Made it to my second Sydney food bloggers picnic! Last time some of us first-timers were overwhelmed by the amount of sweets and vowed to bring something savoury next time. I kept my promise and brought some bacon-wrapped stuff (dates, sweet potato, broccoli and asparagus). Bacon is always a crowd pleaser and I had to make sure I brought something Paleo just in case I couldn’t anything else. I also had a gigantic brunch before heading to the picnic (guess what! bacon, eggs, sauerkraut, and a few pieces of leftover broccoli, asparagus and sweet potato).

The forecast said it would rain and the sky didn’t look very promising. Still, 70 of the 86 bloggers who RSVPd defied the chances and gathered at Centennial Park. It was great to see people I already knew and to put faces in some of the blogs I’ve been following lately.

There was enough chow to feed a medium-sized village, most of it sweet (we all know is easier to make sweet things look pretty), but it was good to see some delicious savoury offers.

I didn’t keep it strictly Paleo but was sensible with my choices; I’ve learned that gluten, excessive sugar and processed foods make me feel worse than a little dairy or booze. I had a few (ok, heaps of) beef & feta meatballs with tzatziki from Spoonfuls Of Goodness, several cucumber & smoked salmon canapés made by The Gook, mussels, chorizo, chicken, prawns and snow peas from the paellas brought by Ramen Raff and Lex, aniseed pork (sans pastry) courtesy of Polka Dot And Chopsticks, a spoonful of coriander/lime hummus made by Nic, a few candied walnuts, and a bit of paté.

Beef & feta meatballs with tzatziki

Cucumber & smoked salmon canapés

Paella

Aniseed pork

Simon was the main attraction of the day, he arrived all geared up to prepare cocktails on demand.

Simon in action

I had two Hendrick’s Gin & Tonic (loved the sliced cucumber detail!) and when I went to get a third one Simon told me I should try the Samuels Sugar and Spice and All Things Nice, his favourite cocktail of 2011. It was indeed nice, although much sweeter than what I would normally drink. And yes, I still had a third gin & tonic.

Hendrick’s Gin & Tonic

Once again Suze and Helen did a terrific job in organising such a big meetup, and all the bloggers showed off their cooking (in some cases food purchasing) skills.

The complete list of attendees is in Suze’s post.

For other great recaps of the day (with much better photos than mine):

• The first recap of the day by the barman himself.
• Super photographer Simon’s post with the traditional group photo.
• Christine’s post with heaps of food close-up and blogger photos (and info on who made what, thanks Christine!).
• Laura’s super concise recap and the group photo in a larger size.
• Shanshan’s post with the best panoramic food pic.
• Vivian’s post with more mouth-watering photos.