Who Needs a Big Mac?

Food and Party Idea.

Today I received an email from The Food Network with the title, “Lobster Prices are Dropping, Start Indulging.” Wow…I felt like I won the lottery. Not only is lobster now inexpensive but it is loaded with vitamin B-12 and niacin. And it still fits into the New Year’s diet with 135 calories per serving.

I immediately begin to delve deeper into what must be a silver lining in these bad economic times. What I found is that the price of fresh lobster is at a 25 year low and it is actually cheaper than buying hamburger.

According to the New York Times the reasons are two-fold: Lobster is a favorite summer delicacy and sales typically slow during the winter months. However, lobstermen have had a record catch this year and the Canadian plants that they usually sell their extra lobster to have shut down due to economic slowdown. The good news for the Canadians is the supply and demand issue will correct itself soon enough and this is a temporary set back.

This quickly sent Hip Hostess straight into the party planning mode. One thing we hear over and over is people would like to entertain but simply don’t have the room or seating capacity for a nice dinner. My suggestion would be to bring a little unexpected fun into these dreary winter days. Push all the furniture against the wall, buy some red and white checked gingham fabric (I saw some today for $2.99 per yard) for the floor to act as a picnic blanket and load up some newspapers in the middle of the blanket for easy clean up. Then simply fill a couple of galvanized buckets with cold Coronas and borrow some stockpots to fill with fresh lobster, corn on the cob and baby potatoes. Trust me, they will be having so much delicious fun they won’t even miss the dining room table. --b