burning koala

We enjoyed another lovely Christmas Lunch with David and Manuel and 8 other guests at the gallery. After several overcast days of rain (downpours on christmas eve), we had a gorgeous sunny afternoon on Monday with clear blue skies and temperatures in the low 70′s. Which was perfect for the barbequeing David had planned for our lunch.

We started the afternoon with mingling over champagne and some appetizers of shrimp, grilled chicken skewers, and some dips with yummy, chewy turkish bread, a Sydney specialty.

Then we all sat down to a feast laid out in the gallery with a beautiful table setting. David had roasted an enormous beef eye filet on the grill, encrusted with cumin and other spices. This was served with a rich demi-glace that David prepared himself that morning. There were roasted vegetables, potatoes and a sage-y risotto.

We gorged ourselves, only to find that the dessert spread was even more extravagant. A sumptuous (sounds pretentious, but really, it was that good) flourless chocolate cake that was somewhere between cake and mousse and looked pretty enough to wear. Also, a trifle to rival all trifles (made by Francine). If there was any room for more (and there wasn’t) there was also a cheese course.

Now, if that weren’t enough, we departed Manuel and David’s early evening to catch the tail end of another Christmas BBQ at Joe and Michael’s. We finally got to meet the beloved Bob the Cat! To say he’s outgoing and personable would be an understatement. He was a sweet reminder of Bandit. Sniff.

All in all a really nice Christmas.

The complete set of pictures can be found here.