13/09: Block Party
Category: General
Posted by: The Agnew Family
Not sure what I was thinking last year when I volunteered myself and Ellen (my neighbour who wasn't at the block party) to host this year's block party. Ellen definitely wasn't sure what I was thinking but she was nice and agreed to help if we moved the date to one where she was home.
Organizing the party really wasn't that much work --- writing, printing and delivering the invitation; deciding on the menu, buying the groceries, cooking the meat and setting up for the party. I volunteered Ed to smoke some brisket and Rob to barbecue pork sausages and chicken. Ellen and I would set up the tables and pick and arranged flowers and each make a dish to share.
Ed started smoking the brisket at 7pm Saturday evening and at 11 pm moved it to a large electric roasting pan and slowed cooked it to 2pm Sunday afternoon. It was delicious and melted in your mouth.
During the party, Rob went home and started barbecuing. He had moved his barbecue to his driveway thinking he could wander back and forth across the street as he was cooking. Well that didn't happen ... the sausages contained a little more fat than we expected so they needed to be babysat. When we glanced across the road to Rob's house there were clouds of smoke billowing through the air. Luckily the chicken co-operated better than the sausages.
The weather forecast called for a cool, cloudy day so we emptied the garage so we could set up the food and have enough room if people decided that they wanted to sit inside. (Saturday had nice weather and so did Monday)
Lots of warm sweaters and coats allowed everyone to sit around and chat. Everyone said the food was very good. I believed them as 30 people ate about 20 pounds of meat plus salads and deserts.
I called the Block Party a success and can't wait to pass the plastic tubs of stuff on to the next sucker... oh I mean volunteer.
Organizing the party really wasn't that much work --- writing, printing and delivering the invitation; deciding on the menu, buying the groceries, cooking the meat and setting up for the party. I volunteered Ed to smoke some brisket and Rob to barbecue pork sausages and chicken. Ellen and I would set up the tables and pick and arranged flowers and each make a dish to share.
Ed started smoking the brisket at 7pm Saturday evening and at 11 pm moved it to a large electric roasting pan and slowed cooked it to 2pm Sunday afternoon. It was delicious and melted in your mouth.
During the party, Rob went home and started barbecuing. He had moved his barbecue to his driveway thinking he could wander back and forth across the street as he was cooking. Well that didn't happen ... the sausages contained a little more fat than we expected so they needed to be babysat. When we glanced across the road to Rob's house there were clouds of smoke billowing through the air. Luckily the chicken co-operated better than the sausages.
The weather forecast called for a cool, cloudy day so we emptied the garage so we could set up the food and have enough room if people decided that they wanted to sit inside. (Saturday had nice weather and so did Monday)
Lots of warm sweaters and coats allowed everyone to sit around and chat. Everyone said the food was very good. I believed them as 30 people ate about 20 pounds of meat plus salads and deserts.
I called the Block Party a success and can't wait to pass the plastic tubs of stuff on to the next sucker... oh I mean volunteer.