Happy Tuesday! Wishing you a great week ahead. Today I would love to share a few pictures from a wonderful dinner we had over the weekend with our good friends and old neighbors Carl and Tracy. 

Great neighbors to great friends

Tracy and Carl are our old neighbors whom we’ve known for over 20 years ever since both our families moved into our new homes two decades ago in the South San Jose neighborhood of Almaden Valley.

We were next-door neighbors and we hit it off instantly, both our families had young children and we were all excited to raise them in our new neighborhood.

We saw our kids grow up and go to Middle School, then High School and then off to college. Over the years we became more like family, always there for each other and ready to lend a hand.

Then the time came a few years back when our family moved to the town of Los Gatos in the South Bay, and Carl and Tracy moved to Newport Beach in Southern California.  Through all our moves we kept in touch.

These pics are from a brunch I hosted a couple years ago when Tracy and Carl came while they were visiting the Bay Area.

Move back to Bay Are and New Home

Then recently Tracy and Carl moved back to the Bay Area and bought a new place in the town of Portola Valley in the North Bay. Finally settled into their new home they were ready to have visitors and we were invited to dinner.

There is something truly comforting meeting old friends you’ve known for a long time. I think Tracy summed up our relationship perfectly when she saw us and exclaimed with a big hug  “

It’s so great to see you guys!!! Carl and I were so looking forward to spending the evening with good old friends that I didn’t stress about the evening at all,  I just knew we would have a relaxing time!”   

It was so great to see Tracy and Carl this past weekend! It was like comfort food –  our evening was warm and happy 🤗😊😘 .  

Deck with spectacular views

The weather on this evening was lovely with a cool spring breeze and warm sunshine, and after giving us a tour of their new home Tracy and Carl lead us outside to their deck to this spectacular view – it was like being in Switzerland!

As Tracy explained – it was this view that captured their hearts when they were house hunting.  This spectacular view of the surrounding hills can be seen from their kitchen, family room and their bedrooms. What  scenery to wake up to every morning!

Simple and delicious dinner

With a simple and delicious menu planned for the evening it was turning out to be exactly what we expected – relaxed and comfortable. Tracy started off our dinner with a cheese course, which we had on the deck with chilled proseco and white wine.

I especially liked the mildly sweet proseco and took a photo of the bottle for those folks who like a nice light bubbly that isn’t too dry. Can I also just observe how beautifully put together this cheese plate is!

Catching up on our lives and kids

After catching up on all our lives while enjoying the lovely scenery outside, we headed indoors for a paleo dinner of salad, pasta primavera, and sautéed chicken.

The pasta was made with tapioca flour and almond flour! None of us were sure how that pasta was going to taste as Tracy was trying it out for the first time, but as it turns out this pasta was delicious.  

Tracy had sautéed a wide variety of vegetables including asparagus, mushrooms and artichokes and tossed them in the pasta with pine nuts.

Sitting down for a light and delicious dinner.

Carl is a coffee aficionado!

He even roasts his own coffee beans! Needless to say the coffee machine in his kitchen is pretty darn fancy,  I mean look at this coffee machine! Hitesh and I had to have coffee brewed by Carl!

Doesn’t this look like a good cup of Joe?

Dessert Time!

The dessert I had on this evening was the most original and delicious I’ve had in a long time. Tracy said they had this dessert at Thai restaurant Black Pepper in Menlo Park and loved it so much that ever since she has wanted to serve it for dinner but wasn’t sure if guests would like it – but with us – well, she just knew she had carte blanche to experiment.

As she was making it she kept saying “I hope you guys like it, but just in case I have a backup dessert.”  

I meant to ask Tracy what the backup dessert was but it didn’t matter because the one she served was outstanding.  It was sorbet with port. Little did Tracy know that I love port!!  This indeed was the perfect ending to a perfect evening.

Beautiful scenery,  delicious food,  and awesome company

Our dinner was perfect in every way.  A lovely evening spent with good friends.  Thank you Carl and Tracy for a wonderful time 💕.

Friendship’s Wine
by John Newline on poetry soup.com