But when I got an email stating "The gentleman in the picture below has offered to make flaming Hooch Mai tais and Kahlua pulled pork sandwiches on Wednesday. Who's in?" all bets for a little more sleep were off. The laughter and excitement took over and my day had begun.
Turns out Ted's birthday was Tuesday so family dinner this week had the requisite tropical theme. As always, it was awesome. As Matt and I pulled up to the house, I could see Grandpa sitting in the nook but something was off. Walking in the door, Charlie dog greeted us and I soon figured out what was different. The lights in the kitchen were down because of the flickering blue flames making their way around the room!
A round of hugs for all lead me to the Birthday Guy, who promptly handed me a flaming hooch mai tai - slice of fresh pineapple expertly placed on the rim of the glass. Hawaii in Green Lake woo hoo!!! Seth and Lisa were the wild cards of the night, with the rest of the usual crowd - Grandpa, Ted, Johnnie, Morgan, Chelsey, Jessie, Eddie, Charlie dog, Matt and I - in attendance.
As the food and wine made it's way to the table, so did the people and pretty soon we all had full plates and glasses in front of us. "I'm kind of drunk!" came from one end of the table and lead to a round of cheers for another great evening. Flaming Hooch Mai Tais are fabulous.
The menu for the night was Kahlua pulled pork sandwiches, green salad and spaghetti squash with a heavy emphasis on the pork. Ted and Grandpa got 10 pounds of pork shoulder for the meal. Did you know that pork shoulder is actually pork butt and it is called pork shoulder because pigs use their shoulders to 'butt' into things? You can thank Seth for that tidbit. Some day you will totally win bar trivia night with that.
So Ted brined the pork for 18 hours and then smoked it for 6. And the real labor of love came in the pulling, which took him 45 minutes to complete. IT WAS SO GOOD. The Kahlua barbecue sauce was sweet and hot and the perfect complement to the smoked meat. Are you dying for a picture yet? I forgot my camera again!!!!! And I even said it out loud so as not to forget...
Lucky for you, Seth pulled out his phone and got the shot. Let the mouthwatering begin.
There were lots of conversations going on over these delicious plates. Jessie got famous last week as the poster girl in an ad campaign for a yoga studio. Post the pic please, Jess!!! Eddie is a connoisseur of silent films, who knew? Everyone who has seen The Artist has liked it. Why did the Oscars decide to have 10 nominees for Best Picture? We could only name 5 in the running and there are some movie-goers in the crowd.
As we moved into sweets mode, the table was cleared. Empty plates were replaced with a bunch of bottles of different liquors, liqueurs, brandies and ports and little glasses for those who opted to imbibe. Next, dessert plates made their way around the table. Jessie made pineapple upside down cake and Lisa made plum crisp. Each plate carried a slice of both with a healthy dollop (thanks Kate for that Midwest jargon) of homemade whipped cream.
I wish I had a picture of this round for you, but we were all too thoroughly involved in what was on the table to even mention taking a photo. You're just going to have to take my word for it, it was all delicious.
Grandpa insisted on a round of Happy Birthday and afterwards I asked how long he and Ted thought it had been since they had celebrated Ted's birthday together. They both paused for a minute and Grandpa finally responded, "Well, I was at the first one!"
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