A few months ago I started a queer/trans barbell club at my gym (see here for a cute photo from our first meetup!) and this past weekend, I had everyone over to our house for a little summer party. It was so much fun and also the best excuse to do something I’ve always wanted to do: order a 3 foot long sandwich from the deli. Friends, I cannot recommend this highly enough for your next get together.
As you can see from my photo above, it clocked in at nearly 4 feet. It came in a spectacularly long box. It fed about 20 people heartily. With tax and a generous tip, it cost less than $100. There were no leftovers. It required zero effort on my part (especially because Grace picked it up for me! — note that it’s helpful to have a clear backseat in your car for one of these).
I went with a classic Italian combo. They loaded the bread with a variety of Italian deli meats and cheeses and put all of the fixings on the side (trays of shredded iceberg, sliced tomatoes, white onion sliced paper thin, pickled jalapeños, 2 pints of mayo — which is A LOT OF MAYO, a coffee cup of olive oil, and a coffee cup of vinegar). This made it so everyone could customize their own sandwich. Vegetarians could take out the meat, dairy-free people could remove the cheese, no bread people could turn theirs into a salad (I wasn’t watching, but I think just about everyone just at the sandwich as is). Everyone seemed so happy. I know I was. We also had seltzers, beer, chips, watermelon, fruit salad, and brownies. Everyone helped to clean up. It was all so easy going.
Preparing food for a large group can be fun, but it’s also time-consuming and can be stressful. It’s already stressful to get a big group together (as a therapist posed to me recently: “who doesn’t have social anxiety?”). So don’t make the food. Get a huge sandwich. Put out a roll of paper towels. Enjoy the ease.
PS: Are you part of the queer/trans community, in the Kingston NY area, and interested in lifting weights on Sunday mornings?? Just reply to this and I’ll send you more details!
Until my online cooking classes return in September (I’m on my summer teaching break!), you can always check out my on-demand video library with 70+ of my previously recorded classes.
Each class includes fully written recipes + a grocery list.
»»»» VIDEO LIBRARY RIGHT HERE!!! ««««
xooxox Julia
An absolutely wonderful idea to serve a giant sandwich! I love to cook , but my social anxiety is off the wall. I like to have sushi parties and order takeout.
This sounds delightful. Thank you for showing us week after week how to chill out and go easy on ourselves while still making it nice! I appreciate the ongoing support for easing up on my perfectionism. :)