For the last six months, we have been planning what I like to call the equivalent of another Record Family wedding. Otherwise known as our first annual release celebration. The big event took place on June 25th and I am relieved to say it was a success! Thanks to all who joined us and made the first party such an unforgettable experience! I thought it would be fun to do a series of blog posts about different aspects of the party – the food, the wine (and other beverages), and all the extras that made this event so special.
So let’s start with the important stuff – the food! Creating a menu was harder than it sounds. We wanted this to be a “simple family BBQ”… in the process, I learned that sometimes it takes even more planning and work to make an event come off as “simple”. We tried to use as many local vendors as we could for the food in an attempt to not only be sustainable, but a good neighbor as well! Here are the details:
We purchased the sausage for the appetizers and all of the meat for the BBQ from local meat purveyor, J&R Meats. What a selection! A few weeks before the party, Randy was contemplating using a variety of meat for the BBQ – lamb, goat, pork, beef, chicken, etc. In the end, we went with beef and pork, a whopping 100 pounds, in an attempt to keep it simple! We used a spicy rub for flavor. For an appetizer, we chose two different sausages, a buffalo apple sausage and a basil garlic sausage with brown mustard for dipping. We prepared the meat for the deep pit BBQ and started the fire the night before. More about the deep pit BBQ to come in the “extras” post!
For sides, we went with coleslaw and beans. The coleslaw came from Mo’s BBQ in San Luis Obispo, by far our favorite! We ordered 30 quarts to feed everyone, and sadly, there were no leftovers. We will be ordering more next year! The beans were homemade, from scratch. No cans used here! We started with 25 pounds of dry pinto beans and soaked them overnight. After sauteing some onion and garlic, we added the beans and chicken stock and cooked them for several hours. Simple, but delicious!
To add a little spice, we made quacamole from 25 pounds of avocados supplied to us from Southern California, and brought in 10 quarts of pico de gallo from local restaurant, Tortilla Town. Both toppings were fresh and flavorful. The white corn tortillas used for the tacos were from a local shop, Tortilleria Sinaloa, made fresh that morning. For dessert, one of our guests (and wife of our vineyard manager) made the most amazing brownies – not the kind from a box – several varieties, all delicious!
Check out the slideshow to get a visual taste of the food highlights from the party. We hope you plan to join us next year!