One of the things I have been introduced to recently is 'Bunco'. A group of neighborhood ladies has a monthly get-together to play Bunco. Or rather I should say, the ladies use playing Bunco as an excuse to get together and socialize...and there's nothing wrong with that (apart from maybe the fact that Bunco is actually a pretty boring and simplistic dice game, with no requirements on the intelligence front. it's pure chance...and my competitive spirit doesn't always appreciate that fact. I might suggest switching to a more interesting game), but that does leave plenty of time for socializing and getting to know folks in the neighborhood a bit better.

Last week, I hosted the Bunco night. Funnily enough, all 10 of us ended up just talking and eating and we didn't play Bunco at all (a fact that did not cause me any distress :-). Since I had the time, I'd made a pretty extensive menu of appetizers, finger food and desserts. I love cooking and this was the perfect excuse to go all out. I made all items from scratch according to good old Belgian habits, a fact that surprised most of my fellow neighbors.

Two dishes got most praise: Belgian chocolate mousse (of course) and Tex-Mex crap (sorry, meant to write 'crab') dip -a dish I'd have once at a friends and recreated). I used the chocolate mousse recipe from KVLV's 'ons kookboek' and it worked like a charm. The Tex-Mex crab dip is actually super simple, uses ingredients most people have in their pantry here and is very quick to make. It's best served with wedges of pitta bread. Here's the recipe:

-1 can diced tomatoes (drained)
-1 can sweet kernel corn (drained)
-1 can black beans (drained & rinsed)
-1 package imitation crab meat (cut into little pieces)
-mayonnaise - approx. 2 spoonfuls
-cumin - according to taste, approx. 1-2 teaspoons
-shredded mozzarella cheese - approx 1/2 a bag
- salt & pepper
directions: mix everything together and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Smakelijk