Fat and Happy

I just had the BEST going away dinner at my uncle and aunt's house. Now, let me just preface this by saying that they can throw DOWN. Even Nakia can testify to that! Whenever I eat at my Uncle Rod's house, we always have something awesome, and most of the time, something expensive I would never make for myself. Once a year, I go there for crabs and fried oysters, and the rest of the times, we usually have some other type of seafood or ham, or fried chicken, or some other regional specialty. Plus, my crabcake recipe (and my favorite crab cake) is my uncle's.
Tonight's menu was lobster. My aunt Joan is from New England, so we did it up right. God I love me some drawn butter. Anyway, we had some great wine, lobster, potatoes, salad, and corn bread. For dessert, my uncle made a fabulously moist cake with key lime icing. Honestly, such a treat. Each time I have one of these belt-loosening meals at my uncle's, I kick myself for not spending more time with he and my aunt. The same is true of my uncle Bill and aunt Liz, who live just outside of D.C. Whenever I spend the night with them, I am treated like a princess. We usually have cocktails before dinner, then eat something like grilled salmon or fried okra, with wine for dinner, then have some ice cream for dessert. That is before retiring to my bedroom, with king size bed and private bath, and waking up to a home-cooked breakfast.
Now, this isn't to say that I don't enjoy visiting my OWN parents. Of course I do. But there's just something about being a guest, especially with family. They treat you like, well, family. But better.