Chapter 85

On the afternoon of new year's Eve, thick porcelain pots with big stomachs and shallow mouths were placed at the gates of every courtyard of Zhao's house. At first glance, they thought they were used for pickles. When they came closer, they found that each pot was full of lamp oil. They used a thick wick to tie stone lions and Buddhists to the bottom of the pot. They just waited for the big sea lanterns to be lit before the new year's Eve dinner in the evening.

There is also a name for it. It is said that how long the lamp can burn, there will be many blessings in this year. Therefore, people who are a little more careful not only go to the temples on the mountain to donate big sea lanterns to do good deeds, but also light big sea lanterns in their own homes every year.

This year's new year's Eve dinner is something everyone in Zhao's family has been looking forward to for a long time. Mu Yunsheng's craftsmanship is well-known throughout the city, and everyone praises her. From the ninety-nine year old woman to the nine year old child, no one does not like her fish dishes. People in Zhao's mansion have little chance to taste it, but they are drooling just by listening to such rumors.

In the evening, when the sea lanterns were lit in every courtyard, and the 101 red lanterns under the corridor were all lit up, Zhao Mian, Zhao Jin, Zhao Chun and Zhao Satin sat down behind Mr. and Mrs. Zhao in turn. Because an Hong is master Zhao's concubine, and has not taken off her humble status for many years, she sits in the last seat every year.

Zhao Mian is rare to wear a red suit. The silver mouse hair is exposed at the cuff and neck. In addition, her face is ruddy and her apricot pupils are watery. She is so pitiful that she looks more like Mrs. Zhao was a young lady who was attracted to all the talents in the town. After sitting down, Zhao Chun intentionally or unintentionally always leads the topic to Qi Xuan, but every time Zhao Jin makes a speech to head back. At last, Mrs. Zhao could not see it, but she said something on both sides, which made the undercurrent on the table a little more turbulent.

Today, there are still some servant girls in the kitchen. They work the hardest every year. They have to wait for everyone to eat before they can have some leftovers. However, on this day, all the servant girls on duty had the same silver naked son as the master, which was also regarded as the performance of Zhao's compassionate servants.

After a short time and a half, Mrs. Zhao immediately clapped her hands and asked the servant girl to cook. The servant girls on duty were clever. They immediately ordered eight cold dishes for each table.

Although it is winter, but the rules of the banquet can not be less, cold dishes can not be avoided. When Mu Yunsheng made these cold dishes, the cold dishes were all drenched with hot sesame oil. The aroma of the food attracted people and they all picked up chopsticks.

Mrs. Zhao knew it was Mu Yunsheng who was in charge this year. She didn't expect to see her favorite salivated chicken and cold lettuce. She was naturally moved, and she felt a little more good for mu Yunsheng.

After the cold dishes are served, hot dishes are handed down one by one. Because it's cold, Mu Yunsheng adds a charcoal stove under each hot dish plate to keep the dishes warm. This is a unique move. People in Zhao's house have never seen such a way of serving dishes. Mrs. Zhao is amazed by Mu Yunsheng's idea.

Pass dish servant girl one by one will hot dish on full table, introduce one by one.

"The first dish is called mushroom cod, which is the specialty of manager mu. Cod is specially taken by breaking the ice. It has been stored in ice and snow all the time. Its meat is the freshest and tenderest. There is also the smell of COD in mushrooms. Shopkeeper Mu said that you can enjoy it at ease. All the bones on the fish have been peeled off one by one. Some of them are just as crisp and tender as the fish. They can be swallowed directly. "

Everyone is waiting for mu Yunsheng's fish dish. Originally, they thought it should be the last dish. But the first one is that Mu Yunsheng doesn't care about the details and doesn't care about the name of the last dish, which makes people look forward to the later dishes.

"This second dish is called quail egg braised pork. It uses pork with skin, because Mr. Zhao seemed to like it very much at first. Today, shopkeeper Mu specially added quail egg with skin to make it again. Quail eggs can make women's skin white and tender, and keep their youth forever, so does pig skin. So please have a good taste of Mrs. Zhao, her aunt and two young ladies. "

This speech is very appropriate, and the name of Zhao Jin, and filial piety to Mrs. Zhao. Mrs. Zhao took a chopstick and tasted it in the bowl. She was smiling and couldn't help but give it to Zhao Mian and said, "you sister Mu are really good at craftsmanship and good at thinking. It's hard for her to handle it with such care."

"The third dish is called jiejiegaosheng, which is a steamed cake with sesame seeds. The steamed cake also contains lotus seeds, red beans, soft beans, red dates, Chinese wolfberry and sweet scented osmanthus syrup. It was steamed in a steamer for an afternoon before it was taken out. Although it's coarse flour, it's more chewy than white flour and tastes like various seasonings. "

In fact, this dish should have used corn steamed cake. Unfortunately, corn is an imported crop, which is not available in the world. Mu Yunsheng couldn't do it, so he had to try it with red wheat flour mixed with bran. Fortunately, the effect was good, because the steamer was big enough, and the water vapor from sweet scented osmanthus syrup soaked the steamed cake in all directions, which made the steamed cake sweet but not waxy and soft, and very resilient.

Mrs. Zhao and Mr. Zhao didn't know this. They just felt lucky when they heard the dish name. They had already laughed. Master Zhao nodded and said, "Miss Mu really has a heart."

"The fourth dish is called pearl lotus root round, which is made of glutinous rice. Besides meat, it also uses chopped lotus root. This dish hasn't been on the menu in Liuxian, so please have a taste first. The lotus root has been steamed to crisp rotten, aroma, mouth is melt, is to help people appetizer dish. This dish also means reunion. It's a new year's dish tonight. "Zhao Jinzao couldn't bear to hear so many names of the little grey ball. When the servant girl's voice dropped, he quickly reached out to pick up a piece and sent it to master Zhao's bowl: "sister Mu was cooking for me every day in my room a while ago. I didn't know that sister Mu had so many skills that she didn't use."

Master Mu likes eating glutinous rice most. Although he is not easy to digest as he gets older, he still likes eating some glutinous rice balls at New Year's Eve dinner. This is what chef Wang told Mu Yunsheng. After hearing this, Mu Yunsheng immediately thought of the Pearl lotus root circle. This pearl lotus root circle is most suitable for those who love glutinous rice and have bad teeth. Although the entrance has the taste of glutinous rice, you don't have to worry about the indigestion. It's the best way to please master Zhao.

Mr. Zhao really tasted it according to his words. After tasting it, he sandwiched one of his own. Although he didn't say a word, this attitude has already explained everything. Zhao Jinben also worried about Mu Yunsheng. Seeing that master Zhao's reaction was like this, he felt relieved and tasted it himself.

After the first four hot dishes are served, it is reasonable to wait for everyone to eat for a while before serving the remaining four. During this period, the cook can take a breath.