Sarah Lagrotteria and Lydia Ellison of Apples & Onions threw us an elegant but totally easy Chinese New Year party inspired by sea foam green (the color of the rabbit in the Chinese zodiac), Saigon red (the go-to mythological/traditional Chinese New Year color), and wood (the element of the rabbit). Here’s how to recreate it at home. 

Give yourself some time to assemble supplies. Order tea tins, rice paper candies, and Chinese envelopes from Pearl River.

For a favor that doubles as a place card, print guest fortunes on nice card stock and place in envelopes with their names on the front.

Line tea tins with plastic baggies so water won’t leak onto the table and fill them with fresh flowers in the colors of the Year of the Rabbit.

Serve festive beverages like Red Sparkler cocktails made with blood orange sorbet, prosecco, and chilled Tsingtao beers with limes.

Fill a champagne flute (extra points if it’s chilled) three-quarters full of prosecco and add a tiny scoop of citrus sorbet to the glass. The sorbet keeps the cocktail chilled as you drink.

Dress up store-bought egg rolls or dumplings with homemade dipping sauce. Whisk together a half cup soy sauce with a quarter cup rice wine vinegar and a quarter teaspoon sesame oil and garnish with one thinly sliced scallion.

Dinner is served: Whole leaf salad with radishes, sugar snap peas, and matchsticks with rice wine vinaigrette and soy-ginger-glazed short ribs with scallion crema, steamed white rice, and braised bok choy. Much of the menu — short ribs, scallion crema, salad dressing, and chocolate sauce — can be made the day before.

For a salad, throw one large head of butter lettuce, a cup of sliced sugar snap peas, and three-quarters cup thinly sliced radishes in a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk four tablespoons rice wine vinegar, a half teaspoon salt, and a half teaspoon agave nectar or honey, then add a scant quarter cup of grapeseed oil in a steady stream to emulsify. Season with salt and pepper and toss with the salad.

Brighten up a bowl of jasmine rice with fresh cilantro. Cook two cups rice (A&O adds a teaspoon of olive oil and a teaspoon of salt to the normal process), and after you let it stand, fluff it with a fork and add a quarter cup of chopped cilantro. When you transfer it to a serving dish, sprinkle another quarter cup of cilantro over the top and serve immediately.

Scallion crema is good on just about anything. It’s just one and a half cups sour cream, six thinly sliced scallions (white and light green parts only), a half teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste. Make it the day before and stick it in the fridge so the flavor can develop.

For the recipe and step-by-step instructions (and a super-fast way to make tasty bok choy), go to applesandonions.com. 

Make good-quality, store-bought vanilla ice cream great with homemade chocolate orange sauce. While you warm three-quarters cup of heavy cream in a small pot over medium-low heat, take four ounces each of semisweet chocolate and bittersweet chocolate and break into small pieces. Stir the zest of one orange into the cream, and then add the chocolate, stirring into a smooth sauce. Warm in a pot over low heat before serving. Sprinkle with crushed Szechuan peppercorns and/or pink peppercorns. 

And there you have it. For more recipes, party ideas, and information on Apples & Onions Dinner Party Blueprints, go to applesandonions.com.