Don’t get me wrong; my husband is a great guy. Likewise, my girlfriends’ husbands are also terrific. However, if you give me the choice of a weekend with the girls or a weekend with couples, well . . . get out the “No Boys Allowed” sign because Girls’ Weekends rock!

From power shopping to day hikes, playing cards, watching “chick flicks” and singing with wooden-spoon microphones, it’s rarely quiet and the food is delicious, beautiful and plentiful. Girls know what it takes to make a great weekend, and they have the skills to pull it off.

For most men, nothing seems to beat a barbecue. When asked about a post-pickup basketball game party by the lake, a friend once told me: “It was great. A bunch of guys standing around a fire cooking meat!” I understand that their vegetable was beer.

Perhaps meat and beer is enough to satisfy a man’s appetite, but it would never cut it for a woman.

When it comes to girls’ weekends, my friends and my sisters are no rookies. We’ve been having sleepovers — the earliest form of girls’ weekends — since the days when we dragged our dolls along, slept together in twin beds like kittens and woke up with gum stuck in our hair. Unlike our male counterparts, however, we have continued to evolve.

The culinary logistics of a weekend with the girls are dependent upon how many days we can stay and what everybody else will be bringing. Nobody wants to travel with a hot dish, or with something that could spill and make a huge mess, so it’s best to come up with a menu and purchase ingredients that can be assembled when you get there. Everyone brings their specialties, contributing to nearly every meal in one way or another.

The trick is to plan ahead, and while for most men planning involves picking up a steak on the way home, women begin planning weeks or even months in advance. Emails and phone calls start early and continue until everyone has arrived and the first platters and bowls of food are making their way to the table.

We choose our location very carefully. A large kitchen is a prerequisite, as we often have as many as six or eight women in the kitchen at once, cooking and moving in a symphony of pots, spatulas, wine glasses, delicious aromas and conversation.

About 20 years ago, I started traveling with a group of five women who live in my hometown. Although our favorite destination was a cabin on Moosehead Lake where we could swim, walk, dance and cook to our heart’s content, we have been known to find other venues. The food, however, changes very little:

Laurie always brings her (not just for) Breakfast Burritos that she rolls with green chili peppers, steak, eggs and other veggies. I make guacamole with lots of garlic, cilantro, lemon and lime. Jayne make her spicy jambalaya with big shrimp. Chrissy makes quiche with lobster. And, Susie makes her savory sausage bread.

One year, on Frye Island, we had steamed mussels with our dinner. The following morning we took the leftover mussels and broth and mixed it with half-and-half, onions and a few other things that we had in the fridge. We left it on the stove to simmer while we sat on the porch drinking coffee and enjoying our time together, and by lunchtime we had a pot of mussel chowder that has become the stuff of legends. I just wish we could remember the recipe!

Each October, for the last eight years or so, my sisters, girlfriends and girlfriends’ sisters from all over New England rendezvous at a house in North Conway. We arrive laden with coolers and grocery bags filled with entirely too much food. With anywhere from 12 to 15 women in the house, the kitchen never gets a rest and the counters are always filled with yummy hors d’oeuvres like my sister Barbara’s spicy shrimp, with yogurt, caper and lime dipping sauce (that she found years ago in Cooking Light magazine); my other sister Joanne’s summer rolls, made with lobster and crunchy vegetables; and my caprese, with prosciutto, basil, tomato slices and fresh mozzarella.

And no gathering of women would be complete without sweet snacks like Laurie’s lemon cake, made with a conventional cake mix and 7-Up in lieu of oil and eggs, and Geri Anne’s hand-dipped chocolates.

In addition to shopping, our weekend outings almost always involve a hike to a scenic overlook or waterfall, where we — of course — stop for lunch. Recently, I’ve spent a lot of time hiking and cooking with my sisters. Though the mountains peaks change, lunch at the summit is always caprese sandwiches on baguettes, ciabatta or focaccia bread, as well as yogurt parfaits with fruit and granola followed by a handful (or two) of peanut M&Ms.

After the hike, we often pick up a couple pounds of clams and Joanne steams them over a pot filled with white wine and onions sauteed in butter, garlic and parsley. Once the clams are cooked, the rich wine mixture is strained and used to wash away any sand that may still linger before dipping the clams in warm lemony butter.

Although the venues have changed, the beds are bigger and additions to our cast of characters have been made since elementary school, most of us have been friends for a very, very long time. Between mouthfuls of wonderful food, inside jokes, shopping and hiking, every time we travel together we enjoy and appreciate each other’s company as much as we appreciate each other’s cooking.

I cannot wait until October!

with yogurt citrus dipping sauce

To make the shrimp:

In a medium bowl, mix:

2 teaspoon ground cumin

2 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon coriander

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Dredge 48 large raw shrimp, shells and tails removed, in the dry ingredients. Coat thoroughly and set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet and cook shrimp in a single layer for 4-6 minutes, turning once.

To make the dipping sauce:

In a medium bowl, whip together:

1/4 cup low-fat mayonnaise

1/4 cup plain yogurt

1 teaspoon grated lime rind

1.5 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 teaspoon chopped capers

Dash of ground red pepper

Transfer to a serving bowl and surround with hot shrimp and toothpicks.

(as an hors d’oeuvre)

Ingredients:

1 long crusty baguette

1/3 pound thinly sliced prosciutto

Several fresh tomatoes

Large bunch fresh basil

1 pound fresh mozzarella

Extra virgin olive oil

Fresh black pepper

Directions:

Slice baguette very thin, at a slight angle, and lay slices on a large platter.

Cut prosciutto into small pieces and lay flat on the baguette slices.

Slice tomatoes thinly and place on a paper towel to get rid of some of the moisture. After the tomatoes have released their moisture, place a tomato slice on each piece of prosciutto.

Slice the mozzarella and layer this over each tomato slice.

Place 1 basil leaf on top of each mozzarella slice.

Dust platter with a few light cranks of black pepper.

Drizzle platter with olive oil.

Serve immediately, at room temperature.

with lobster

Ingredients:

1 to 2 packages of 8-inch round rice paper wrappers (you will need about 18-24).

Cooked meat of two 1.25-pound lobsters (cooked shrimp or crab will also work)

2 cups of cucumbers, julienne style

2 cups of carrots, julienne style

1 bunch of green or red leaf lettuce, sliced in strips, with spines removed

Directions:

Mix the carrots and cucumbers in a large bowl.

Fill a large shallow skillet or wide bowl with very hot water. Working one at a time, immerse a rice paper wrapper in the hot water for 2 to 3 seconds, then place briefly on a paper towel to remove excess water (the rice paper will feel firm initially, but will soften by the time you are ready to roll). Then move it immediately to a flat surface to begin the rolling process. Place a few small pieces of lettuce across the bottom third of the wrapper, top lettuce with a small amount of the vegetable mixture and then top veggies with a small amount lobster. Be sure not to use too much filling as the wrappers will tear and be difficult to roll. Carefully fold the bottom of the wrapper up to cover the filling. Fold in the left and right sides, then tuck and roll it up tight. With a sharp knife slice the rolls in half at an angle and arrange the finished rolls on a platter. Serve with your favorite Asian dipping sauce such as ginger garlic, sweet red chili or peanut sauce.