Party Time

A friend of mine threw a house party this past weekend that had me thinking about how I define the word party. Most parties thrown by people in my age range (22-26) seem to be not too evolved from the typical college parties that we all went to not so long ago. There is usually some music, a spattering of six packs, maybe a keg, bottom shelf liquor, mixers, bags of cheap snacks and a do-it-yourself bar. I love these parties, but ultimately they all end up being very similar.Someone commented that this is the best corn they had ever eaten. It will be in season for only one more week, so hurry over to the farmer's market and pick some up.

That’s why when my friend Jeremy throws a party I’m always happy to step in and help. Once every couple of months we get together and throw a party that really blows other house parties out of the water. Not only do we have all of the typical 22-26 year old party amenities, but we pay very special attention to food and drink (food obviously being a key for me.) While parties are fun, there aren’t a whole lot of things I like more than eating. Any time there is a party with good food I think the guests end up being happier and the party ends up being better.

Pork Butt! Since a smoker was unavailable, we slow roasted this beauty int he oven for 7 hours. We then served it with my makeshift cracklins and home made cole slaw that was brought by one of the guests. The coleslaw was so good that I was actually a little jealous.

We threw this party with that in mind and with special attention to the bar. Guests who came between 7 and 9 were treated to a menu of:

Pulled pork sandwiches
Dry Rubbed pork spare ribs
Burgers
Hot and Sweet Italian sausage
Duck and Garlic sausage
Grilled corn rubbed with smoked paprika
Corn bread with blistered Shisito peppers
And my favorite… Bacon wrapped Honey crisp apples, grilled and brushed with maple syrup

There was also a cheese plate provided by Murray’s and a couple of VIP’s were able to sample some of my home made Maple Ice cream (it was really good)

Ribs. Since we only had one oven, we cooked each rack of ribs over the roasting pork butt for 2 hours then set them aside, lightly brushed them with BBQ sauce and finished them on the grill.

In addition we had someone serving as bartender for the entire night who was incredibly well prepared to serve delicious drinks. Not only did I spend a good hour cutting lemons, limes, oranges, and kiwi’s for mixed drinks but our bartender also brewed his own sweet tea (awesome) and squeezed fresh fruit juices for mixing. We even served drinks with cinnamon sticks for aroma and garnish.

In the end I think everyone really appreciated the tasty food, the delicious and somewhat unique mixed drinks. The attention to detail and taste in regards to set up, (the back yard was very inviting) food and drink really made the party more of an event than the parties I usually attend. Bacon wrapped apples waiting to be grilled. A Real crowd pleaser.

I suppose my reasons for writing about this are to give a shout out to a friend and to let everyone know that delicious things can really bring any sort of gathering to a completely different level. This is just another instance of how good food and good friends can make any night really spectacular. I’m looking forward to it.