Last week, Pete’s sisters Kate and Penny, Ray (Pen’s husband) and our nephew Joseph, drove down from Orange to celebrate an early Christmas with us. Uncle Steve (Pete’s brother), his fiancée Ali, and cousin Jono were also here.
Our annual gathering usually takes place a couple of weeks before Christmas, which allows us to hit the Sydney Fish Market early in the morning (before the crazy festive season rush) and splurge on an abundance of super fresh sea food.
And splurge we really did this year, although everyone chipped in, so the cost wasn’t prohibitive. To keep my beloved nephew happy though, I spent an hour the night before making dumplings for him…
We bought half a kilo of King Salmon sashimi, which Pen and I turned into three large plates of sushi…
A kilo of Balmain bugs, Penny’s favourite…
We had a 2kg ocean trout and a smaller coral trout, both of which were oven roasted…
Ray, who had been dreaming about them all year, insisted on 3kg of cooked tiger prawns. I baked a 75cm slab of sourdough focaccia, and we made a large salad and homemade mayonnaise…
On top of that, we had 30 scallops, three dozen oysters (half Kilpatricked) and 30 dumplings (for Joseph). And between 12 of us, we managed to eat almost all of it.
We were seriously beached.
Then Ali produced a watermelon cake from Black Star Pastry…
…and Penny set fire to her very alcoholic Christmas pudding…
Later that afternoon, cousin Richard and his family popped in. Their son Sam made short work of what was left of the mountain of cherries Pen and Ray had brought down (Sam managed to get four into his mouth at the one time)…
The following morning, Small Man, our resident Christmas elf, set up the tree!
. . . . .
Wishing you all a joyous, peaceful Christmas!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
Sounds marvellous. Merry Xmas and Happy New Year to you and your family, Celia
Celia, merry Christmas for you too!!!
Thanks for a year full of Sourdough bread !! Thanks to your generosity!
Happy New Year!
OMGoodness What a feast!!!! It looked and sounded incredible!!! And wishing you and your family really wonderful Christmas.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and the family Celia. Loved all your work this year (and past years too)!
What a feast! Orange cherries are the best, no? Have a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year to you all.
What a feast! Merry Christmas to you and your family.
You have been busy! Those dumplings! What a wonderful Christmas feast. Wishing you and Pete and your boys a very Merry Christmas and may 2016 be a wonderful year for you all xx
Sounds a feast and a half! Have a wonderful Christmas Celia. And be good (ish) 🍾
Wow, what a feast. Just my kind of food.
May you have a great Christmas, and thanks for your kind gift of sourdough starter. My project for the new year will be making use of it.
Best wishes to you & your family for a safe, happy & restful Christmas.
Being festive is all about feasting with your tribe, isn’t it, and you did it in the most wonderful style. Your table looked wonderful and I love your red tree plate. The laughter and chatter in the kitchen must have been glorious and Small man does the tree so beautifully, it must give him such joy. I Love it all, thank you for sharing. Merry Christmas.
Merry Christmas Celia. I hope you have a happy and peaceful day.
Merry Christmas Celia to you and your family. I have enjoyed every minute in Your Kitchen and the adventures of your family. I have even borrowed a tip or two eg: I bought a indoor sky diving experience for a cheeky nephew and am sending the MOTH on a Sourdough cooking Experience !!! Me? I’m gonna start cheese making in between my Art Classes….So Happy Greetings Lovely Lady 😊
What glory! It all looks so happy and wonderful. What was in that watermelon cake? Hugs all around, Maz. <3
You made all of those dumplings in just one hour – wow, respect!
Happy Christmas my friend, with big hugs to you. x
Merry Christmas Celia to you and your family x
Wow those spreads look so pretty (even for a non-seafood eater) and I love your christmas tree – have a great christmas
Are you really, really sure you’re not Spanish with all that seafood and shellfish?! Marvellous celebration….we’ve had lunch today with my brother and dinner tonight with a pal…the stomachs are sighing with pleasure and complaining at the same time! Big hug my darling Celia xx
What a fantastic feast! And what a clever way to turn 1/2Kg of King Salmon sashimi into platters of sushi all could share! A wonderful Yule table for an even more warm family gathering . . . thank you for sharing and have a great time during the next few days . . .
Merry Christmas from us too xxx
AND a Merry Christmas to you and yours also :)
XOXO
Merry Christmas to you Celia and your family. Wow what a feast, looks all so wonderful, enjoy and enjoy
Merry Christmas, to you and your family. I hope you all have a wonderful New year.
What a feast! Sounds like a fabulous gathering. Hope your holidays are filled with love.
Happy Christmas Celia, Pete and Boys. Love from our house to yours.
All that gorgeous food – what a lovely day with people you love. Merry Christmas, Celia and love to you all.
Buon natale signora!
Merry Christmas to you and all your family! Your Christmas will be almost over by the time mine starts, so I’d better get my greetings in early enough!
So beautiful they are all. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year dear Celia, Thank you, Love, nia
A very merry Christmas to you from half-way around the world, in Maine. I really enjoy this blog and look forward to more posts in the New Year.
Merry Christmas to you and your family, Celia! The seafood looks delicious. What a feast!
Now that’s what I call a feast! Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas and happy, healthy New Year.
What a fantastic feast! I do miss having large family gatherings, though I am very much looking forward to it being just the five of us Christmas morning. I fear this may be our last year of everyone believing in Santa so I plan and enjoying every last minute! Merry Christmas to you and your family!
I hope you’ve had a wonderful time xx
Magnificent spread. No wonder you were beached!
Hope you had a fabulous Christmas.
Sounds wonderful! Merry Christmas, I’m sure you had many more wonderfully delicious celebrations… I hope you and your family have a fantastic 2016 a share I will see you on the flip side :-) as I’m off camping for a week!
Liz xx
That feast looks amazing! We had great food at Christmas, but being a seafood love, those pictures have left me envious! :)