Kiko, you tourist guide

Kiko and his friends celebrated New Year in Menorca

Today at Club Kikoland we are all very excited because we decided to celebrate New Year together in Menorca. A week ago we prepared everything and to make it more fun, we each will represent a country.

We all have to contribute at least one culinary tradition and some customs typical from that country. For example, I have chosen Spain and I will be taking grapes and nougat and will tell you about the twelve counts.

 

Traditional sweets

Cuqui is representing England and has spent several days in the kitchen trying to make a Christmas pudding. It is a typical dessert eaten during the British holidays and has a recipe from his grandmother, who lived there many years. He says it is the best pudding he has ever eaten.

I see Hooky walking around. Will he have something planned? I approach him and he tells me that in Italy they have a traditional sweet called Pannetone, a kind of sponge cake with candied fruit. He has called a few friends he met in Milan, so can send one to Menorca. Well, he says he has ordered two because he loves them so much!

Troglo and Dita represent Germany and they also will host the dinner because we will all meet in Trogoland, the cave which they live in. Dita explains that a German friend once taught her how to make Christstollen, a very old typical sweet, a kind of sweet bread with raisins in it. It´s delicious! As Dita is an excellent cook, she have everything already ready. Sure it's going to be yummy!

 

Predicting the future

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Troglo is acting very mysterious. He says he wants us to predict the future. I wonder if he has a magic ball but he explains that it is a traditional in some German families to participate in the Bleigiessen. Hooky and I looked at him strangely. We have never heard of this tradition. He will tell us more about it later.

Only three days to go till New Year. We have gathered all together to see how our preparations are doing. Dita will make a nice dinner and take among all the desserts and drinks. I bought Catalan cava. It will serve to toast with New Year.

Troglo said to bring sekt, a delicious German sparkling wine. Hooky has asti spumante, which is a n Italian sparkling wine perfect for drinking whilst eating the Pannetone. Cuqui will prepare mulled wine, which is a warm wine with ginger, cinnamon and orange. Delicious!

 

Grapes and nougat

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I explain that each of us will have a bag with 12 grapes and that when the clock strikes twelve strokes, at midnight, we'll eat them. One with every stroke. And, for good luck for the upcoming year, we have to finish them all without choking, until the last bell strikes.

It is a Spanish tradition. It is said that there was a big crop of grapes in 1909. To make us of them, some producers of Alicante proposed this idea which then became a tradition. I also bought nougat, a typical sweet made of almonds and honey.

 

Christmas pudding and wishes

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Cuqui says you cannot eat grapes and count down till the last 10 seconds of the year because in England they do it out loud and if you have a mouthful of grapes..... We all laughed because he has inflated cheeks and is no longer to understand!

Well, Cuqui has managed to make a Christmas pudding that we are sure that we will like it a lot. Moreover, he wants us, before sitting down at the table, to write down what we want for 2016. So all our wishes will be fulfilled.

 

Lentils bring fortune

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Hooky is very quiet. The Panettone arrived on time and he has already prepared the lentils for dinner. Lentils! We do not know what to say! But he insists that we have to eat a few spoonful’s of lentils before the end of the year. It is the way to receive good fortune for our families for the next year.

Troglo finally is going to explain what Bleigiessen is. He has brought a candle, some silver spoons and a bowl of cold water. That night, after dinner, we each had to put a piece of lead on the spoon and then heat it above the candle. Once the lead has melted, we have to put it in the water. Each piece of lead will create a different patern and the game is to guess what it is. Great fun!

We have evrything prepared to make sure we spend a good entertaining New Year. And before the end of the year, we wish all our friends in the Hotel Royal Son Bou Family Club and all our guest who visit us every summer A HAPPY NEW YEAR.

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