Breakfast is always an important start to your day, but at Christmas breakfast is even more special. It is the moment when the whole family comes together and the children open the presents. Everyone sits at the table with a heavy head, because the evening of the 24th was too pleasant. Or the couples had their casual fight just before going to sleep. Christmas brings the best but sometimes the most annoying things. Celebrating Christmas is of course a cultural thing. There are plenty of countries and cultures where Christmas is not celebrated, or where it is not celebrated very extensively. I’m not usually someone who really celebrates Christmas, but of course I love the food!
We have always had a pleasant Christmas in France. At least, as a child I always thought of it as fun! You’re young, you get great food packed with sugar and presents, so as a kid you don’t wonder if everything is going well and if you can do something then, right? After my parents got divorced, my Christmas mornings were never the same. The colorful mornings and scenes were gone. My father and I afterwards always tried to have a nice Christmas dinner together, with grilled meat or a fondue, and sometimes mussels. But it never became the same again. And at the end of 2019, this all changed again. I got to know Spain.
My hubby took me to his parents for Christmas. I didn’t speak any Spanish at all, except vamos a la playa and cerveza, and I was really, really nervous. Luis and I weren’t together very long, plus I’m covered in tattoos so I found that even scarier. Soon they’ll think I’m a villain! And then I was received so warmly and welcomingly and buried with gifts. Good food was put under my nose and I was introduced to a new city and culture. At that point, I never wanted to go back to Amsterdam right away, and it didn’t.
It is now a year later. It’s November 2020 and Luis and I live with my father in a house, all safely under one roof in beautiful Murcia. I am so happy that in these turbulent times we can celebrate this Christmas together. Nice cooking together, eating and continuing the traditions or, rather, making new traditions. I secretly miss the Christmas shop at the flower market in Amsterdam that always counts down the days until Christmas and also the canals in winter. I am starting to miss Amsterdam more and more, but being in Spain has allowed me to flourish again and has brought peace to my head. And it has put me on a new path to the future where I can follow my dreams.
I want to share my Christmas weeks with a French and also a little Spanish touch with you through my recipes and delicious photos that I place on the website on Mondays. My idea for this Christmas month will become even clearer to you if I explain it like this: I am going to present you a table with delicious dishes every week. Each table will also have a theme. This week’s theme is, rarara, the Christmas breakfast! Of course I will also share some of these dishes with you during the week, but not all. Why?
Some of the dishes that will be presented on the tables are dishes that will be in my cookbook. Unfortunately, I cannot reveal this yet, otherwise I will no longer have any content for the book of course! With each dish I will also tell a special story and that way you will find out more about who I am! Well, at the table, friends! It will be really great Christmas weeks!
And for the people who don’t celebrate Christmas, if you are in the mood for something tasty, these recipes are for you too!
Oh, and don’t worry, January is around the corner for my next surprise! Because after so much chocolate, cookies with sugar, I think you want to eat something healthy! But first, let’s enjoy and celebrate that 2020 is finally coming to an end!
What do we start with this Monday?
We start with a table full of delicacies of course! It took some time to think again in my head: what do we really eat in France for breakfast? Not much changes on Christmas morning. Usually it is tartine à la confiture, viennoiserie, des crêpes, a few drinks such as chocolate milk, orange juice and fresh fruit.
I still remember how my uncle used to dip a piece of baguette and brie in his chocolate milk. I always got the ‘frissons’ from that. That’s French for goosebumps. How can you dip a piece of brie in chocolate milk? Anyway, this uncle was also a bit different, let’s just say it for a moment. Recently I also came across the blue cup in the picture, and that immediately brought me back to these breakfasts with my French family.
Of course, we don’t eat so much with breakfast every day in France. But Sundays were of course the rest days, especially if you come from a large Catholic family. The crêpes are indispensable in my life. I love it, just with lots of butter, brown sugar on top and lemon juice. The crepe contains a secret taste, which, with the taste of butter, sugar and lemon, creates a special experience!
Usually there is a viennoiserie basket of stuffed puff pastry treats, with applesauce, chocolate or croissants and a jar of jam on the side, or Nutella. Ham, cheese and tomato are also indispensable, so that is why I have also added a Spanish tradition: the tostada with fresh tomato puree and a cheese treat that I will keep a secret for a while!
What cannot be missed are of course the baguette, brioche au sucre, the black coffee and a boiled egg! And of course how could I forget the foie gras? I wanted to add something nice but I couldn’t find it fresh, so my other ideas will come up another time. I am someone who really likes fresh and homemade, that is of course also because I like to make and bake everything myself!
Of course this is a big breakfast, but luckily I have a father and husband who like good food and also want to relax afterwards!
Well, I’m going to get to work in the kitchen, because such a breakfast does not come naturally to the table, hihi. And I have come up with some nice and funny twists to make this table even more fun.
Happy Monday, friends! Make it beautiful and follow your dreams.
