Fathers' Day Lunch

Sorry to skip around a little - but I have to share the delicious lunch we had on Sunday.  The Daddy, Tabitha, myself, my parents, my sister and I all went to my Godfather's house, where we had lunch with him, his wife and son (my Godson/Tabby's Godfather).  My Godfather is a truly brilliant cook - experimental but always comforting, hearty and home-style food.  His mother is Italian, and also an excellent cook - I remember being highly impressed by her Bombe Alaska when I was a wee thing.

For the nine of us, he prepared a relaxed, long lunch, starting with a rustic guacamole served with crostini, raw fennel and carrots for dipping, followed by a roasted tomato and balsamic soup, with toasted, oiled bread, followed by grilled spatchcocked chooks with a steamed medley of vegetables, followed by some delicious summer fruits with a sort of 'sweet pesto' of mint and sugar.

Rough-chopped guac with fennel and carrots:

Roasted tomato and balsamic soup with grilled bread:

Giant bowl of grilled chicken:

This is how they come out of the oven - just spatchcocked and grilled:

Great big pile of steamed, buttered veggies - he says he put the potatoes in first, then after a while adds the baby carrots and green beans, then adds the cabbage, then lastly adds the peas on the top for the final few minutes:

For dessert, pineapple, strawberries, raspberries and blueberries, with a mortar and pestle-pounded sauce of fresh mint, olive oil and sugar:

Accompanied with a bottle of my current favourite Champagne, which is on sale for $59 at several of our local bottle shops - we stocked up a little on the weekend!

Tabitha plucked an apple out of my Godfather's fruit bowl, and sat on the couch, happily munching away:

Tabby and Q, just hanging out:

Tabitha also enjoyed chomping on the raw fennel - here she is clutching her apple in one hand, her fennel in the other:

A really lovely Fathers' Day, with great company, and lots of food - we did not need dinner that night!