Family Gathering

A family visit means a family get together, and food.

It's always a dilemna.  What to cook, how to cook it.  Not so much how to satisfy all the guests but how to present greek food at its best.  The guests are always satisfied one way or another.  Just looking at the table full of food is enough for many. 

We had already discussed rabbit (stewed in wine) and okra on our Poros/Perth viber group before they arrived so those were the first on the list.  

K had  2 big fish in the freezer especially for this occasion.  It was too windy to  light the outside BBQ or the wood oven, dangerous in the drought, so he cooked them quite plainly in the oven with lemon juice, olive oil and some vegetables.

The octopus was grilled on the gas grill. I didn't have enough energy to make a family cheese pie so that came frozen from the supermarket.

The mutton chops were put back into the fridge until teenage grandson declared he was starving. I really didn't think he would eat gamey mutton chops but they were quickly grilled and he gobbled them down.  Teenage boys are bottomless pits.

 And what did the rest of  the kids eat?   A huge pot of seafood spaghetti. Full of mussels and shrimps. Pita bread and tzatziki filled any empty spaces.

 What did sis in law eat who like me doesn't particularly care for rabbit or okra?  I don't remember having a greek salad on the table but there was plenty of selection.   A little bit of this and a little bit of that.

I took some photos but generally it was after we had already half eaten the food on the plate and for once I took none of us assembled around the table.  I was far too busy still catching up on all the family news and enjoying yet another pink gin and tonic.

Octopus grilled

Okra in a tomato sauce

Baked fish

Cheese pie

A bowl of marinated fried fish in front of the boys

The boys ate mutton chops and tzatziki

Doing his duty and  with a glass of Heineken

After this feast some little elves collected all the plates and emptied the table.  I think I would have just left it all out there till the next morning, if we didn't have wild cats.  It was a very enjoyable evening for me.  More talk than work.  I think my contribution was to bake the frozen cheese pie and pour the gin and tonics.  Someone else even brought out the ice.  Unfortunately the little elves didn't take away tupperware bowls of leftovers so somehow I had to cram those into our fridge.  I'm an expert at cramming leftovers.  There they usually stay till the neighbourhood cats get an early Christmas/Easter and 15th August bowl of goodies.  

A couple of days later most of the leftovers were eaten by some of K's drinking buddies but the cats did get their share.

First night

dining right beside the sea

Drinks on the terrace

Pink gin and octopus, but not together

We were introduced to pink gin by the visitors

The bottle emptied quickly.  I can recommend it!

The men drank heineken and ouzo, thank goodness

Reunion!

Although we do eat and drink far too much when family gathers, whether greek or from the Antipodes, it is a social gathering.

We just hang out, tell tall tales, laugh, gossip and enjoy everyone's company like any family anywhere in the world.  Our parties  are possibly more rustic than most.  The tablecloths are paper, the wine is from a plastic water bottle and the dog vaccums the crumbs from under the table.  The setting may be different from yours, the sun may shine a little stronger here but the celebrations are the same.