The theme of our annual weekend together with long time friends was decided at last year’s event-America! We made the trek from our beach house and that is my excuse for not being as prepared for the theme as our hosts or other guests.

I did manage to get a peach pie made to take along for our casual Friday evening dinner. D’s family is from the US so all we had to do was think about all the great food that his Mom prepares for us. She is famous for her pies and “hot dishes” (they don’t call them casseroles across the border). D commented that if you mix a can of cream of mushroom soup and/or velveeta cheese to just about anything, it would have been a staple in his home growing up.

We started with red, white and blue sangrias on the dock.

I bet this brings back childhood memories.

The ever-prepared couple also garnished these cheese triangles wrapped in alumin foil. They were surprizingly tasty.

Check out the crudite!

Our male host also spent time living in the US and is an expert at the grill. He fires up both his Broil King and a little charcoal one. On the menu that evening were cole slaw, hamburgers and the best tasting hot dog, I have enjoyed in a very long time.

Next morning we lingered over our many mugs of coffee on the dock. That is until our hosts began toasting up blueberry bannock (Canadian I know) while our host (also an egg afficiando) slowly stirred our scrambled eggs.

After walks and canoe and kayak adventures, we settled again on the dock where D and I were in charge of late lunch/pre-dinner appetizers.

I was gifted by another mutual friend of all of ours with a special bottle of champagne for my recent momentous birthday. I promised to open it on this particular weekend, knowing that my GFs were more champagne lovers than I. But I have seen the light! That orange-boxed champagne “tasted like butta” and did not retain any of the overly dry/effervesant quality that I dislike.

The bubbly turned out to be the perfect complement for the macaroni and cheese cups, devilled eggs

and cocktail meatbals that D and I cooked up.

Our host extolling the virtues of a meatball candied with grape jelly and chili sauce.

Happy hour at its finest!

The other couple snuck into the cabin at this point with two intentions:

• To make this gorgeous and spicy pecan pie which we enjoyed later in the evening and
• to put up Gangster Wanted Posters on the doors which could not be missed.

They are so imaginative with their get-ups and later emerged as Bonnie and Clyde! (I wore a Hawaiian muumuu that nobody made note of….)

The king of the grill was back at it, glazing back ribs while two rotisserie chickens slowly turned on the gas grill.

Everything was sensational but I could not get enough of the chicken (inconspicuous on this plate). In fact, I am salivating as I write about it. The cavities were stuffed with lemon wedges and a handful of salt and the skin was liberally dused with chili powder and paprika. OMGosh-perfection!

After pie-it was dance party time. (Clyde) thought of everything and set up this party light.

Throughout the evening he kept asking that Willie Nelson be our next music selection. When his request was accommodated, he donned a bandana and braids! We listened to Willie’s duets, laid on the floor near the windows and watched for shooting stars and Northern Lights. The time could not have been sweeter.

The next morning it was time for omelets and grilled sausages before we went our seperate ways.

So where does “paradise” come in, you may be asking? Paradise for me is an exquisite setting-check, fine wine-check, excellent food-check and connecting with old friends to pick up where we left off-enormous check.

Kath’s quote: “Old friends Lord when all my work is done. Bless my life and grant me one, old friend, at least one old friend.”-Willie Nelson

Live simply, laugh often, love deeply.

 

 

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