You know how sometimes you meet someone and within a very short time you know they’re destined to become lifelong friends? Such was the case with the Maryellens.

Mary-Ellen Pecci and Mary Ellen Hunt (who we call Mimi or Meemz, just to keep it from getting too confusing), partners in life for 27 years, were partners in business, too, when I met them in 2000. It was during my short stint in advertising sales at the Coastal Journal in Bath, where I worked for 10 years. At some point I decided to switch from a lifetime of graphic design to sales. Big mistake. I’m not a salesperson. I was back to graphics in no time.

Wish I had switched to writing instead, but I didn't know I had a natural affinity for it, or that I'd love doing it.

Blah blah blah ...

Anyway, the Maryellens had just opened their restaurant, Maryellen’z, next-door to the Coastal Journal office. I sold them their first ad! My lack of confidence in selling anything was obvious, and I think they felt sorry for me.

Maryellen’z quickly became a destination for people who knew good food, and their small dining room was packed nightly.

Among their most coveted dishes was the spaghetti carbonara, made with crispy prosciutto and cream. That stuff was decadent. Another favorite was Maine crab cakes with red onion and lemon buerre blanc served on a bed of wilted escarole. Then there was my favorite — chicken balsamic — sautéed breast with crumbled Gorgonzola and a balsamic reduction, served with crispy polenta.

The Maryellens also introduced me to sautéed radicchio and endive. Cut one or both into quarters and sauté in a little olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and eat. I make that often. You should too.

The restaurant eventually moved to a bigger place in Bath to accommodate all the wannabe diners, where it continued to thrive, but eventually they closed the doors, packed up their belongings, and moved to Cohassett, Massachusetts, where Mimi grew up. Lucky for me, they come back to Bath, where Mary Ellen is from, fairly often, and we usually get together when they do.

Last weekend they showed up on Saturday with a big cooler full of good stuff: fresh pasta, lemons, butter, a hunk of Parmesan and some giant shrimp. They had also stopped at the liquor store in New Hampshire, so there was whiskey and wine to spare. They presented me with an adorable mini bottle of Jack Daniels as a house gift, along with a jar of Mary-Ellen's famous salad dressing.

While Meemz took over my kitchen and barked out orders (she's a chef, remember?), the rest of us hovered around sipping manhattans (duh) and wine. Our friend Suzanni (Susan Bauer) came up from Bath, and my cousin Rich came down from Cushing. Richard brought some delectable apps in the form of mini salt fish cakes, ‘bolinhos de bacalhau,’ with a creamy garlic-y lemon-y dip. Suzanni brought dessert: Chocolate custard and huge, perfect macaroons. 

I made my famous (in my mind) arugula salad with grape tomatoes, sliced almonds and fresh grated Parmesan, drizzled with Mary-Ellen’s dressing.

Meemz's shrimp scampi, like most of her recipes, is no run-of-the-mill shrimp scampi. First, she used BIG shrimp — under 10 to a pound, she said.

After deveining, she dredged those babies in flour, with a little salt mixed in, and slowly pan-fried them, a few at a time, in clarified butter, or ghee. Ghee is made by heating butter, over low heat, letting it sit, and removing the milk solids and water. What you’re left with has a much higher smoke point, making it great for frying.

Okay, so after the raw shrimps were transformed into a perfect crispy golden brown pile on a platter and placed in a warm oven, Meemz poured out most of the clarified butter and threw in some fresh garlic, a lot of fresh-squeezed lemon juice, some white wine and Italian parsley and cooked and stirred, reducing the liquid.

Then she added like a whole stick or more of butter while the rest of us gawked and sipped and tried to stay out of Mimi’s way. She can get scary when she’s cooking.

Finally, the shrimps were placed back into the sauce in the pan, then spooned over fresh hot linguine, and sprinkled with fresh grated Parmesan. It was served with the arugula salad and focaccia bread from a bakery in Cohassett.

All in all it was, to put it mildly, a stellar evening. The next morning wasn’t quite so stellar, but it was worth it. And if you think trying to keep Mary-Ellen, Mary Ellen, Maryellens, Maryellen’z, Mimi and Meemz straight when reading this, think what it’s like for us during a night of manhattans and wine. And great food.

Next up: The twins do clams casino

See ya next week!