How do you like your neighbors?

I like mine around my table, enjoying the fruits of Justin's labor. Or, the Pad Thai of Justin's labor. He had no other plans Saturday than to make dinner and invite Dick and Debbie down to share it with us. Justin had Pad Thai for lunch Thursday at PF Chang and was not impressed with it, which prompted him to make his own. 

                              

He'd talked about doing this not long ago after finding a recipe online for making his own sauce. That plan did not work out as the ingredients were quite expensive as compared to the kit. It was simply delicious and I even got to help him prep for it. Cutting up onions and chopping peanuts are something I can do, especially since I was concerned he wouldn't be done in time for our guests to arrive. We worked together and no one was hurt---how about that?

                               

Besides his yummy Pad Thai, he made a dessert he'd been wanting to try. It was called Apple Wontons. He had to cut up the apples into what almost looked like shoestrings, flavor them with cinnamon and sugar, and then, using wonton wrappers, make a teeny dessert using the wontons. A few weeks ago Justin bought mini-muffin pans and has pressed them into service regularly since, including muffins and the apple wontons. He bought Blue Bell vanilla ice cream to serve with them, and wow! Just so delicious together, and pallete cleansing to boot.

He suggested we dine in our formal room, which required my getting out the tablecloth and the 'good dishes', which I very much enjoy doing, and 'laid the table', as the expression goes. Debbie was impressed that my dishes match the tablecloth (I like it, too!). I had water in the glasses already and Dick brought along a bottle of wine for them, and urged us to have a sip. It was not bad, sort of sweet. It was a German wine in a blue bottle, not Reisling. The name appears at the end of this posting.

They just LOVED the salad and meal, taking 2nds and 3rds on the Pad Thai. Even I had a bit more than my first serving, even had some salad to be socialable. The dessert was just divine, with us having to avoid the 'sharp' edges of the wontons. A consequence of baking them rather than having them deep fried. A small price to pay! Just a wonderful evening---dinner, conversation, and then more conversation. The way I like it!

                           

Pieroth Blue Burg Layer Schlosskapelle Nahe Auslese, if you are so inclined to buy a bottle.