Americans having an Italian Christmas in Australia??

People often ask how I like Christmas in the summer. I enjoy my life in Australia, but as someone who used to decorate her entire house for Christmas – We’re talking every room, including the kitchen and bathrooms; Christmas in Australia leaves me with a bit of void. The evening I unpacked the few decorations I have here, I got nostalgic and bit home sick. It used to take days to get all my decorations out and arranged; here I mix a gin and tonic and had everything whipped into shape before the ice cubes melt.

I really do miss all the fuss. However, dwelling on it won’t change my situation, so as with most things in life, I cowboy-up and deal with it. There are distinct advantages of being on the other side of the planet from anyone who has the power to guilt you into social enagements that you'd prefer not to attend. We only accept invitations for activities/events that we want to attend. Here - you aren't required to spend the afternoon with people with whom you’d rather whack on the head than converse. Here - drinking at holiday gathering is done because it tastes good, not because it’s the only way to get through the day without delivering a bit more honesty than some people are prepared to deal with.

This year we accepted an invitation to a long Italian lunch on Christmas day from our friends Jo and Mike. Jo is her nick name, I not sure the exact spelling but I think it's something along the lines of Giovanna. With a name like that - you better believe she knows A LOT about Italian food.

I forgot to photograph the first three courses, so you’ll have just trust me that they were beautiful and absolutely delicious. We started with an antipasto platter, followed by cantaloupe wrapped with prosciutto, then baked pasta with olives and sun dried tomatoes. The next course (technically it was the main but I hesitate to imply the previous courses were inferior) was chicken parmesan served with tossed salad and a tomato cucumber salad. (Dave got all of my tomatoes)

That delight was followed by a gastronomic treat that nearly defies description. It started with a bowl of tree ripen, handpicked figs.

If you haven’t ever experienced a fresh fig, please don’t use Fig Newtons as your measuring stick. Just wait until you’re lucky enough to meet a fresh fig. These tender morsels were slit open, stuffed with blue cheese and wrapped in prosciutto then grilled. The best description is a party in your mouth.

Every course was paired with a different wine and we finished the feeding extravaganza several hours after is started with a plate of my homemade truffles.

The entire afternoon was spent in Jo and Mike’s back yard – talking, eating, drinking and laughing. There wasn’t any snow, no mittens, no boots, no hats and best of all no dramas.

It might not be like back home but there are some advantages to a summer Christmas - it certianly opens up the options for Christmas day foot wear.

That evening, as Dave and I strolled home across the golf course, we counted our blessings. We spent Christmas day with wonderful people, we’re happy and health, as are our families. I hope that all of you were able to stop in the middle of the entire holiday hub-bub and remember all the wonderful things in your lives which you have to be thankful for as well. With all our deep reflection, we stopped to snap a self-portrait.

A few steps later, Dave took off running and screaming at the galahs that were feeding on the turf. Did I mention the bottle of wine we drank with each course? In case you think I’m exaggerating, you can watch it on video….

Here's wishing each and everyone a safe and happy holiday season and the very best in 2010!