My Christmas

Virtual Advent Tour 2009 Challenge

My family tradition for Christmas is for my whole family to get together at my parents house.  My family consists of my mum and dad, my two brothers, their wives, their 8 children, my son and me.  We get together for about 4 hours on Christmas day.

I’ve only missed joining them once in my whole life, about 25 yrs ago when I went on a holiday to Western Australia.  This is also the first year my pop (grandfather) won’t be here.

Each year we either meet for an early brunch or a long lunch depending on what my brother and sister-in-law need to do – they visit her sister in Armidale every couple of years as part of their family traditions.

No matter what time Christmas brunch/lunch starts, it’s always the same for us.  We start Christmas with a huge amount of Oysters Kilpatrick, with several of us all making them.  As they are cooked, the kids put them out on the veranda for all the family to enjoy.  When I’m talking huge, it seems each year dad buys more and more.  Mum has told me he’s bought 12 dozen oysters for this year – yummmm.

Next comes the seafood lunch.  We always have fresh prawns, lobsters and crabs with my mum’s best ever seafood sauce.  Dad deep fries prawn cutlets and crumbed whiting.  Mum makes a yummy tomato and onion salad.  Mum also usually makes a lobster mornay, I must remember to check if she’s doing that this year.

After lunch is done and tidied up, it’s time to open the  Christmas presents.  We all walk around the veranda to the Christmas tree and my two nieces hand out the presents.  Wrapping paper is torn apart and we can all see what we got for Christmas.  It’s so much fun.

After the presents I always try to have a slice of mum’s plum pudding, it doesn’t always happen because I’m so full from lunch but if I can’t eat it, I take it home with me.

That’s pretty much it for my family Christmas.  Depending on travel plans, my middle brother will head off to either his sister-in-laws or his wife’s parents house, my youngest brother hangs around a bit longer and then my son and I leave.  I’m so full from lunch Christmas Dinner is usually just some left overs brought home from mum and dads.

I wish everyone a Merry Christmas.

Recipes

Oysters Kilpatrick

Fresh oysters
Worcestershire sauce
BBQ sauce
Diced bacon
Cheese

Put the oyster shells on a rack, add the two sauces, diced bacon then cover in cheese, top up the oyster shell with the Worcestershire sauce if not full.  Place under the grill until the cheese is golden.

Mum’s best ever seafood sauce

Cream
Worcestershire sauce
Tomato Sauce
Lemon juice

Mum puts in about a cup of cream then just adds the two sauces until it tastes right.  No idea of quanities, we just dollop it in, then keep adding the the sauces ingredients until it tastes yummy.  Then add a dash of lemon juice and wow.