This coming weekend I have VERY big plans to roast a lamb in honor of mine and my friend Pete’s birthday. But before I blog about my upcoming roast I wanted to share some photos from my past roasts. PIG roasts that is! I have been lucky enough to host not one but TWO pigs roasts in my life time, all thanks to my bestie Spencer (as you may remember from earlier Party Pirls posts) and his loving parents (who just happen to be my unofficial god-parents) Marsha and Steven, who donated their lovely home and yard for the festivities.

You may or may not know that I only started eating pork products in college (except proscuitto, I always at proscuitto)(I guess that’s what happens when you’re raised by a Jewish mother that cooks dinner for you every night and an Italian father that cured his own meats at his Italian restaurant). The first time my sister and I had bacon, she was brave enough and try it first, and exclaimed “Bella! You have to try this! It’s like chips, but MEAT CHIPS!” Since then I’ve (we’ve) been hooked. My “godmother” Marsha, was certainly surprised when I requested her country home for a pig roast, especially since I had always turned down her Christmas pork loin. But because she loves me (and Spencer) unconditionally she took my word that I now LOVED all things pig, and she headed to my parent’s place in the City and gave us the house for the weekend for my 22nd birthday. Spencer’s father, Steven, stayed to help pick up the oinker (which I named Schmoey) and set up the spit in the morning, then went to join his wife and my parents (not after noting this is Jewish grandmother from the Schtetel was most likely rolling over in her grave). We bought a relatively small 50 pounder the first time, woke up at 6am and let is slow roast for 8 or so hours. About 20 friends drove up from the city, my (female) bestie Sarina MADE SHIRTS! and I whipped up heaps of potato-egg-salad (recipe to be shared one day, I promise), coleslaw and peach blueberry cobblers. Such a fun time was had by all that Spencer decided to have another pig roast two years later for his 24th birthday!

The second time around EVERYTHING was bigger: more friends, more puppies (we had just adopted Misses Loretta), more potato egg salad and a 100 pound pig. This time Marsha and Steven left us alone the whole weekend (though Steven picked up the pig the night before and we let is chill in the bathtub on ice over night)(don’t tell Marsha). Though we didn’t have shirts, the second pig roast was just as big as of success as our first one if not more! Marsha (who did I mention is a professional food stylist?!) made a bunch of key lime cheese cakes and pre made fancy pie doughs for me to fill. I had extra girls in the kitchen to help (TG) seeing that over 40 people came by through out the day/night. Our second pig we started roasting a little later and since it was so much bigger it wasn’t necessarily cooked through in all parts when we decided to carve into it (people were drunk and it was getting dark). Didn’t matter! We were all happily drunk, and any rare bits we grilled up on the BBQ, which only made them extra tasty. I’m pretty sure the night ended with numerous round of Jews Vs. Gentiles flip cup (my favorite game), an epic dance party on the deck (including the Macarena) and modeling of the pig face.

Just writing this post and looking at the pictures is getting me excited for my lamb roast this weekend! I am super excited to try it and share it with you all! Till then, enjoy these oldies but goodies.

***I apologize for the weird filters on the photos… I was really into Toy Camera back then.

2010

2012