devilish thoughts

Erik and I are hosting our third annual 4th of July BBQ in just a couple days. I just learned that I don't have to make potato salad since our guests are bringing this yummy weird cheesy potato bake that features a corn flake topping. Why, then, does this tempt me to make deviled eggs instead? I should rejoice in not having to keep a mayonnaise based side dish cold. I should delight in having one less thing to do. And, in fact, I've only ever made deviled eggs once in my life, so it's not like all my effort is guaranteed to taste good. And besides, eggs are ridiculously expensive these days so seriously, I need to let go this devilish plan.

So instead I am focusing on uncovering the living room floor. While I decided to spare the robot kitty from the garage sale fate, I did banish a number of rather nice sweaters and a whole bunch of lesser used board games. I'm also proud to say I rearranged much of my clutter to find myself more desk space. (I had forgotten what a lovely piece of furniture it was until I saw it empty again.) Best of all, I finally got to toss out the peed on cat chair (super cute kid's recliner turned scratching post I found at Wal-Mart years before) and install the stylish new replacement version (found on the internets - with free shipping). I'm not sure anyone has actually been in the new chair yet, though the cat toys that were sitting there are distinctly disturbed.

I am hoping to have enough energy post clutter sorting to make a trip to the grocery store. Erik thinks we can both shop and cook tomorrow, but it would be so much more relaxing to be able to get some stuff out of the way tonight while he works. Besides, then I will have the perfect excuse to swing by Subway for an easy meal I don't have to fuss over. I think if they still had the Subway Club card that I would be embarrassed to realize how often I eat there.

Anyway, since July is all about the food, here's what I think I am serving on the fourth:

Sangria - ran out of time to test the recipe. Am thinking I should head to Trader Joe's for some two buck Chuck. Am afraid of the very cheap red I picked up at the grocery store. Am too cheap to want to spend too much more on a wine I am just going to drown in sugar and fruit. But then I realize, with gas and aggravation, that a couple of bottles of local six dollar wine might just be the perfect compromise. Besides, Trader Joe's is like Costco - you always walk out with more in your basket than you had on your list...

Chipotle Corn muffins with honey butter - fast becoming my own party staple. It's a twist on the jalapeno corn bread I used to serve at Zachary's. Yum.

Corn on the cob - debating whether or not to buy the fancy new red kind. They are distinctly overpriced and I wonder how much of the color they might lose upon cooking. They do make me long for a great purple potato hook up. Oh, Berkeley Bowl, I miss you so.

Peach salsa - our first year we made mango salsa only to discover our guest was allergic. They're also allergic to chocolate - shocking, I know.

Peach cobbler - this is banking heavily on the peach guy being at Farmer's Market tomorrow. Sure there are always plenty of peach vendors, but oh, this one farm - simply the best.

Fresh whipped cream - this is Erik's contribution. Perhaps we will put it on strawberries, perhaps on the cobbler. I am not ashamed to admit we often just put it on a spoon.

Fruit salad - because it can't all be about the calories and because fruit salad is yummy.

Smoked ham - apparently. This is Erik's newest plan for his smoker. Never being much of a ham fan, and being an alleged vegetarian, this will not find its way to my plate - no matter how much Sangria I need to soak up.

Jello shots - this is a maybe item. They take up a lot of room in the freezer and again I failed to make a test batch. I am tempted to try to make them inside of orange rinds for fancy presentation but I doubt they will look as good as they did on the web page. And I bought a new kind of flavored rum that I am only hoping is not disgusting. I suppose if I made some tonight I could find out for sure with time to tweak the recipe, but there's that whole sloth thing going on...

I guess that's all I know about for sure, though I am also toying with making some sort of black bean and roasted corn dish and we usually serve olives to our olive loving friends. Right now, though, I must go for OC is in need of more Fancy Feast. If I don't act fast he'll make enough noise to wake Erik up. And besides, I need to get back to my clutter.