DINNER CLUB RECAP: Asian Wraps and Noodles

After several weeks of gut wrenching illness in our household, we were finally ready to have the gang over for our dinner club. I started off with a shrimp cocktail and steamed edamame. Simple, but it seemed to be enjoyed. But shortly thereafter, the trouble began! I had planned on serving shrimp wrapped in rice paper along with a ramen noodle dish. Well, I had prepped the vermicelli noodles, sliced the cilantro, picked the mint, shredded the carrot and slivered the seedless cucumbers - all in preparation for the wraps. Just as I prepared the hot water to make the rice paper pliable, I made the cardinal mistake of putting ALL the wrappers into the hot water, rather than one by one! What was I thinking? Sigh. They could not be saved. So, I jumped in my car to pick up some more rice paper. None to be found at Raleys. OK, I thought, what could I use? I headed to the produce aisle and grabbed two heads of lettuce. 10 minutes later I was half way done with my lovely wraps! The ramen noodle dish consisted of noddles, bamboo shoots, baby corn, snow peas, water chestnuts and tofu. For the sauce, I chopped one chili pepper, ginger, peanut butter, soy sauce, rice vinegar and veggie broth in the food processor until smooth. I then tossed and served warm, along with a garish of fresh mint leaves, cilantro and dry roasted peanuts. Looking back, I think the lettuce wraps actually complimented the noodles more than the rice wraps would have. The lettuce gave some color and crunch to the plate, rather than the blandness that the rice paper would have given. I also included a small mango avocado salad on the side just for fun. Dessert was mint chocolate chip ice cream with whipped cream and these cigar chocolate cookies that were just delish! I think everyone had at least two, including little Claire who stayed up way past her bed time....