I had become too predictable. Shame on me. Every year I would deliver a small tray of baklava (the good stuff, from across town). Since my lovely bride always shared with her coworkers, everyone came to expect it. I had to change things up.
As soon as my lovely bride fell asleep the night before Valentines Day I went downstairs and started cooking. By morning she had a basket overflowing with pralines. Some were vanilla bourbon flavor, others were Kahlua.
When we woke up she noticed the basket. She tore open one of the wrappers and was skeptical. It was a praline. The pralines from the praline shops are really terrible. She took one bite and exclaimed that this was home-made! How? When? There was much kissing.
She took the basket to work and offered pralines to coworkers in her department and others in every meeting throughout the day. There were plenty to go around.
In December we had shepherded some of her coworkers around the French Quarter; we knew where to get good food and music while avoiding the long lines. We also introduced them to good pralines, not the ones in the praline shops. They really didn't mind having some of the home-made ones.
- A
