Well the Augello Family annual beach vacation is fast approaching. (June 29th – July 7th)  The great thing about this vacation is that even with so many people together for a week, it is pure enjoyment because of the togetherness. When Vince, our oldest grandchild was just a toddler, we started this tradition in one rented house.  Vince will be 27 this August! We’ve grown to 9 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. The tradition has continued over the years and now we have to rent 2 units, side by side, to accommodate everyone. We look forward to this beach vacation starting on the day we have to say good bye.  It’s in the chatter of every holiday get together. It’s fun. It’s pure family love.

I may have mentioned at other times, that each night different family members cook. The menu is totally theirs, as is the music.  No one has ever complained about what was served but if they did they knew there was always peanut butter and jelly for sandwiches.  But the dinners have been deliciously memorable.

So with this in mind we are all gathering the essentials we will need for our surprise dinner.  We pack as many of the ingredients and utensils we will need beforehand

to eliminate trips to the grocery store.  There is one meal we can always count on that is not a surprise. Claudia and Gary always chose the 4th of July for their cooking night.  So we always celebrate with the all-American meal of hot dogs, hamburgers , potato salad, cole slaw and beans.  Maybe even corn on the cob and apple pie. Ending it all with S’Mores while the fire is still hot. As we devour these, we sing Happy Birthday to America and then we head down to the beach to watch the fireworks

The first night there, Charlie seeks out the fish monger and buys several pounds of freshly caught shrimp.  We’ll peel some shrimp for “Shrimp in the Rough” and he will also make a Linguini dish using the rest of the shrimp.

Because I like to have Sunday Family Dinner, last year I devised a way to bring that to the beach. I surprised the family with a casserole I created by making golf ball size meatballs and burying them in pans of baked manicotti with sliced sausage and topped with lots of homemade sauce. It was so much easier that bringing everything separately and we had our Sunday Pasta Dinner.  Everybody was more than happy. And I’m adding a surprise this year.

Happy 4th of July.  God Bless America and God Bless Our Troops.
Fly Your Flag Proudly while You Sing Patriotic Songs Loudly

Remember we will be CLOSED from 3:30 pm Saturday, June 29th until Monday, July 8th when we open at 10:00, happy, rested and ready to welcome you.  We’ll have stories and pictures to share and we want to hear your stories too.

Side note:  I saw a recipe for S’Mores  that dates back to 1917 in a Girl Scout’s Handbook.  And it is claimed that S’Mores stands for “some more”.  So now you know!

Charlie, Anita, Andrea, Claudia
The Entire Augello Family
The E. 48th Street Market Staff