Lucky New Year's Eve Foods: Japanese Osechi

One of the most beautiful ways to eat lucky New Year's foods is to partake in the Japanese Osechi. Originally created as a way for families to have enough to eat through the first days of the New Year when stores are closed, osechi is a collection of boxes full of prepared food that can sit out for a few days without spoiling. Rather than the fried chicken or limp mashed potatoes one usually finds in North American store-bought take-home dishes, osechi ryori is an exercise in beauty -- you've seen bento boxes, right? -- and luck.

These delicious boxes of food are usually chock-full of tasty eats meant to bring New Year's luck and fortune, and often include seafood like shrimp, sardines, and roe, a multitude of veggies, and something less savory like bitter orange Daidai for those wishing for children in the New Year.

You might not want to jump on the room-temperature pre-made foods kick for the beginning of 2010, but take a cue from the osechi and put out beautiful boxes of your favorite "lucky" foods for the New Year.