reunion!

reunion dinner last night was one to truly go down in the law clan history. with uncle t and family in town (grandson nate included!) and both ben and g back in time for the festivities, the last day of the ox year was celebrated in true law style. the bulk of the dinner was literally air flown in for the occasion....from the repertoire of awesome salami, array of champagne, reds & whites to the ten, yes ten kilograms of meat carried back by ben from pak law's butcher in melbourne, the law clan were really treated to a fantastic dinner.

dinner was kicked off by a platter full of salami brought over from vancouver...made from berkshire pork, truffles and wild boar, these were in one word - gorgeous. together with the duck rillette from france on warm slices of celede's crusty ciabatta and flutes of yummy bubbly (thanks to auntie ta!), this girl knew that dinner was going to be quite extraordinary!

the main event was characterized by pak law's signature dishes - roast beef, roast leg of lamb and roasted potatoes, pumpkin and squash. the meats were fantastically marbled, simply flavored and cooked to a medium rare perfection. we were also treated to marc's amazing ratatouille...think fresh sweet roasted peppers, zucchinis and eggplant stewed in tangy tomato. together with mom's yummy sesame honey dressing up the garden salad, the light, simple and refreshing ratatouille complemented the rich meats impeccably. these were both definitely a hit with both dishes polished off in a flash!

while the mains were terrific, this girl made a very deliberate effort to save space for the not one, but two desserts whipped up by auntie ta. i do have to commend auntie ta for balancing the meal with refreshing granitas and her signature pavlova....so it really didn't matter how full one was, the granitas cleansed the palate perfectly and managed to whet everyone's dessert appetites. part sweet, part tang with a subtle champagne kick, the granitas were a refreshing touch after the heavy dinner. the pavlova was really the icing on top of the cake (or meal!)...think crisp and marshmallowy meringue, smothered with freshly whipped cream and topped with fresh blueberries and huge sweet korean strawberries. enough said don't you think? *grin*

not quite your traditional reunion dinner but i think we celebrated the last day of the year of the ox the way the laws know best - with good food, good wine and a rowdy bunch!