GONE! Chocolate brownies with that distinct mochi chew. Irresistible.

Yokan
Yokan, a traditional Japanese jelly – almost like a thick jell-o. I’ll admit I’m NOT a fan. But O.G. said we had to have it and since they only make the red and the green version once a year, it’s special for Oshogatsu.

Well I survived cooking for yet another New Year’s Day. 20 dishes – that ain’t half bad. At least I can rest for a year until the next one. Happy New Year!

Her response told us that Santa’s favorite cookie is chocolate chip. Who knew?

I bet Santa would especially like these. With the addition of See’s Candies chocolate chips, these cookies are taken over the top. See’s is a West Coast institution AND O.G.’s favorite candy – with these cookies you will definitely get on Santa’s ‘nice’ list.

See’s Chocolate Chip Cookies (recipe here)

Thanks for following along with my 12 Days of Cookies – Merry Christmas!

I love cookie cutter cookies that you don’t have to ice with frosting. Making a batch of cookies with a touch of matcha (green tea powder) gives this mini forest the perfect green. A lovely, edible holiday centerpiece!

Matcha Cookie Forest (recipe here)

There are times when a crisp cookie is necessary and times when a soft cookie is a must. Pudding makes the consistency of these light, flavorful and great for holiday cookie swaps!

Chocolate Chip Vanilla Pudding Cookies (recipe here)

Hilary’s blog Nosh With Me features her Aunt Helen’s Mandlebrot. It is a twice baked cookie, crispy and delicious and she makes it with chocolate chips, deelish! Thanks for the recipe, Hilary!

Mandlebrot (recipe here)

Nutella Chocolate Chip Cookies (recipe here)

My friend Jami is a great cake baker, she makes some extraordinary special occasion treats showcased on her blog Night Baking. And whenever we get together to we try and bring something homemade. Normally I’m not a fan of shortbread but these got me hooked. Sweet, small and buttery – these cookies make great gifts, but frankly I wouldn’t mind eating the whole batch myself. Thanks to Jami for the recipe!

Cranberry Tea Cookies (recipe here)

We share hopes (mochi) and fears (dolls – her, not me) all through our love of food. While she is mostly known for her 30 bundt cakes in 30 days during her annual “I Like Big Bundts” – her food blog is filled with lots of delicious treats from jell-o recipes to more jell-o recipes.

These fudge drop cookies look divine and would probably be amazing with a cold glass of milk. I’m sure Santa would love ‘em.

Fudge Drop Cookies (recipe here)

Hello Kitty Cookie Cupcakes (recipe here)