a good steak, but it ain't beef!

The snow and the cold weather made my Christmas very different from what I had for the past decades.  And I was surprised how I have nicely adjusted with it (of course, wearing  3 or 4 layers of clothes really helps).  The temperature dropped below 0 in time for Christmas holiday which is a season to keep on eating...and eating makes our body warm (good excuse :D).

We spent our Christmas eve and Christmas day with our small friends/family community in Utrecht.  It was really 2 nights of fun...of no worries, just dancing, playing and savoring each moment of our favorite hobby...indulging good food (Thanks again to the hosts, you know who you are *wink*).

We also had our "HT couple Christmas dinner" which HT hubbie made something special for me.  Sweet, isn't he?

This juicy-looking steak is not beef (though it looks like one).  It came from a big animal that has long legs, neck and lots of feathers...can you guess it now? :) Yes!  This delicious steak is an ostrich meat (struisvogelstuk). 

Seared in a pan for 2-3 minutes after which, topped with hazelnut puree and sauce and hopped it went to the oven at 175 Celsius, grill setting for 10 minutes.  This was cooked medium and still very tender and succulent.  This was my first time to eat ostrich meat but HT hubbie said it never failed him.

And fun facts from wikipedia: Ostrich meat are low in cholesterol and they don't have marbled fats.  It is pretty healthy as it is rich in iron just enough of what every woman needs.  But are they endangered?  Hmm, I've read they're not, so you can have it (as long as you know that it's not everyday a holiday:D).

Of course we had dessert (just bought it in a bakkerij) but it was way too sweet.

Nougat Tart

I'm just wondering, since this red meat came from a bird, are those who are not eating beef makes ostrich meat an exception?