A New Year's eve for two

First of all, a mini quiz, to see how much you have been paying attention this year.
One of my favourite New Year's eve memories, was in Paris. It was beautiful, bright , but with a flurry of snow. We walked all around the centre of Paris, and the St Germain area. We had a meal in a place near the Champs Elysee, this most romantic of cities, lived up to all expectations.

We also have wonderful memories of family and friends celebrating together.

This evening, I know some couples will be on their own, so here are a few suggestions for them.
First of all a mini quiz:_
1 What is the full name of the Royal baby?
2 Who won Wimbledon, men's singles final?
3 What car did the Pope drive?
4 What happened at Chelyabinsk?
5 Which country became the 28th member of the EU on 1st July 2013?
6 What do Silvio Berlusconi and Alphonse Capone have in common?
7 What, according to Edward Snowden caused more deaths that terrorism, in the USA?
8 A 40 million year old lizard was discovered in June, and named What?
9 What did the Pope personally cancel, in Buenos Aires, by phone, three days after his election?
10 What word won the International Scrabble championships?
(Answers at the bottom)

Here is a quick recipe for four, which can easily be halved for two


Tagliatelle with salmon and cream

250 g tagliatelle
2 potatoes
150 g smoked salmon
200 ml fresh cream
2 spoonfuls of yoghurt
juice of half a lemon
knob of butter
salt and pepper

cut the smoked salmon into strips
Mix the cream, lemon juice and yoghurt together
peel  and dice the potatoes
Boil a large saucepan of water, add salt, then the potatoes.
After about 3 minutes add the tagliatelle
melt the butter in a large non-stick pan
drain the pasta and potatoes and toss in the pan with the melted butter
add the salmon cut in strips and mix carefully
remove from the heat and add the cream mixture
grind over some pepper, adjust the seasoning

Here are the answers to the quiz
1 Prince George of Cambridge, George Alexander Louis
2 Andy Murray
3 A 1984 Renault 4 Hatchback
4 An asteroid fell to earth
5 Croatia
6 They both fell ultimately to tax fraud
7 Bathtub falls
8 Barbaturex Morrison after Jim Morrison, the Lizard King of Rock
9 The daily papers
10 Bandura, which is an Ukrainian ukelele

Well I hope I got those right !
Happy New Year xxx