Christmas Eve chez les voisins à la française

We were invited to eat next door so we went round at 19h30 and sat nibbling olives, cherry tomatoes, Pringles and tiny shrimps until the meal was ready, this apéro accompanied by champagne. Then foie gras on toasts with onion pickle and a very sweet and aged Sauterne. Then pintade (guinea fowl) stuffed with chestnuts and ceps accompanied by bread and a rather aged Graves. Then a brebis (sheep milk cheese) from the Pyrenees with a Basque-style spicy cherry conserve. Then for dessert Gwilym's birthday cake.

I was very sparing indeed with the wine because afterwards I had to scuttle to the church to get our slow cooker which the Chinese had borrowed for their Christmas Eve gathering.

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