The Pig Roast : Aftermath

Sorry I've been MIA this last week. I was prepping for the party this past weekend, and just trying to keep myself as busy as possible. I have my first round of scans since IL-2 this afternoon, and the more I can keep my mind off of them, the better off I am. So.... on to the pig roast!

I have to say, it turned out exactly as I hoped it would. I was scared to death Sunday morning of the weather. It started raining on and off, and we had tables and chairs ready to be set up in the yard. Luckily at 3 o'clock the clouds parted and it turned into a perfect evening, 72 degrees and clear. We did a sit down dinner for 26 of our closest friends, and it very much had that "Chocolat" vibe I'd originally wanted.

We set up one long table and covered it with burlap (about $15 for 12 yards.) I wanted it to look rustic and natural, and I also didn't care what happened to it during dinner. People could pour a bottle of red wine straight down the middle of it. I had linen napkins which I bought last summer from Wisteria, and plain white bistro plates. I pulled out every piece of miss-matched glassware I had for an assortment of vase sizes and colors, and since peonies are in season right now used those as well as a couple of orchids for the flowers. I also pulled a few filler flowers from around my garden. The candle holders were also intentionally non-matching and filled with citronella candles to keep the bugs away as much as possible.

O.K... yes, I made little signs for the bar and the front door, as well as a few menus here and there. It's what I do. I know it's completely OCD, but it's me. I have no control over it anymore.

The pig was moist on the inside and crispy on the outside. I did steal the cheek, and I highly recommend trying it. It melts in your mouth. We also served Jamaican rice and peas, a summer salad with mixed greens, peaches and stilton cheese, and a shrimp ceviche done Bahamian style along with a few other appetizers. We stocked the bar with all the usual suspects, but a couple of my close girlfriends brought specialty drinks like sangria, limoncello and pineapple infused vodka which I know people really enjoyed since the containers were nearly empty the next morning.

We lit the fire pit up and had a marshmallow roast after dinner for the children. Then out came the sparklers followed by fireworks. Sparklers are still fun at any age. In the end, people ended up pulling chairs up to the fire and just hanging out under the stars. Our last guests left shortly after midnight, and asked if we could do it again for the 4th of July. Hmmmm..... maybe not the 4th, but Labor Day sounds pretty good right now.