Dave and I made the most delicious (if I do say so myself) seafood lasagna for my cousin Maribeth’s birthday celebration this past Saturday!

me, to Maribeth: Is there something I could bring to contribute to the buffet? Something you’re craving especially?

Maribeth: I’m just starting to think things up. I’ll let you know. Talk to Dave and see what he thinks too. Love, MB

me, to Dave: I put this on our calendar…any ideas?

Dave: sea food lasagna. with all the goodies but without tomato sauce kinda like the lobster mac n cheese or stuffed manicotti

me, to MB: Dave suggested a seafood lasagna, or stuffed manicotti [spell check wants to change that to manicurist - cannibal!], using lobster and/or other seafood and a cheese sauce instead of tomato sauce, how does that sound?

MB: Mmmmmmmm! Good!

And then Maribeth googled “seafood lasagna” and found this recipe, which is the one we used, and it was SO good and SO simple!

Give it a try sometime, I PROMISE you will not be disappointed! And if you do…come back and tell me about it. Share a picture, if you like!

Last Monday, I had the pleasure of finally meeting Mrs. G., her lovely daughter Caitie and another long time blog friend, Erin! Also got to see Erika again and that was a pleasant surprise! I was happy to meet some new derfs folks, one of whom, Deb, lives less than 5 miles away from me and at whose lovely home we all met. She put on quite an amazing spread and her children (in their late teens or early 20s, I believe) helped her by doing most of the cooking, serving, and cleaning up! It was a magical night, truly. Lots of laughter, good food and drink and some new friendships made. Thank you, Deb, for opening up your home!

We started off with some drinks

and hors d’oeuvres (Deb said that peanut butter and horseradish on a ritz was a snack her grandfather enjoyed very much and let me tell you, it was VERY good!)

Derfs and food

more Derfs and food (notice who’s lurking in the corner)

Mrs. G., finally!

Here, Deb’s kids are serving us dinner…they were so amazing, seriously! Deb, at the head of the table, looks so proud of them, as well she should be!

Deb made this delicious pavlova, too! Wow, it was so light and airy, I loved it!

Whoopie pies, made by Deb, and quite delicious! She did well on the New England theme (whoopie pies are said to have been invented in Maine, although there is a debate about that … since some folks say they were invented in and around Lancaster, PA)

Mrs. G. and me, holding the goddesses Debbie made for us and sent all the way from Japan! Mrs. G.’s was for her trip, mine was sent a couple years ago when I was fighting cancer. Thanks, Debbie!!!

 
Recently, Dave and I have been going to the same Chinese place for, of all things, their  sushi bar.  It’s one of those all-you-can-eat buffet places, and at first my sushi snobbishness got in the way.  But last Thursday (usually we go on Fridays, but we were going to a concert that day) I finally gave it a chance, and oh boy!  The sushi chef made me some salmon and tuna nigiri to order and it was as fresh and delicious as the nigiri I’d gotten at Whole Foods during the week…and way less expensive.
 
Friday night, Dave and I met Andrea and Bill at Bull Run in Shirley to see the still amazing Johnny Winter.  If you go see him…BRING EAR PLUGS!  Cause, apparently…JOHNNY LIKES IT LOUD!  SO loud, in fact, that to me it sounded distorted.  So I stuck my fingers in my ears…lo and behold, I could hear him sing and play clearly!   That night was pretty foggy and on the way there, I almost hit a cat that decided to do a U-turn in the road.  I was a bit stressed when I got there, and without me saying it, Andrea noticed and just gave me a hug.  It helped!
 
This weekend, we were supposed to watch Dave’s grandsons, but because the younger one was sick, Dave went over there by himself since we didn’t want me exposed to more germs and getting sick again.  So Saturday, Wolf and I took a ride to the beach!  It was a warm-ish (for here) day.  Wolf loved it!  Every time he sees a mussel shell, he tries to bury it in the sand.  Dig, dig, dig, I tell him!  I stopped for a slice of pizza afterwards and parked nearby where the old Frolics used to be.  Many many memories of concerts at that place in my 20s.  I also cleaned the condo, vacuumed and hand washed the floors and did some rearranging.
 
Sunday, I was going to clean and organize more, but … the best of intentions and all that.  I rented the movie, The Help and enjoyed the heck out of it.  Made some buttermilk and cornmeal waffles and buttermilk chicken for dinner.  Both were delicious!  Click on the link for the recipe, if you’re so inclined.  I also made a big pot of 15 bean soup, which I ladled into pint mason jars for my lunch next week (and extra to share with a friend at work who likes my cooking). 
 
And that was about it!
 
How was your weekend?
 

Photohunt courtesy of TNChick:

fresh strawberries with balsamic vinegar and sugar

1 large pack of strawberries
3-4 tbls balsamic vinegar
3-4 tbls sugar

Wash berries, cut off tops, place in glass bowl, sprinkle with sugar & balsamic vinegar and toss gently. Store covered in fridge a few hours or overnight.

Also, another definition of “fresh”

Skelly giggles while Desmond gets fresh with Sakura!

Got to be to work by nine
And if I had an air-o-plane
I still couldn’t make it on time
Just another Manic Monday…

Of all your favorite foods, which one would you find the most difficult to give up for the rest of your life? I would’ve said potato chips, since I have all but given them up since starting WW…but it’s not really a big deal! Ditto mac & cheese. So I’m thinking that I wouldn’t find it difficult to give up anything I love…

Which month of the year do you thing best describes your personality? April, but only in the northeast. Ready to give up the cold for some warmth, but not quite sure how to go about it. Blossoms peeking out…but not quite ready to burst forth. Yeah…that’s me What month do YOU think I’m most like?

If you could be a contestant on any game show, past or present, which show would you pick? Eek! Me, on a game show? On CAMERA??! No thanks The very thought gives me the heebie jeebies!

I made this last night…in the crockpot!!! You can see the recipe here. I used a very thick piece of frozen coho salmon from Trader Joe’s and it was perfectly done in 2 hours. The only thing I’d change is to use less salt (those of you that know my addiction to salt will gasp); it was a tad salty for me (although I did only use 1 pound of salmon). Oh, and I didn’t use dill, because it smells gross to me; I used herbes de Provence, and I’d use only a teaspoon of that…two was one too many.