Party, Party, Party... and a pig!!!

Wow - it's been a long time since I've done some blogging.  I apologize for my absence but it's been crazy around here!  We've had house guests for weeks, which I love, but it doesn't leave me much time to write.  What it does mean is that I've been making a ton of delicious things that I can't wait to share with you.  I spent four hours yesterday sorting and editing food pictures from the last couple of weeks to discover that I have 20 posts to write.  Seriously... 20 things to share with all of you.  Most of them are really delicious and some of them are just weird.

But first, let's talk about the ginormous party we threw.

It was exactly ginormous... there were about 30 people there but it was really fun to plan and decorate for and cook for.

The party was for our very own Captain America.  It wasn't his birthday but he was celebrated anyway.  Why?  I can't tell you because he doesn't want me talking about him on the internet.

The theme for the party was Shades of Green which meant that I decorated everything with green stuff which, surprisingly, didn't look like a St. Patrick's Day party.  It was a quasi-military theme, but I didn't want all camouflage and guns.  Just a few touches here and there.

Probably my favorite decoration was the balloons.  I intended to hang them from the ceiling of the tent but when I got out the ladder, I was too scared to extend it all the way up and risk falling, breaking a rib and puncturing my lung.  Trust me, that can happen.

Instead of hanging them from the ceiling, I tied them vertically from the center pole of the tent which made an awesome centerpiece to the decorations.

The extent of the military touches were little plastic soldier which I bought in the dollar bin at Target, camouflage bandanas which I bought at Michaels (and which I really should have ironed) and a few toy grenades which my sister contributed.  It was just enough.  The table runners on all the other tables were green burlap I bought at JoAnn Fabrics.  My mom and sister were lovely enough to cut them into strips and fray the edges which resulted in a big mess, a vacuum and a lint roller.

The highlight of the meal was the pig.  We had the guys from Green Pig Bistro in Arlington, VA come out and do a pig roast right in our backyard and it was AMAZING!!  I highly recommend them - they were organized, professional and the pig was FREAKING DELICIOUS.  We had plenty for the partygoers and for leftovers.

Some people were a little freaked out by the whole pig... not me or CA.  Not even when its whole butt fell out into the roaster.  That actually made me even more excited to eat it.



BTW, don't feel sorry for the dog who is making a sad face in the photo above (can you see him?  he's the one staring longingly at people who are holding plates of pork).  He managed to get a few nibbles of crispy skin and I wouldn't be surprised if his Granddad snuck him some other bites too.

The rest of this week and some of next week we'll be talking about the party food and drink.  Here's the lowdown on the complete menu.

• Pig Roast - courtesy of Green Pig Bistro
• Marinated Vegetable Salad, Cucumber Tomato Salad and Macaroni & Cheese - courtesy of Bittersweet Catering
• BEER - the Optimal Wit and the Downright Pilsner courtesy of Port City Brewing

 Stuff I made which you'll get to read about over the next few days...

• Bourbon Sangria
• Layered Greek Dip
• Black Bean, Corn & Feta Dip
• Baked Beans
• S'More Bar

Can you believe that I actually didn't make all the food for the party?  CA wouldn't let me.  He says I get too stressed out and it makes him stressed out.  He's totally right but normally I wouldn't listen to him and would make everything myself anyway.  However, not only did we have this party going on, but we had another reception to host and house guests all over the joint.  For those reasons, I listened to CA and didn't make all the food.  I totally could have done it... except the pig... I'll leave that to the professionals.

Enjoy!
Julie