holiday pot of love

For my family, Christmas Eve is the big gathering of relatives near and far. We have no less than 35 people that take over my cousin's home in Pleasanton CA for what is always a feast to end all feasts. For my contribution this year, I proposed 3 dishes that I would make and asked my cousin to choose which she wanted. She went with my Korean Pork stew.

This pot of love has all the makings of what makes a chigae so great- aged homemade kimchi (I used a combination of napa and watermelon rind from this summer), pork shoulder, hock and trotters (yes front paws), rice cakes (tteok), Korean chilies and anchovy broth.

Anchovy broth is the key to making a rich chigae. Sure you can use water and it will taste good...but if you want great chigae, do yourself a favor and make anchovy broth. The extra 15 minutes to prepare is worth it!

And speaking of feasts to end all feasts, this was our spread:

Keep in mind this was only dinner. The appetizers fill this entire island before the main meal. And dinner will be cleared so dessert can take center stage!