Two years ago, we invited our families over to our apartment for the Fourth of July. It was pretty major - we were freshly engaged and it was the first time our parents were hanging out. Whether our folks would get along was the least of our concerns, though. Our minds were on multiple racks of lamb, a few pounds of chicken wings and short ribs, skewers, hot dogs, and four or five side dishes. We were more nervous about making sure that our food would taste good.
This year, we decided to undertake this project again. Wes had accumulated a few more shiny new kitchen toys and was itching to play with them. He even bought a new Roomba on Craig's List to replace our broken one and set it to work (using gadgets to get tasks done must be his way of compensating for being a guy who loves cooking and cleaning).
On the 3rd of July, we made our rounds, hitting up Costco, Armen Market, Sprouts, and Vons; and then we prepped whatever we could. Wes seasoned and formed twelve burger patties while I boiled and chopped three pounds of potatoes. It was fun and therapeutic - the calm before the storm.
Just like with Thanksgiving, it isn't a proper family feast if there aren't mounds of leftovers to go around. All of those take-out boxes that my mom refuses to throw away end up getting put to good use here. But even after everyone got what they wanted, we had enough food to last us through two outdoor concerts at Descanso Gardens that week. In fact, there might still be a lone burger patty sitting in the fridge...
