At this point, I’ve just lost count of how many pigs we roast to commemorate special occasions.  I’m pretty sure we do it at least once, if not twice, a year.  Two poor beasts have given themselves to our celebratory causes this year alone: the first, because a few of us hobbled across the finish line of a completely unimpressive distance, and the second time, because my sister Angel graduated with her Ph.D.  From Yale.

It kind of makes you question the relative weight my family attributes to life accomplishments, doesn’t it?  In other words, running a 10K and completing one of academia’s most notable pursuits are totally on par with each other.  As long as there is a reason, we. will. roast.

This time, the weather didn’t cooperate with us, but the venue certainly was one of the best we’ve ever had: the Marsh Botanical Gardens, right outside Yale’s campus.

Clockwise, from top left: the spicy shrimp for our Frogmore Stew; dogs, kids and wellies were the theme of a wet, blustery roast; this cake slogan is actually a running family joke, when my ridiculous Uncle Jimmy flubbed a message on a cake for my dad’s graduation from law school at the age of 62; koozies with our family roastin’ motto

The only major difference between our previous roasts and this particular one is that whatever my baby sister wanted, she got.  Add a Frogmore Stew for 70?  No problem.  Accent the pork with a taco bar?  Why, indeed.  Devise an entirely separate menu for a small faction of vegans?  We question their life choice to eschew meat and dairy, but sure, have some kale slaw, on us!

By the end of the day, we’d made 9 separate grocery store trips, cooked for almost 11 hours, and made enough food that we were handing out entire pans of cornbread as parting gifts.  Still, I have to say that I can’t imagine what else we would’ve done for my sister’s momentous occasion.  We’re not “celebrate at Olive Garden” types.

Nah, that’d been way too easy.