Fun on the Fourth

Since I had never been in NYC for the Fourth of July, I didn't know what to expect.  I assumed everyone went home like I usually did and was worried that I wouldn't have anyone to play with.  Turns out, there was a nice crew left in the city and I was invited to not one but two parties on Monday.

Stop number one was at Matt and Jen's for a party on the roof.  I offered to bring some apps so I made a hot almond swiss dip that was easy to make and highly addictive.  Since it was so hot outside, I thought it would be nice to make something chilled, so I threw together watermelon, mint, feta, pine nuts, olive oil, salt and pepper.  It was a five minute salad, but it was refreshing.  We also had guacamole, burgers, grilled Mexican corn, and a slaw with soy honey dressing.  

Even though Greg, Susan, and I stuffed our faces at Matt and Jen's, we had another stop to make and more food to eat.  We took a car from Williamsburg to Queens and made our way to Matt and Karina's apartment where they were throwing a party with Karina's mom.  We were treated to a latin buffet of chorizo, steak, salad, potato salad, yuca, and sangria.  Meal number two was made even better by the background music.  I'm not sure how they came to be at this party, but at some point a Chilean band just showed up and started playing traditional music.  Next thing you know, Matt and Karina are doing this mating dance:

Unfortunately, I missed the fireworks now that they are set off in a less convenient Westside location, but I was in such a food coma by that point that fireworks were the last thing on my mind.