1st 2nd Xmas in AMS

like the hobbits in Lord of the Rings talking about missing 2nd Breakfasts. . . . here (Amsterdam) they don't call the 26th Boxing Day, nor do they spend it busily returning unwanted presents . . . apparently they spend it with their families. Snort.
So NIN invited us (Oktober, I mean, and we tagged along . . . 8^D ...) to a dinner cooked by his Father . . . not knowing what to expect, we were not entirely nonplussed by the large horse living in their house, a young dog 7 hands tall, some kind of black lab, I don't remember -- BIG dog . . .
Had no idea what to expect for dinner . . . NIN had proved a very able chef, but these things are not necessarily hereditary, y'know . . . so . . . we didn't get a photo of the first course, Forest Mushroom Ramekins . . . it's hard to describe how wonderful they were . . . crispy light dough crusts, succulent mushrooms with a hint of some fine, delicate Dutch cheese . . . insert Shivver with Delight.

Sea Bass (we think?) in herb sauce with mild peppers on a bed of Green Onions and Seaweed. . . .

Ted had some name for the Green Onions, like mini-leek, or something and we've totally forgotten what the seaweed was called ... it grows locally in the Netherlands and off the coast of Mexico.

Just awesome, but you shudda seen the Mushroom Ramekins !

We were laughing out loud by the time they brought out the dessert: nut-flavoured ice cream wrapped up in a toasted crepe, with a ribbon on it . . . just truly imaginatively conceived and executed flawlessly . . . it made us giddy.

The last, in the Coals-to-Newcastle category, Ted brought out some Belgian Chocolates . . . but I don't think there were any left when we left . . . it wouldn't seem polite, if you see how I mean. . . 8^P