Thai Peanut Sauce

Tonight I am making Thai stir-fry for my family, having pushed them to their limit on grilled teriyaki chicken stir fry.

They've never had spicy Thai stir fry before, and considering the cast iron nature of our stomachs in this family, I thought it might be something they'd like to try.

I thought wrong.

When I made the peanut sauce, they all came into the kitchen (including the dogs, who love peanuts) and stood there, looking suspiciously over my shoulders.

"What is that?" asked my husband, whose idea of a really swell dinner is Porcupine Meatballs, made from the recipe in the 1952 Better Homes & Gardens cook book.

"Thai Peanut Sauce," I said, beaming. "It's spicy, but sweet. And full of peanutty goodness."

"Yum," he said darkly.

"Yum," echoed the girls, wrinkling their adorable noses and looking at me with blank eyes.

"It will be good," I said firmly, refusing to acknowledge the giggling that had broken out behind me. Sometimes it's just enough to know that your family is making vomit-faces behind your back and why provide them with positive reinforcement?

They all left the kitchen, scuffling and murmuring under their breaths. And I put the egg rolls in the oven and came in here to type.

[I edited this recipe, because although it looked like a keeper, it just wasn't the right....spice. Something has been left out of it somewhere. I can't figure it out, although I'm thinking it has something to do with cayenne instead of hot pepper sauce. I was very disappointed and my family begged me to never make this again.]