Party Times

Lunch with our friends at the Talbo

We had a great time Saturday at our two get-togethers. First, we had lunch with some of the American expats and families/spouses/significant others. We ate at a restaurant in Old Town that surprisingly, Tom and I had not been to before. That's probably because it's only open until 4 p.m., and we were always trolling for food around 7 p.m.

Anyway, it was great fun. This was the first time in Finland I have seen French Onion Soup on a menu -- it's always either tomato or mushroom, mostly mushroom. Now, I love both the tomato and mushroom soups, but it was really nice to have something different.

Thanks to Jeremy for organizing the lunch.

That evening, we had dinner with over 60 mostly French expats at a local banquet facility in Old Town. The theme was French Creole, and the two volunteer chefs spent all day cooking. Tom and I actually stopped by that morning (to make sure we could find the place), and chatted with them while they cooked.

Pam, Severine and Julie at the Creole dinner

The menu certainly was eclectic -- for appetizers, there were "shooters" of various mixtures, such as guacamole or tomato/basil/some kind of white cheesy mousse, something that resembled and tasted like potstickers, and my favorite, pitted prunes wrapped in bacon. Yes, that might sound unappealing, but trust me, it was delicious. Even Tom, who is not the most adventurous eater, liked them.

The chefs made sure everyone was happy

The first course was a puffy potato and fish croquette, and the second course was a curry-type chicken with black beans and rice. Very good. 

Desserts were outstanding -- little shooters of vanilla milkshakes infused with Irish liqueur; berry parfaits;  skewers of fresh fruit, and the best chocolate brownie dessert ever. It was so good I brought two home in a napkin!

Tom says the Americans should host a similar dinner with either chili or Tex-Mex. Only we can't do Tex-Mex because we can't find Mexican cheese anywhere. Maybe Cincinnati Chili? I'm sure even some of the Americans have never had that!

In other exciting news (for me, anyway), we finally bought a bike. One of the local sporting goods stores put them on sale 40 percent off, which made the high price a bit easier to take. Now, we thinking about buying ice skates...

Dessert -- always the best part!

Very fancy appetizers