The ones you get with jewelry or from Harry and David's Towers of Treats. I don't know why I savor the boxes -- maybe my brain automatically interprets what the goodies found within are -- the chocolate covered cherries, jumbo cashews, moose crunch (a sinful confection if there ever was one), dangly silver earrings, tiny kitchen gadgets, small candles, et cetera. And so I've saved these boxes. They filled up my closet and drawers (hee hee, that sounds funny -- but you know what I mean!) Maybe I really subscribe to that old adage, "Good things come in small packages." At any rate, after noticing I'd accumulated an awful lot of these, I've decided to put them in with the recycling. It's time. Don't know what that means either, but I'm not dwelling on it.
Went out this morning (it's not a gym day) to Trader Joe's and to get gas at Costco ($1.71 for premium!! YAHOO!!). It was 'snaining' -- yesterday's 64 degree temps gave way to this. I didn't run home, however, but stuck it out: filled up my tank, went into TJ's and got a large brie for Cheryl's party. I'll top the brie with dried cranberries and pecans mixed with brown sugar and butter -- these atop very thinly sliced pears. I'll then wrap the whole thing in puff pastry and bake it. I've made this many times with several variations: sliced apples, walnuts, raisins soaked in rum. It's usually pretty good. I used to cook for all our family reunions, graduation parties, block parties...I really love doing this. I'd start three days before and cook all of my favorites: shrimp dip, meatballs in bourbon, lasagna, gnocchi with sausage, thinly sliced ham on pumpkin muffins, stromboli, spanokopita. Over the years I've made hundreds of miniature eggrolls, chicken satays, dips of all kinds and tall, tall chocolate cakes topped with ganache and truffles, chocolate trifles, cheesecake, Italian cookies, and hamen tashen. A couple of years ago I put all of the recipes I made when the kids were little onto a disk and printed out and collated cookbooks for each of them. Two of them use it frequently, the middle child just likes having it around. I have no idea what began this culinary walk down memory lane, but I think I'll go downstairs and start dinner even though it's only 12:00...
