(Chicago) – I should feel guilty. I am more excited for July 4 American independence day than the June 12 Philippine Independence. While my nationalistic hunger for anything-Filipino still remains intact, I can deduce that the only reason for this is BBQ. July 4 is the perfect holiday to bring out your grill, invite friends to share some good food and drinks, and watch fireworks together.
I have not hosted a 4th of July party before so this year I thought of inviting a few friends and whip up something on the grill. An initial plan of 15 friends in my guest list doubled after an hour from the time the party started. Oh no, I’m not complaining. This is expected already and I am always prepared to accommodate more people; actually, my pantry is.
So there were Filipino-style sweet chicken barbeque, skirt steak in fajita marinade which I used a cup of tequila, simple salt-pepper grilled p
ork, Mediterranean-style beef kebabs, homemade coleslaw and cheesy beef taco’ish quesadilla. And I’m proud to say that I made all of these! Yes, I devoted a considerable amount of time to make these dishes to polish my cooking skills and at the same, experiment on new recipes which I have not done before. Most importantly, cooking for your friends is always a pleasure.
I think the party was a blast. We started at 5pm and my guest left my place at 2:30am. In the middle of night, my super creative friends ransacked my jacket closet and pantry and ramped along the foyer for a spontaneous crazy fun fashion show of whatever stuffs they could grab. It was a riot!
I am no American but July 4 is one of my favorite holidays. The reason why we commemorate 4th of July is special enough but the food being shared to celebrate the event makes it more special. Perhaps, I should throw a party for the 12th of June as well, to be fair.