Paradise "Lost"

Well, friends, it has been six exhilarating and often bewildering seasons, but one of my favorite shows of all-time, "Lost," is coming to an end tomorrow night. And with three hours of prime time programming, that's a huge send-off worthy of some special fanfare from fans like me. Thus, for the foodies among us, the big question is: What will be on YOUR "Lost" finale menu?

I have been giving this a ridiculous amount of consideration, and have done my due diligence in researching the foods depicted over the course of the entire series, and here are my thoughts on the occasion and how it might be celebrated.

For appetizers, there could be cheeseburger sliders or mini grilled cheese sandwiches ("Others" food that Juliet feeds Jack in captivity). Or how about smoked (monster) feral chicken satays with peanut sauce (made with Dharma peanut butter like Charlie brings to Claire when she's pregnant)? And of course, sushi (esp. sea urchin) would be highly appropriate! But I think I'll pay homage to Hurley by preparing some Mr. Cluck's Fried Chicken Bites with Ranch Dipping Sauce (remember when he was hoarding all the Dharma ranch dressing?). Also, we will have a green salad with tomatoes and some kind of herby dressing, courtesy of Sun's garden, of course!

Then for the entrée, one might wish a pork roast or pulled pork (to simulate "wild boar") braised in Dharma beer, naturally. You could also have rabbit if you don't have Bambi and Thumper issues like I do. But I think I'm going to go with a grilled tropical fish like mahi mahi topped with mango salsa. And my side dish will be coconut basmati rice. Yum!

I am still grappling with dessert. Of course, the Losties ate a LOT of fruit salad--mangoes, passion fruit, guava, papayas, bananas, and oranges would all be welcome, tossed with some shredded coconut and maybe a rum-laced dressing or spiked cream? But I am leaning toward a more decadent option, probably some kind of peanut butter brownies (made with Claire's peanut butter and Apollo chocolate bars?). Although black and white cookies would be very fitting--especially this season, as we try to distinguish the good people from the bad. If I could find a big fish cookie cutter, fish biscuits would be ideal and highly amusing as well! Tee hee.

Finally, for drinks, one should serve wine (Merlot or Cabernet, or generic red or white from a box), beer--lots of Dharma beer--and perhaps other liquors in tiny airplane bottles? But I'll probably just have a Dharma cola. The funniest idea I read about (by one witty poster on Chowhound) was to serve root beer floats with little labels on the glasses: "NOT PENNY'S FLOAT!" LOL!

No matter what you make for your "Lost" finale event, enjoy the show! And let's hope it wasn't all just a very lengthy dream sequence that we realize once we see Bobby Ewing in the shower or Bob Newhart in bed, or that the main characters don't get left in jail indefinitely while Green Day's "Time of Your Life" plays them off. ;-)