This Memorial Day weekend, we decided to host a big (for our house/yard) party. All told, we had nearly 20 people come, plus their kids and a great time was had by all. It’s not easy to narrow this down to 5 things because there was a lot to love about the long weekend but here it goes:
- My smoker’s 2008 debut. Take two pork butts, rub/marinate them for 12 hours, smoke them for 15 hours over charcoal and mesquite and what do you end up with? Tender, flavorful, porky deliciousness.
- Southampton’s Double White Ale. Beer goes better with real barbecue, I know. But I still wanted to drink local and you’ll never see me resort to serving mass-produced, corporate beers. So, I turned to Spencer at Southampton Ales & Lagers, who hooked me up with a 1/6 keg of their Double White Ale (and the CO2, jockey box, etc.). It was absolutely perfect on a warm pre-summer day with grilled fare. Best of all, everyone loved it — the craft beer lovers as well as the Bud Light drinkers.
- Watching the kids play together. Yeah, it’s cheesy but seeing Jackson playing with the other kids was a lot of fun. He makes me proud every day, that kid.
- Late night cards with M & T. Before Jackson came along, you could always count on me, Nena, M and T staying up late after any sort of party, drinking a little more and playing cards. Sunday night’s brief visit to our past life was fun. The reality of Jackson awake at 6 a.m. the next morning brought us back to reality.
- Finishing the weekend with local wines. I tasted a delicious local riesling to close out the holiday weekend. I may stray to beer on occasion, but I always come home to you, vino.