Impromptu

There's nothing like revisiting dorm life, if you don't have to live in a dorm.

That lesson was reinforced yesterday afternoon, when I returned home from errands to find several of my favorite neighbors plunked down in the hall, treating the long corridor much like a communal living room.

I had only one question: Where was the hacky-sack?

(In actuality, who needs a hacky-sack when you have a cooing 6-month old girl and frisky Maletese pup to entertain?)

I quickly decided to plunk down with them. As we chatted about a breadth of topics - from high-priced Israeli real estate to low-stakes Brooklyn poker games - I wondered how long we could keep this convivial hallway salon going. I didn't quite want it to end.

And so it didn't. It just moved into my apartment.

There, only a couple of hours later, I dished up Chilled Asparagus in Shallot Vinaigrette (the bright green bundles at my local bodega were too beautiful to resist), Spicy Penne with Cauliflower, Mint and Pecorino (simple, rustic and yet a wee bit special), and my Yemenite Coffee Gelato with Warm Sticky-Chewy Date Toffee Compote (the latter spiked with aged rum).

Sometimes life is better when you let serendipity take hold - and your neighbors bring over a bottle of good Ros