Middle of August?!

Well, several things have happened since the last blog entry. Firstly, half of August whizzed by - how the heck did that happen? I also celebrated my birthday (I am proud to say I am still officially in my MID-twenties), and Nick and I are having a great time entertaining more out-of-town guests.

As many relocated Chicagoans will probably tell you, people across the country have only a vague notion of what food delicacies Chicago has perfected. Clearly, an injustice has been done to my fine hometown because San Diegans (and probably many others out there) think that the famous Chicago-style pizza is DEEP DISH. Ack! When I explain that STUFFED pizza is the end-all-be-all pie that the Windy City created and perfected, I get blank stares. Don't even get me started about explaining why catsup should not come anywhere near a beautiful vienna beef hot dog ... it's a conversation I've had too many times to bear recounting here. So I decided that I was going to have a Chicago-style birthday party, complete with all of my food favorites. Natural casing Vienna Beef dogs, check (Chicago-style, mais oui! We had all the fixins, down to the radioactive-green relish. Oh yeah, and guests were warned that catsup would be confiscated at the door). Italian Beef sammiches on Gonnella rolls with grilled onions and hot and sweet peppers, check. Homemade potato chips, check. Polish sausages? Of course! And because I didn't want to have to roll people home, we decided to forego the stuffed pizza and instead had Chicago-style thin crust. Yes, yes, Chicago has its own way of doing thin crust, too - crispy crust, aged cheese, not-too-sweet sauce, cut into squares.

Anyway, the party was great fun, and it was a very delicious birthday. The food got raves, and we even rented a miniature Vienna Beef hot dog stand that heated the au jus for the beef, steamed the buns, and kept the dogs hot. And now all of the party attendees know what "dragging the dog through the grass" means. Don't you? Hmm, guess you should have been at my party ...

I'll fill you in on our August guests another time - maybe then I'll have some pictures to put up!