Happy early Chinese New Year!

This year I'm unable to make it home to Boston, but I'm still planning on celebrating in two ways: 1) Gathering a big group of friends for dim sum here in New York, and 2) hosting a Chinese New Year Virtual Potluck here with the online food community.

I've never done a big event like this here on this blog, so it's very exciting to announce. My goal, in addition to celebrating the release of my first cookbook, is to get as many bloggers as possible to make Chinese dishes this month (even if it seems a little intimidating!) I hope to make this an event for sharing and learning from each other about how to adapt Chinese cooking to suit your own lifestyle.

I've also teamed up with wonderful sponsors including — Le Creuset, Random House, GrubKit, and Edgeware — to give something to everyone participating.

To participate, all you need to do is cook one recipe from The Chinese Takeout Cookbook (from a list of 7 recipes available on online on here or Amazon), photograph the dish, and write a blog post on their blog about the dish that also mentions the cookbook. (Anyone with a blog centered around food, lifestyle, or home life is welcome to join in.) Then publish the post between now and February 24th, the 15th and last day of Chinese New Year. I'll link up to everyone's blog, randomly select a Grand Prize Winner and Runner Up, and post it here on February 25.

All US-based participants will receive 1 copy of The Chinese Takeout Cookbook, courtesy of Random House, to keep, give to family or friends, or use in a giveaway on their blog.

Grand Prize Winner — One grand prize winner will receive:
- a Le Creuset Signature Round French Oven, 5 1/2 Quart, in any of the available 12 colors. (Great for Asian braises and soups as well as Western cooking!)
- A cookbook set of 6 wonderful new releases and older favorites, from my friends at Random House: The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook, Steamy Kitchen's Healthy Asian Favorites, The Sprouted Kitchen: A Tastier Take on Whole Foods, Vietnamese Home Cooking, Asian Dumplings, and another copy of The Chinese Takeout Cookbook to keep or give away.

Runner Up Prize — One runner up will receive:
- Two best-selling recipe kits from our friends at GrubKit - Pad Thai and Kung Pao Chicken. Since the Kung Pao is from my own recipe, I'll just comment on the Pad Thai kit: This is so well-tested and makes way better pad thai than you'll get ordering in. And these kits are perfect for gifts or last minute dinner parties.
- Premium Edgeware grater set (seen here, here, and here) - Three total. Wonderful sharp edges for vegetables as well as cheese.

We are only able to ship prizes to U.S.-based bloggers, unfortunately.

Scroll down for more details!

So far I've received some wonderful feedback from food blogger friends and Appetite for China readers about the book. But I'm curious to hear from more of you! So from now until 11:59pm EST on February 24, 2012, just cook and write 1 one blog post on any of the following recipes that are available here or on Amazon:

Please make any dietary substitutions and other small adjustments as needed. (For example, substituting tofu in Kung Pao Chicken or using gluten-free sauces.) I *love* hearing how creative readers get while making adjustments to suit their needs and lifestyle.

(When blogging about the recipe, just keep in mind the FTC requirements about disclosure, since you'll receive a book as part of joining the potluck and be entered in the giveaway.)

Then email me the link at appetiteforchina(at)gmail(dot)com. I'll keep updating the links to the participants on this post, plus do a new full write-up of everyone's posts on February 25th.

Pad Thai and Kung Pao Chicken Recipe Kits from GrubKit!

I'm very excited to see what you choose to cook for Chinese New Year. Let me know in the comments below if you're planning on cooking and the name of your blog. And spread the word! Let's make this a big festive Chinese New Year celebration for the Year of the Snake.

Happy cooking!

Chinese New Year Virtual Potluck; Grand Prizes from Le Creuset & Random House