Christmas Dinner

Ben got home a little early from work last night (around 5:15) and lit the grill.  While we waited for the coals to heat up we started with some appetizers.

We had prawns with a dip made of tomato sauce, mayo, and sweet chili sauce, fried olives stuffed with feta, and crackers with a store bought sundried tomato, cashew, and parmesan dip.  While Ben grilled the steaks I worked on the side dishes.



Don't worry mom, that is sauce on the plate, not blood from the meat.:)  She's a vegetarian.



The beef was delicious!  It was King Island beef.  King Island is an island between Victoria and Tasmania.  We were very impressed  with the quality of the meat.  The sauce I made was a pomegranate-pinot noir sauce.  Honestly, I think the beef didn't need any kind of sauce.  We also had garlic chili broccolini, parmesan potatoes, and homemade cheese bread.  We opened the last of our gifts and had dessert.

We had pavlova.  It is a popular dessert in Australia.  I wanted to make it from scratch, but we don't have a mixer and you need it for the recipe.  It is cake-like, lightly crisp on the outside, and moist on the inside.  I topped the store bought pavlova with whipped double cream, lemon butter, mixed berries, and icing sugar.  What a fun and delicious Christmas meal. 

Now it is time to get ready for Sarah and Hannah's arrival in Australia!  I will be cleaning, running errands, and packing this week while Ben works and we leave Friday to meet the girls in Sydney for New Year's Eve!