But first Ti Jae and Karen made their traditional dip. It is a layered bean/guacamole/ sour cream/olives/jalapenos concoction they have fine-tuned. They met over this dip many years ago, making it for Ti Jae's brother's birthday party and discovered they "shared a brain". They've been best friends ever since.
Mr. Patrick brought along his lovely friend Tawny. She is so sweet and has a delightful sense of humor. You will note, however, that she is just a bit camera-shy.
We could see she keeps him on his toes.......(literally, when she playfully tried to trip him at one point!)
Patrick did the honors on the grill for us.
He and Mr. B commiserated over the challenges of trying to stay gainfully employed.
The girls talked at the table while waiting for the food to be ready.
And Sadi joined us for the evening, and even struck a pose with us.
One of the dishes we had was a favorite summer salad of mine.
The recipe is oh-so-easy:
Confetti Summer Salad
1 cup corn
1 cup petite frozen peas, thawed
1 cucumber cubed (tiny cubes - pea sized!)
1/2 cup each chopped red pepper, green pepper, orange pepper, yellow pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped purple onion
1 seeded tomato, chopped (pea sized)
1/2 cup sharp cheddar or Monterey cheese, cubed (pea sized)
Mix with 1/4 to 1/2 cup mayo, and salt/pepper to taste. Chill.
We had the favorite Grilled Mustard Chicken. We had the usual hamburgers/hot dogs and accompaniments. And for dessert, I made Texas Chocolate Sheet cake, which I had completely forgotten about until I saw it on the The Pioneer Woman Cooks cooking blog. She has a really great blog where she shares her life on their ranch, with some absolutely awesome pictures (thanks to her I'm starting to want a new digital camera....she is SO gifted - her pictures are stunning!). But one part of her blog contains a link to her cooking blog, with her favorite recipes, and this cake is featured with instructions and pix. It is known on her blog as "Sinful Cake", or "The Best Chocolate Sheet Cake. Ever." And its true.
The part where she describes people moaning when they eat this cake? Totally true. Seriously.
I sent a significant portion of it home with Mr. Patrick for he and his roommates to share, and with Ti Jae for her family. Its dangerous for me and Mr. B to have around!
We truly enjoyed the time with the kids, and we're already planning the August Second Friday! Seems there's a new pizza place in town! Stay tuned for a review next month!
1 comment:
Oooooooooooh! That salad looks delicious. I think my two left hands can even make that. :)
Looks like fun was had by all.
How is that quilt doing on your rack?
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