Ever since I moved into my house (3 years ago) I’ve dreamed of hosting a big dinner party. The dining area is amazingly spacious for a share house and the location is pretty fantastic, making it a perfect place to host a large group of individuals. But for some reason or the other, I never ended up hosting my dinner party. Well, not until last weekend that is. After a bitter conversation about July’s cold and miserable weather, my friend Nicole and I decided that we both needed to celebrate Christmas in July. So, on the 22nd of July, we invited our friends for a feast at ‘The Pink House’.
I honestly cannot believe it took us 3 YEARS to even think of doing a Christmas in July! With Australian Christmas almost always sweltering, a big festive feast is never quite as appealing as it is during the cooler months. So, why not truly appreciate a feast when we actually need it (and can hide the extra kilos under our coats).
Like most people, Christmas for me is about spending time with the people you love. However, this is a lot easier said than done, especially when you have very busy friends. All the more reason to create a new tradition of hosting our friends for Christmas in July. So, invites went out and we had 20 people for a 3-course sit down dinner. A lot of work, but a heck of a lot of fun!
The spread was pretty epic if I do say so myself. To begin, we had freshly baked samosas, cheeseboards and of course, wine. This was then followed by a HUGE array of food! The highlights were Yotam Ottolenghi’s cauliflower cake and leek fritters, mountains of salad, fresh bread and crisp roasted potatoes.
Finally, there were the desserts. In case we hadn’t had enough food, there were piles of chocolate truffles and brownies, a cheesecake and an orange blossom cake. Although all the sweets were absolutely delicious, the orange blossom was definitely a highlight. Spiced with cardamom and extremely fragrant courtesy of the orange blossom, the yoghurt cake was dense and decadent. Topped with cream cheese and chopped pistachios it looked simple, yet oh so elegant. And did I mention the recipe is insanely easy? This is definitely a cake I will be making again very soon!
It’s only been a week and I’m already thinking about next year’s big Christmas in July feast! As I sit here, sipping on a delicious glass of mulled wine, I have so many ideas running through my head.
Merry Christmas in July! I hope you all participated in mid-year festivities and enjoyed an extra holiday!