And I don’t wish for anyone to die either — before *or* after eating. Thanks to my talented cooking teacher Vaishali, for tagging me to this most interesting survey; which was started at The Traveler’s Lunchbox.
Very difficult to choose only five!!
What I’d like to see is the list of five things you want to *try* before you die…
1. My mom’s thumbprint cookies. I could live without cookies and cakes… being weak when it comes to savory treats more than any other. These shortbread-like cookies, barely sweet, baked to golden, crumbly perfection, are the exception. A little dab of apricot jam graces the center “thumbprint”, and powdered sugar is dusted over all. Neatly arranged on her black laquer tray, they are an essential part of our family gatherings.
2. Cafe au lait and beignets from Cafe du Monde, on Decatur Street in the French Quarter, New Orleans. Half rich, dark, chicory-laced coffee and half hot milk (not steamed milk as in lattes, just hot hot hot), cafe au lait is served in old-fashioned, thick restaurantware cups and paired with a plate of fresh, hot beignets sprinkled with powdered sugar (hmm… more powdered sugar… perhaps I’m developing a sweet tooth after all?). Cafe du Monde is open 24 hours a day for a little taste of heaven on the Mississippi River.
3. Fresh sweet cherries from northern Michigan. Buy them warm from the sun at a farm stand along the road. They taste best when eaten out of hand in the car, while en route to the upper peninsula 
4. Apple cider donuts from any one of a number of apple orchards in New England. Spend a crisp autumn day picking apples with your kids… then wander inside for a few of these hot-out-of-the-fryer goodies.
5. Real cheddar cheese from Harman’s in Sugar Hill, NH and the Farm Country Cheese House in Lakeview, MI. Both are carefully aged, sinfully rich and delicious. Add some fresh crusty bread, a glass of chilled chardonnay, and that special someone, and you have a perfect sunset picnic.
I tag Arjuna … and Ingi Pennu/LG when she returns 
