Yesterday was Australia Day. Not being from down under, I was not aware of this holiday. We were invited over to our friends Jan and Jeff's house to enjoy the typical dinner served on this Australian holiday. Jan is a genuine Aussie and organized the celebration, complete with Fosters Beer and Bundaberg Rum. It is a cult rum from Northern Queensland in Australia. 'Bundy', as it is affectionately known, is an institution in Oz and continues to win new fans abroad.
OK, here is your history lesson from Wikipedia.
"Australia Day (previously known as Anniversary Day, Foundation Day and ANA Day[1]), and also referred to as Invasion Day[2] by several groups within Australian society, is the official national day of Australia. Celebrated annually on 26 January, the day commemorates the arrival of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove in 1788, the hoisting of the British flag there, and the proclamation of British sovereignty over the eastern seaboard of Australia.[3]
Australia Day is an official public holiday in every state and territory of Australia, and is marked by the Order of Australia and Australian of the Year awards, along with an address from the Prime Minister.
Although it was not known as Australia Day until over a century later, records of celebrations on 26 January date back to 1808, with Governor Lachlan Macquarie having held the first official celebration of the formation of New South Wales in 1818. In 2004, an estimated 7.5 million people attended Australia Day celebrations and functions across the country.
Australia Day is seen as controversial by some Australians, who see it as a celebration of the destruction of Indigenous culture by British colonialism. There have been significant protests from and on behalf of the Indigenous Australian community, including, since 1988, "Invasion Day" protests. In light of these concerns, proposals to change the date of Australia Day have been made. As the date also marks the anniversary of the Rum Rebellion in 1808, Australia Day may be viewed as a commemoration of the only military coup in Australian history.[4] This last view parallels a sort of Independence Day."
Now to the meat of the matter. The menu was dead simple. Jeff manned the barbie for some deft grilling. I showed him the hot knife test to determine if the sausages were done(insert knife in middle of sausage, wait 10 seconds, apply knife to lips to feel how hot it is).
Jeff Grilling Snags in his Bundaberg Rum T-Shirt
Cheese Crisps with Vegemite
Cornish Pasties
Grilled Shrimp
Grilled Lamb Loin Chops
Grilled Sausages (Snags), served on white bread with beets, butter and ketchup
Salad Greens
Christine, Jan(Official Aussie) and Tami
The Barbie Working Hard
Our Official Aussie Showing How to Hit the Turps
Making pasties
Those Shrimp from The Barbie
Jeff and Jan have a real classic stove made by O'Keefe and merit. I learned to cook scrambles eggs, hotcakes, bacon, fudge and popcorn on our range when I was a kid. This one has more chrome than a '57 Ford. It is complete with salt and pepper shakers in the top and a plug-in for your mixer to make mashed potatoes.
An O'keefe and Merit Range
Cheers mate
Chef Michael
