Christmas greetings from the comfort of my in-laws' warm and cosy kitchen. I know that I haven't posted for a while, but it's not like any of you, loyal readers, were anxiously awaiting the next instalment, so I took the liberty of "sending" my blog on its own Christmas break.

I've gotten a request to describe the wonderful food I've been consuming whilst in Belgium b/c that's what I do when I come here...I consume insane amounts of great food, skillfully prepared by my in-laws. Christmas Eve was of course a highlight, not only because of the presents, but of course for us grown-ups (read: me) the food. Our aperitif was (and it's being prepared just as I'm posting, so I guess we'll be having it today again:) shrimps in a cocktail sauce (ketchup and mayonnaise with a dash of whiskey) on a chicory leave served with a glass (or two or three) of (brut) sparkling wine. The aperitif is always enjoyed in the living room after which we moved to the dining room table. When we got there (with me already on my second glass of bubbly since Tom didn't want his) a salmon mousse was already waiting on our plates. The salmon mousse is served with white toast and finely chopped onions and white wine. Tom's Dad usually makes the mousse and inevitably there is a discussion about how good or bad the mousse is in relation to previous mousses. I, of course, think the mousse is always perfect so for me there is really no point to this discussion.

The main meal on Christmas Eve was stuffed turkey with canned fruit and deep-fried (and crunchy) potato croquettes. Now I'm sure you're a bit confused by the canned fruit, but believe me it's a perfect complement to the turkey and it's sweet gravy. For this course the red wine is opened. Luckily as soon as I had my third refill of bubbly I started drinking water because I was well aware that the bubbly was going straight to my knees and quite possibly my head. So by the time it came to the red wine I had sobered up enough not to make a fool of myself:) After two helpings of the main meal one still had to keep space for the ice-cream dessert. The dessert came in two flavours chocolate and mocca and I of course had to sample both. You can well imagine how stuffed I was after all that eating, so much so that the afternoon passed in a haze since I can't really recall what I did for the rest of the day other than to phone my family during their Christmas pool party (the irony was not lost on anyone celebrating Christmas in cold, miserable Belgium).

The cheese and wine dinner preceeded by soup followed the opening of the presents. Of course this was the highlight for the kids, but complete torture for my husband. As each present was opened the noise and excitement levels went up a notch, which did not go down well with Tom or the baby, who was completely unsettled and crying, though neither could escape it. At 18:00 everyone gathered in the living room, a little table was placed in the middle and one by one the presents are brought and opened. It seemed as if size really mattered when it came to the kids' presents this year. I didn't really expect to get anything, but I got 1 kg of chocolate shells and €100...nice! I'm also eagerly awaiting of my brand new cellphone a Sony Ericsson W810i.

Other food related highlights this week are 1) the (at least) five course dinner we'll be having a restaurant in the area on Friday and 2) the fondue on New Year's Eve. Hmmm... can't wait. Over the next couple of days I'll not be eating too much in anticipation of these events.

Ciao