
Master Chef Brian w/ the Lobster Tails!
Every year, my good friend, Heather, hosts a big loft party to celebrate her birthday and cherry blossom season. I’m usually involved in the party planning and Brian has been our volunteer gourmet caterer. This year, Heather wanted the party to be more low-key. None of us had a whole lot of time this year to plan or prep. “No more puff pastries in and out of the oven and no more sushi rolls hand-rolled all night long.” This year, we simplified the menu to stuff that could be prepped well in advance. Well…. we kept that plan for about two New York seconds!
The day before the party, B got a call from one of his buddies who wanted to pass on some unused seafood from a photo shoot. When Brian met up with us at party central, we were expecting a little bag of something. Uh…. he showed up with 60 lobster tails and 8 lbs of beautiful shrimp! Wuhhhhhh?????…. It was so much food, we didn’t even use it all. For a party with 50 guests, we only used half of the stash. That yielded several dishes! Lobster Salad w/ Miso Butter and Shiso (Japanese Mint) on Toasted Baguettes, Shrimp Cocktail w/ Turkish Pepper Dipping Sauce, and Shrimp, Avocado, & Japanese Cucumber Rolls. With the lobster shells and shrimp tails, Brian made an amazing seafood stock which we’ve already used for some amazing after-party lobster risotto. YUUUUMMMMMMMY!
Needless to say, everything was a big hit! Next year, it’s going to be hard to top this spread! [Especially if we’re going to be in LA! ;)]
This will undoubtedly be the first of MANY posts about the gastronimical heaven that is now my life thanks to my husband, Brian.

Seafood Spread!
Your spread looks absolutely amazing! The food looks good, I got hungry just reading about the shrimp, yum! Congratulations, looks like the party was a huge success!