Southern Living Dinners

I meet with a group of women friends once a month for dinner. I joined the group about 7(?) years ago...hard to believe...but it's true. We all pick a recipe from the current issue of SL and we have one person who coordinates the menu so we get a nice mix. It's a great way to try new recipes and things that I for one would never have thought about making. It's kind of fun to get the magazine and start thinking about my to 2-3 choices. One week before we meet we call in our top choices and and if Ellen (in charge) or Kathy doesn't call back...you know you got your first choice. I never used to try any recipes...or very few...until I joined the group. Now I know what I was missing all those years that I got the magazine and read it and forgot about it. Ha!
We go to a different house each month, the hostess provides drinks, and tableware of course. It can be anything from paper plates to fine china...whatever the hostess wants to do...which also makes it fun. After we eat we have a ballot and we rate the recipes (not the cook). 5 for the best, definitely would make it again,down to 1. Incidentally, one poor gal made some Blue cheese roll-up things one time (her first ever time coming) and they got pretty much all 1's. Fortunately we all have a good sense of humor and she understood it wasn't her we were rating...and she came back! we have plenty of duds and lots of tasty surprises...it's a lot of fun. One group meets during the day (while the kids are in school) usually 11:30-2:00. Those of us who returned to work started a new evening group...we meet on Sat evening once a month. It's "girls" only...no kids...no husbands (some exceptions) and it really has been a lot of fun. Last Saturday we had a fine time as usual lots and lots of laughs and good food.
Speaking of food...we went to LongDoggers last night and since they were a little slow, Al agreed to have the cook sear up some of our tuna. All the guys who caught the fish were there , reveling in the moment and as usual we saw many other friends already there, or they arrived during the 2 1/2 hrs (not 21!)we were there.Lots of fish stories and photos going around. A good time and lots of tuna was had by all. Everyone got some.... It was funny when a group of 6 older people came in and heard us talking about seared tuna...and our friend/waitress Misty brought out a heaping platter of tuna...one of the women looked over and said 'Wow, is that the tuna appetizer?!" I nicely told her that Al was doing us a favor by cooking our tuna...but they did indeed have a nice tuna appetizer on the menu...just not quite as big or Fresh as ours.
Needless to say...no one around here is going hungry!

And last but not least......because I can...here's my poem for the day

A Prayer for Spring

by Robert Frost

Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers today;

And give us not to think so far away

As the uncertain harvest; keep us here

all simply in the springing of the year.

Oh give us pleasure in the orchard white,

Like nothing else by day, like ghosts at night;

and make us happy in the happy bees,

The swarm dilating round the perfect trees.

And make us happy in the darting bird

That suddenly above the bees is heard,

The meteor that thrusts in with needle bill,

And off a blossom in mid air stands still.

For this is love and nothing else is love,

The which is reserved for God above

To sanctify to what far ends he will,

But which it only needs that we fulfill.

Have a great Monday!