Ski Adventures

So it's 2013, and the Fiscal Cliff has, it seems, been averted - something extra to celebrate. Celebrations certainly got of to a good start in the chalet last night. In addition to our carefully planned and prepared New Year Menu our Russian guests produced copious quantities of food and wine to add to the table. One of the families, of Siberian origin who arrived from Moscow yesterday, brought with them a traditional dish they had prepared at home and carried in their hand-luggage. Made from soused herring, potato, beetroot, onions, egg and a kind of mayonnaise it was delicious and fresh-tasting. I'll try and get the name right later. So in the end this was our menu for last night:

• Red caviar on baguette and butter
• Escargots (again, of course!)
• Seafood platter (oysters, prawns, shrimps, mussels etc)
• Traditional Russian dish described above
• A plate of Savoyard sausages (not sure where this came from)
• Blue cheese soufflés (beautifully cooked by Angus)
• Duck breast baked in honey and mustard with carrot and taragon pureé and puy lentils
• Cheese course (St Marcellin, Coloummiers, Roqeufort)
• Chocolate mousse (enhanced by Jenny's fantastic sugar-work decoration and real sparklers!), served with black tea, á la russe

The wines, champagnes and other drinks were to numerous to list, but one guest brought several bottles of Canadian Frozen Apple wine, which is apparently very popular in Russia. Made when the apples are mature and frozen on the trees, it has the same honey sweetness as traditional 'eiswein', but the apple flavour is there too.

The guests toasted New Year several times, having roots in Kazhakstan, Armenia and Siberia as well as Russia (so many times zones, it makes you realise what huge countries these are - I discovered, for example, that Kazhakstan is the 9th largest country in the world, completely land-locked and with a surface are greater than the whole of western Europe!).

'Our' New Year arrived with everyone in the hot-tub, and an impressive firework display in Les Granges such as I have never seen here before. 

С Новым годом !