tear and share bread and olives

In June, we headed down to Christchurch, Dorset for a lovely weekend with my cousin and her family. And when I say ‘we’ I mean the whole gaggle – myself, Dave, Mum and Andy, my Sister and her Boyfriend and my Brother! I wouldn’t usually blog this type of family gathering but I wanted to take some time to appreciate good family and great food. It dawned on me that I am so lucky to have such amazing people around me and with us spread all over the country, these weekends are rare. The weekend was just one long family feast!

All the family!
The whole crew (minus my youngest niece Maddie, who’d wandered off and my brothers partner, stuck at home 8 months pregnant!!)

Aside from the mushy stuff, I just have to tell you about the FOOD. Oh, the food. It’s well known that my Cuzzy Kate is an awesome cook but honestly, she pulled out all the stops. I mean ALL the stops! So, let’s continue…

Pre-dinner nibbles

amazing pre meal nibbles

Let me break it down. Chicken goujons and chilli dipping sauce, olives, prosciutto wrapped asparagus and cheesy tear and share bread with paprika dip. Epic nibbles right there and the perfect start to a family feast! It all disappeared within seconds!

The bread was incredible and apparently easy to make. It’s called Monkey Bubble Cheese Bread and the recipe came from Olive magazine. Why don’t you try it for yourself? I’m not sure I could do it as well as Kate but I’m definitely going to try it!

tear and share cheesy breadchicken goujons and dipping sauce

The main event:

BBQ lamb on the grill

The weather was glorious and so, Matt had the BBQ cranked up to cook an amazing butterflied leg of lamb from their local butchers. It had been marinaded overnight in cumin, garlic, paprika and other spices.  Once the BBQ was up to a hot temperature, Matt seared the lamb for 5-7 minutes on each side and then left it to rest before slicing.

BBQ lamb

Alongside the lamb we had a range of dishes which Kate had mostly made ahead of time:

  • Tomato, feta and red onion salad
  • Coleslaw
  • Green salad
  • Roasted Romano peppers (done on the BBQ post lamb)
  • Griddled courgettes with lemon & mint
  • Rosemary & polenta tossed potatoes.


I found recipes for a few of these side dishes. Why not try this one for the potatoes and this one from Waitrose for the courgettes? I’d love to see how they turn out! I’m in the process of convincing Kate that she needs to come and guest blog for me – I reckon you lot would enjoy that right?

Cuzzy Kate in the kitchen

To finish:

Strawberry and meringue cheesecake
We ended with a final flourish of raspberries, meringues and all sorts of tasty stuff with this triumphant Eton mess cheesecake taken again from Olive magazine! I don’t usually have a sweet tooth but I loved this! Of course, as the night went on, champagne, prosecco and copious amounts of cheese were consumed. It was a fantastic foodie weekend with family and one I won’t forget for a long time!

What are your favourite family feast memories? I’d love to hear them! 

6 thought on “A Family Feast”

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