Daniela's Birthday BBQ

I had some of our friends over on Saturday and threw Daniela a surprise birthday BBQ. I told her to keep the 16th free, but didn't tell her what we were doing. When she aggressively tries to figure out what the surprise is, she almost always gets it. I either smile or blush uncontrollably when she gets close. So she was much better this time about allowing it to be a surprise.

I got a pony keg of Harpoon Summer Ale and made some food. I asked everyone who was coming to bring something as well. I was nervous about not having enough to eat and drink but we did pretty well. And we scored a bottle of Shiraz and a bottle of Pinot Grigio out of it. Oh, and 6 pounds of ground beef that we didn't need.

I planned on keeping the BBQ a secret until the morning of the party. I had asked our friend Lou to help me get the food and drinks around 11:30 so until that moment it could be kept from her, but not afterward. Then, on Friday, D asked if she could go with our neighbor upstairs, Vanessa, to the gym at 11. I told her that wouldn't interfere with our plans (BBQ started at 3) and that allowed me to take off secretly with Lou to get the food. Lou and I got back after 1 and by then D had already come home. So I kept it a secret until 2 hours before the party, when I started to make the burgers.

I had never put so much junk into hamburger patties before. I found a bunch of recipes online and they all called for essentially the same ingredients. So I put chili powder, BBQ sauce, 2 eggs, garlic salt, pepper, Italian-style bread crumbs, and half an onion into 5 1/2 lbs. of ground beef. I didn't measure anything and I don't think you need to. Just wing it. Everyone (who wasn't a vegetarian) said they were awesome, so I would highly recommend doing the same.

We all just crammed onto our back deck and it seemed like it was OK, despite not really having enough chairs or space to put them in. Vanessa made Oreo balls (I don't think the link I provided is the actual recipe that she used, but you'll get the idea) and an Eclair birthday cake.

Our friends Jared, Laurie, and John stuck around after everyone else had left, so we sat on the deck talking until around 9:30.

D's actual birthday is this Wednesday so we'll go out to dinner and maybe do something else. I'm not really sure yet since I spent the past two weeks planning this party and not the next one.

Thanks to everyone who made it!