Day 96 - Australia Day

Paul is an internationally awarded baker of magnificent breads and pastries. He brought some bread to our backyard Australia Day lunch. I imagined a couple of good quality loaves but OMG!!! Check it out!!!!! There are not enough exlamation marks to express my gratitude and awe at his generousity and skill!

This bread is truly fantastic. You can buy the cobs as Paulos bread. I am loving my decision to empty the freezer a bit during the week, now its full of left over bread! Paul started baking at 4am!!!! Crikey it was worth it. I am resolved to stop making my own bread and just buy his. That is of course until I do his bread making course at the end of feb!! Check his desserts a bit later.

4kg of SA King Prawns served with Morrys homemade Aioli. He will kill me for this, but the recipe was digracefully easy so I will post it. Most recipes for aioli you make it from scratch in a food processor, but this was an adapted Donna Hay recipe. Best quality mayonaise, crushed garlic and a bit of lemon juice.

Jeff and Jacki made some smoked rainbow trout. Yes, I said MADE!!! Obviously they bought the fish, but they smoked it! It had a great flavour, very smoky, not as fishy as you get at the shops. definately better. Thanks guys!

The salads! I bought Banana Boys rocket salad (with the dressing on the side so it would keep a day) and sweet potato and betroot salad (not pictured) Jacki made a quinoa (yes pronounced keenwar - who knew! Oh, appartenly everyone but me) Jax salad was fab - had leftovers for dinner with more bread!

Morrys tomatoes
Ripe tomatoes
whole garlic cloves
fresh thyme and oregano
Morry cooked these for about 4 hours. Chop tomatoes in half, add other ingredients, season and drizzle in olive oil. Pur in the oven at 140degrees for an hour then reduce to 110 and leave it another couple of hours.
This is a great side dish as it doesnt require careful timing! 
Left overs can be eaten on fresh bread or put through a pasta. Shame there werent any leftovers :(

BBQ'd lamb and fried polenta. Lots of lamb left over - any ideas for using it up?

So here are the tarts.

Words cannot describe their splendor.

One was chocolate and pistachio, one was frangipane and plum and my favourite was the raspberry. It had a basil infused sponge inside. Enough said.

No leftovers

A big thanks to the guys who brought food. It was an indulgent afternoon, the quality of the food and wines makes me proud to be australian.

Incase you were wondering about the kids, they had vegimite sandwiches, watermelon and strawberries, hotdogs and hours of swimming in the pool with Nics fabulous nannies Meg and Dani. I forgot their dessert which was mini magnums and lamingtons - sorry aussie kids!