I’m hosting a double birthday party at my house tomorrow for my little sister (28) and my father-in-law (50-something). Wanna hear the menu?

As usual, nothing can be simple with my family when it comes to throwing a party. I’m sure other families just get some pre-made goodies from Costco or dial for take-out from Rubio’s or a pizza place. But with us, we can’t even buy the salsa in a jar.

Everything has to be complicated with us. But the trade-off is that the food is usually out-of-this-world delicious.

You can taste the days of work that go into even the simplest gathering. The women of our family have been calling each other back and forth for days, making sure every detail will be taken care of. And by detail, I mean food. We don’t do balloons or streamers or activities. We just need lots of the best quality food and everyone together in the same room and we’re all thrilled.

So here’s what we’re devouring tomorrow:

To start:

• Spinach Dip in a Sourdough Bread Bowl - Classic 1950s dish that my husband requested as football-watching fare. I can’t deny that boy anything!
• Nuts, Cheese, Crackers, etc
• Mystery Appetizer brought my friend Heidi who puts Martha Stewart to shame, so I totally trust her

The main situation:

• Homemade tortillas from my new tortilla press (Hope it works!)
• Pollo and carne asada marinated and thrown on the BBQ - This is the one part that the men will be responsible for, besides the clean-up!
• Salsa, guacamole, Spanish rice, and pinto beans - All homemade from tried-and-true recipes
• Salad with homemade dressing - From a family recipe

After we’re all stuffed beyond belief:

• Almond and Cornmeal Giant Cookie - From last week’s cooking class. I’ll post the recipe soon!
• Easy Chocolate Cake from Bon Appetit - Yes, I’m making my second cake ever just a few days after the first!
• Homemade Premium Vanilla Ice Cream - 2 batches to go with the above desserts

Sound good? As you’ll see, we’re impossibly snobby about food which is often a giant pain in the ass. But I always feel satisfied when everyone is ooh-ing and ahh-ing and happy and together. Somehow, I never end up eating very much when I am the host, since everything’s so hectic. Does that happen to anyone else?

So, wish us luck! I don’t know exactly how many people are coming - somewhere from 12-20. But that doesn’t really matter because there’s always way too much food no matter what we do.

Happy Birthday, Amy and Rick!

Full report tomorrow night.