It’s almost game day, y’all!! Saturday, July 22, 2023 is coming quickly.
By my count, there are only 17 more days to go; but my math is not good so you might want to count for yourself.
A lot has been done since I wrote the first post on this site. I feel like I’ve been going non-stop since we got back from Europe.
It all started with me deciding I should re-build my kayak racks, and that led me to need to change out the border around the grass, which led to leveling some parts of the yard, which led to…well you get the picture. A job that was supposed to take a few hours has now been completed after about 4 weeks. The funny thing is that no one will likely notice, but that was kind of the goal. It reminds me of an old boss that told me to make it better but don’t change a thing.
Long story short, the back yard is about 95% ready while the front yard is still a disaster. I started working on the front yard about a year ago and just haven’t found the motivation to do much with it. I’m pretty sure my mom always told me not to judge a BBQ by the owners front yard and I suggest you do the same.
So what else has gotten done?
– After having worked with the designer on the logo I had to order swag. All of that is finally starting to be delivered. Be sure to get your hands on one of the awesome koozies and maybe some other surprises.
– Some of you might not know but my son, Omar, is a young chef at a two Michelin star restaurant in New York. We’re still not 100% sure he’s going to be able to make it but he did offer his “Michelin hands”, his trip is booked and he’s planning a menu item. So with any luck he’ll be here to enjoy the day and you’ll all enjoy his wit and a dish he’s made.
– I spent some time in the test kitchen working on a pork belly taco recipe. The test batch was a success, they were really good. But I am biased. Now I have to work through the process of cooking/serving them in a way that’s safe (hot oil, drinking adults, kids, etc.) and easy.
– We’ve got a good start on planning a menu for the day. For appetizers we’re thinking we’ll serve BLT finger sandwiches, camarones a la diabla, and jalapeno poppers. The main meal will include brisket, chicken, and pork belly tacos with a creamy avacado salsa and cabbage. Sides will include rice, beans, potato salad, and street corn. We might also do some ribs but we’re still debating it. For desert, we’ll likely do a vanilla ice cream with maple syrup and bacon bits, we’ll also have the usual toppings for those not into the syrup and bacon.
Be sure to pace yourself, there will be plenty of things to taste.
All in all, things are shaping up. We’re expecting close to 50 people this year and we’re getting ready to do what we do. It’s almost game day baby!
