Happy 236th Birthday America!


A very happy and belated 4th of July! I hope everyone had a lovely day, but managed to keep cool! What's with this outrageous heat?! I don't know about you guys, but I HATE hot weather. I'm cold weather girl. Crisp 60F weather is ideal. None of this humid and 95 degree nonsense. I cannot wait for summer to be over!

Enough ranting. I had originally planned to spend this holiday on my own, running errands, and studying for class (how boring), when at the last minute, my best friend E, invited me to spend 4th of July with her family in Brooklyn. I was delighted! E and I have been really close friends since college, 5 years now, and since moving to the city, we have lunch together at least once a weekend and I visit her in Brooklyn as often as I can!

The BBQ was combined between E's family and her neighbors. Lots of food being shared between the two households. Yum! The classic burgers, salads, sausages...but my favorite was the Southern BBQ served by E's family. It seems that a client of her father's sent them Nashville BBQ, so that was prepared, warmed, and served! Delicious! Did I mention that this was also couple with champagne?! Only the finest at this home. I almost ate myself into oblivion....!
Grilled brats, pulled pork, spare ribs, onions and peppers...so good! 
love the bubbly!

Dessert did not disappoint either. I arrived at E's house early so we could bake some pies. One blueberry and one peach. The blueberry was my recipe and the peach was all E. She used my pie recipe and tweaked it as she saw fit. 
blueberry pie on top, peach pie on bottom

blueberry pie

Right before the dessert course, we also made a really easy dessert called an "Eton Mess." I'd post a recipe, but there really isn't one. Basically, you just layer fruit (we used blueberries/strawberries/raspberries), Greek yogurt, crushed meringue, and drizzle with honey. So easy and so delicious!
beginning the eton mess. we covered the bottom of the bowl with sliced fruit.
more assembling. more fruit, meringue, and yogurt
patriotic dessert

What can I say, the day was fabulous. I got to cook/bake in a nice large kitchen AND I was able to laugh and enjoy myself with one of my favorite families! Overall a fine day.

The icing on the cake was the fireworks that I stumbled upon accidentally. Since the Macy's fireworks we on the Hudson River, we weren't able to see them at E's house. When I got out of the subway by my apartment, I was pleasantly surprised  by a large crowd gathered on my street corner. To my amazement, they were all congregating to watch fireworks! The view wasn't stellar, but it was still pretty impressive! A wonderful wonderful surprise. The ideal way to end 4th of July!



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