Call It What You Will...
So it occurred to me today that the Fourth of July is NEXT WEEK. And this stands to the testament that PJP Buttonwood is a black hole of time...you start at 4 am and then it is suddenly 3 in the afternoon...it is Memorial Day and then suddenly it is July 4th. I would say that it is a fair public statement to say that I'm not an overly festive person. I don't have any $5 Old Navy flag t-shirts or quirky hats that double as holders for sparklers. (Nothing against Independence Day...I also avoid overly large eggs in my yard at Easter, pilgrim attire at Thanksgiving, and heart-shaped pancakes on Valentine's Day). All that said, I do rank the 4th of July in the top-tier of my favorite holiday hierarchy, and here is why:
- There is no pressure on the 4th of July at our house...no negotiation about which side of the family to spend the holiday with and when and how. (Bonus this year since the holiday is on a Friday...long lake weekend for Team PJP).
- The whole point of the day is to relax and have fun. And celebrate America's independence with Lee Greenwood on Spotify. A crowd singing along to "God Bless the USA" can move the most stoic (and non-festive) to tears.
- The weather is usually pretty perfect. (I hope I didn't just jinx it for this year).
- The menu is low-key and there isn't hours of prep and no arguing about whether you should put a turkey in the oven at 4 am or at 5 am.
- Whatever you serve is best accompanied by vodka-based cocktails (in my case) or beer (in Behind-The-Scenes-Tech-Guru Jason's case).
- If you live outside city limits, you can spend $75 on fireworks and then if your kids misbehave at any point during the day, you can merely threaten to take away said fireworks and they will immediately stop whatever annoying behavior they are engaged in. Or maybe this is just at our house.
- It is completely acceptable to use paper plates and plastic utensils and then you aren't stuck washing an hour's worth of dishes for a meal that took 20 minutes to eat.
- It is entirely legit to spend the bulk of the day in your swimming suit.
- If you want to eat an entire plate of potato salad, the 4th of July is the one day you can do that without fear of mocking.
- Since everyone goes to bed late on the 4th, everyone sleeps in on the 5th. It is the gift that keeps on giving.
So, with all things Fourth of July in mind, I felt like PJP should have something special to offer next week. And we brainstormed around about all sorts of ideas, but it comes down to this - you are probably interested in some sort of ah-maz-ing pie that you can take to a gathering or share in your own home that is awesome, beautiful, baked in a disposable tin, and done 100% not by you...because you have other stuff to do, like buy a new swimsuit and cherry vodka.
I noticed today that Jeanne and Bailey were completely engaged in some sort of project. While I ran to Hyvee to buy milk and tiny forks (another story), they worked away and when I came back, I came back to this:
With blueberries and raspberries, we can't envision a better way to grace your holiday picnic table. While we all agree this pie is totally cute, we can't agree on any sort of name. Two of us around here like "Patriot Pie" and the rest of us remain divided. Call in to order yours for pickup next week before our order board fills up. (Call it the Patriot Pie if you must, or the Flag Pie or the special holiday pie or whatever else...we will know what you mean. And, of course, our full menu is also available for pre-order).
We will focus on the pie. You focus on the potato salad.