Christmas in July dinner with food bloggers

I Billy and The Pom invited a whole bunch of happy food bloggers to eat and be merry at their place on the Central Coast with the theme of Christmas in July. Although we mainly communicate with each other online it is always a blast to get together in real life.

After our drive up from Sydney we take a quick detour for some fish and chips for a late lunch and arrive to find Billy’s kitchen overflowing with worker bees putting the last touches on their food. A menu has been pre planned and each blogger has brought along a dish or two to save Billy from cooking non stop. Though that doesn’t stop him from going all out and creating a meat feast!

While the food is being plated up Minh wraps her Secret Santa gift

The Captain and Billy strike a pose in their finest daggy xmas jumpers

A platter of cheeses materialises from Shez including home made labna!

Billy has baked a beautiful bread wreath and what is even more beautiful is the tub of truffle butter oh baby

Helen’s salad is filled choc a block with huge chunks of roasted pumpkin and crumbly fetta and a sprinkle of almonds

Minh’s sweet corn veloute made from Etch’s recipe is smooth and tastes like 100 corn cobs have given up their souls to create this wonderfully fragrant soup

Behold the classic antipasto hedgehog! Shez and her VTB bring this spiky creation to the table with wide grins and we chortle with glee as we pull out skewers spiked with triple cream brie, olives, melon, tasty cheese and cabanossi

Karen’s oven-roasted mushrooms with garlic and thyme is a mushroom bonanza!

Billy’s caramelised onion and fetta tarts are so freaking moreish especially with the homemade buttery pastry that just melts in the mouth

The Pom likes his brussels sprouts plain and with vinegar but he has also very thoughtfully made another bowl filled with bacon bits. Helen says they’re like eating a mini cabbage and since it was my first time eating brussel sprouts I nod warily and spear a sprout. I don’t mind the taste and find the slightly bitter taste interesting but I have issues with the layers of leaves and have to eat them like Minh- pulling off each leaf layer by layer

Helen’s chicken liver pate is smooth and velvety and I sneakily load up each slice of bread with a huge splodge of the pate and butter. Recipe please!

There was a pause in the incoming of food so it’s time for a photo with humans!

Meatballs from Karen and Shaun elicit immediate calls of balls! Ballllllls! Yep this was the alcohol talking but they were tasty balls indeed

Simon has crumbed and pan-fried angel fish fillets which are golden and crunchy and disappear immediately

Jacq and Sir D serve slices of country chicken and mushroom pie made from Maggie Beer’s recipe. The pastry is golden and buttery, encasing soft chicken and mushroom innards

And finally the moment we have all been waiting for…

Billy’s sexy glazed ham! There was also fan-freaking awesome roast pork and duck fat roast potatos but I uh seem to not have taken their photos erm i am fail.

With stomachs at explodey point we push onto dessert and The Pom brings out one mother honking Christmas pudding and then sets it alight.

Woohoo fire! Flames! So pretty! Burn it baby yeah!

Steph’s strawberry trifle is creamy but light, the sponge layer melding happily with the strawberry jelly on the bottom

Shez’s eggnog bundt cake sparkles not like a certain sparkly vampire hurhur but with the glory that is sugar. The cakes innards are dense and studded with ruby red cherries

What is Christmas without playing Secret Santa?

It’s party time!

A round of alcohol fuelled Pictionary brings out our drawing skillz

While some have piked early

Karen brings out her selection of petit fours- rich and boozy rum balls, uber light passionfruit marshmallow squares and chewy buttery caramels topped with chocolate. The sugar rush sparks some 80’s music karaoke

Richard has brought a wheel of Fromages des Clarines and infused it with garlic, thyme and white wine and baked it until warm and gooey and oh so very melty and tasty. Oishii!

My contribution to the weekend is waking up early and making breakfast though I managed to rope in Simon and Richard to help out hehe thanks guys! We made ricotta pancakes with berries, creamy scrambled eggs and uber crispy bacon rashers. There was also a litre of butterscotch sauce and a bottle of maple syrup floating around because hey why not have some more awesomeness with your breakfast? It’s the most important meal of the day!

And I’ll end this post with a pic of me in my beanie holding some bacon. Mmm bacon. Super thanks again to Billy and The Pom for having us over! I <3 our family!