Re: Ferrero Rocher

1

They're ubiquitous around here. And they're like nutella with delicious hazelnut in it, heebie you goddamn barbarian.


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 10:22 AM
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2

I have personally delivered enormous boxes of Ferrero Rocher to relatives in the Philippines and Korea.* They kind of taste like rice krispie treats filled with nutella.

*I don't think of F.R. as having a special status in this regard; my family also used to take See's Candies boxes and Costco (at the time, Price Club) cases of Hershey's Bars. On the other hand, I've probably eaten more F.R.s sitting in relatives' living rooms overseas than I ever have in the States.


Posted by: jms | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 10:25 AM
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3

I would walk across the street and buy some right now if I weren't so lazy.


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 10:25 AM
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4

My in-laws have a box around at every holiday and have for as long as I can remember. I didn't know it had anything to do with immigrants. I thought it was an Italian-American (but very assimilated Italian-American) thing.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 10:29 AM
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5

I received a box this year for Christmas from an immigrant-to-the-US client, so, yes.

I don't think they're actually bad, it's more that the packaging writes a check of fancyness that the taste can't cash. Kind of like, I dunno, Hennessey.


Posted by: Robert Halford | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 10:30 AM
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6

Obligatory link for the dated reference to a Ferrero Rocher ad at the end.


Posted by: Minivet | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 10:30 AM
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7

What is best in life?

To bite open a Ferrero Rocher just perfectly so that it splits exactly in half, to eat the hazelnut first, then the cream filling, and then finish with the crunchy cover.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 10:30 AM
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8

I thought Ferrero Rocher was Marshall Field's store brand because I never saw them for sale anyplace else.


Posted by: Todd | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 10:33 AM
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9

They are everywhere here. Maybe only seasonally. It would feel wrong to buy even a small box and eat it myself, even if it cost the same as a Kit Kat.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 10:35 AM
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10

I like them too, but I never knew they had any particular significance.


Posted by: peep | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 10:35 AM
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11

One of my cousins was in Walter Reed for a while and Ferrero Rocher was always a hit on his "deck" or floor.


Posted by: bill | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 10:36 AM
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12

Now that I think about it, the vast majority of Ferrero Rocher I've received has been from South Asian immigrants/contract workers.

Then again, my Scots-Irish father's side of the family loves to give Whitman's or equivalent chocolate samplers, so at least chocolates for hospitality is not uncommon among those without any recent immigrant background. But Ferrero Rocher wins on consistency.


Posted by: dalriata | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 10:37 AM
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13

7 is great.


Posted by: Barry Freed | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 10:37 AM
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14

9: They're pretty cheap. Which relieved me, since they look like they shouldn't be.


Posted by: dalriata | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 10:39 AM
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15

I guess South Asian people are pissed at me.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 10:42 AM
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16

7 is indeed great. I surely wasn't aware of any particular cachet among immigrants, but a few Ferrero Rocher chocolates in everyone's Christmas stocking was a staple for my mom (along with the obligatory orange, a new toothbrush, a pair of jazzy fuzzy socks, and odds and ends).


Posted by: parsimon | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 10:46 AM
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17

||
How's the calf?
|>


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 10:46 AM
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18

Seriously, why aren't South Asian people giving me stuff? I see them all the time.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 10:53 AM
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19

South Asian people sometimes gave me burfi on Diwali or Eid. Which kicks the living shit out of Ferroro.


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 11:00 AM
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20

Shortage of burfi is one of the ways this country sucks. They're like 100 South Asians in the whole country.


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 11:05 AM
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21

At least you don't need to feel bad that they give everybody but you candy.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 11:06 AM
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22

Maybe they think you're racist? Being from the Midwest and all.


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 11:09 AM
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23

It also helps being a school librarian. My mom gets like a box worth every year.


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 11:10 AM
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24

She's definitely racist though. But not in an aggressive way.


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 11:12 AM
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25

17: Golden and much-worshipped.


Posted by: peep | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 11:13 AM
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22: Not all of them could know where I'm from.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 11:14 AM
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27

That's how a day's drive ends up taking 40 years.


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 11:15 AM
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28

||
17: Doing better in the last 3 days - swelling reducing, flexibility returning - it's just slow, but as predicted for a Grade II calf strain. I'm being much more aggressive in treatment (ice packs, compression, elevation). Dr's appointment early next week, so hey, so far so good.
|>


Posted by: parsimon | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 11:16 AM
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29

||
I seem to recall you were urgently enjoined to seek more timely appointments.
|>


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 11:17 AM
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30

If you strain a Grade V red calf, you can rededicate the Temple, thus starting the Apocalypse and preventing Trump 2020.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 11:18 AM
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31

Meanwhile, I'm trying to remember where the tradition of an orange for Christmas comes from. I can google!


Posted by: parsimon | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 11:18 AM
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32

My guess: It comes from people who sell oranges.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 11:20 AM
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33

100 There's hundreds of thousands of South Asians in this country but I've never been given burfi as a gift. Fuckers.


Posted by: Barry Freed | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 11:20 AM
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34

By the later Tang era, whole regions of Fujian specialized in the export of oranges and candied orange peel. Don't you feel better for knowing that?


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 11:20 AM
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35

33 to 20


Posted by: Barry Freed | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 11:21 AM
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36

34 Is this a joke?


Posted by: Barry Freed | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 11:22 AM
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37

34: In the extremely late Tang era, they powdered the oranges and added artificial flavors.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 11:22 AM
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38

Maybe you're shitty librarian. Do you have story hours?


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 11:22 AM
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39

37 And sent it into space.


Posted by: Barry Freed | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 11:23 AM
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40

Ok, I'm going with this explanation:

2. A treat during the Great Depression.

During the Great Depression of the 1930s, money was tight, and many families simply didn't have the means to buy gifts. Instead, it was such a treat, even a luxury, to find things like a sweet orange or some walnuts in your stocking on Christmas.

My mom was born during the Depression. Quite a bit of her behavior/tradition came from that.


Posted by: parsimon | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 11:23 AM
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41

OT: Is there some reason I'm getting gay-themed ads suggesting I take a vacation in Tel Aviv?


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 11:23 AM
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42

36: If so, it has been maintained with remarkable consistency by a wide variety of Sinologists.


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 11:25 AM
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43

41: I'm thinking you're in the best position to answer that question.


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 11:25 AM
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44

I haven't looked at anything different from usual on the internets today.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 11:29 AM
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45
Nowhere was specialization more extreme than in Fujian, which grew numerous products for sale in other Chinese provinces but also devoted considerable acreage to the production of lychees and oranges for foreign export.
So much so that
there were four prefectures in thirteenth-century Fukien in which fish-pools, orange-growing, and the cultivation of rice for the manufacture of wine were forbidden in order to increase the supply of foodgrains.

Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 11:38 AM
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46

When Buffalo fans shouted "the Juice is loose," they were engaging in cultural appropriation.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 11:44 AM
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47

40: ISTR oranges appearing in Christmas stories (though not actual stockings) in my household, which was culturally British.


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 11:46 AM
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48

41. Whoops, I logged into fb as myself when I was looking around on your computer. Sorry!


Posted by: lw | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 11:50 AM
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49

44: Markets are only truly efficient in the long run, so you can't expect your demands to be supplied automatically.


Posted by: Minivet | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 11:52 AM
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50

47: My immediate family maintains that tradition, with a mandarin orange in the toe of everyone's Christmas stocking. It goes back to my mother's childhood (1940s) at least.


Posted by: Ume | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 11:53 AM
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51

In the long run, everybody gets pictures of fit guys in speedos suggesting a trip to Tel Aviv.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 11:53 AM
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52

And death.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 11:53 AM
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53

41: Are you using a laptop you also use at home?


Posted by: dalriata | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 11:54 AM
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54

The work computer.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 11:55 AM
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55

Which is an eight-year old Dell.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 11:56 AM
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56

Desktop.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 11:57 AM
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57

Computer.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 11:57 AM
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58

54: Oh, hrm. My hypothesis is, taking at face value you haven't done any surfing saying you're looking for a gay vacation somewhere warm, that your laptop, via cookies, was geotagged as being in a Jewish neighborhood, and it's beneficial to someone to promote the perception of openness in Israeli to American Jews of all sexualities. I guess if you're using the same Google/Facebook accounts, it doesn't really matter if you're on a different machine. Then again, I haven't seen these ads yet.


Posted by: dalriata | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 11:58 AM
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59

I guess I wasn't even aware Israel had a beach scene.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 12:01 PM
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60

Huh, never heard of these, at all. I guess it's a Family Circus thing. I thought it was going to about another academic like Jordan Anderson (was that his name?). This is the senile uncle of comments.


Posted by: ogged | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 12:02 PM
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61

Ferrero Rocher would make a good porn name.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 12:18 PM
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62

Ah-hah! Someone who visited us from a foreign land recently gave us a box (tray?) of those as a house gift. I had never seen or heard of them before.

"Unfogged: eventually you learn everything here."


Posted by: DaveLMA | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 12:38 PM
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63

60-61: Jordan Peterson would also work as a porn name.


Posted by: politicalfootball | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 12:43 PM
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64

The story was interesting and kind of wacky about cultural associations. I knew the candy, but it was just this slightly gaudy thing for me, no particular symbolic weight.


Posted by: Nathan Williams | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 12:55 PM
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65

Maybe I don't get candy from South Asians because when my neighbor was giving away "No matter where you're from, you're welcome here" signs I didn't take one. I just didn't want the Russians to think I'd turned friendly on them.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 12:59 PM
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66

Having googled burfi, I would much prefer that. It sounds delicious:

The name is a derivative of the Persian word barf, which means snow.

Posted by: dalriata | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 1:31 PM
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67

I'd never heard of burfi either.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 1:34 PM
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68

I know them as... one of the chocolates that is for sale at every grocery store and drugstore. It's like there is a secret society of millions of people who drink Snapple at special occasions instead of wine.

Very interesting article!


Posted by: Cryptic ned | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 1:42 PM
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69

I didn't know about the immigrant cachet until reading the article either, but can confirm the bit about the TV ad. People were making "Ambassador, with zees x you are spoiling us" jokes for years.


Posted by: Ginger Yellow | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 1:52 PM
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70

I mean, maybe it's just because they're a quintessential airport chocolate, along with Toblerone and Guylian.


Posted by: jms | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 1:55 PM
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71

I actually think they're gross. My mom never let us have candy when we were little, but once when I was super sick she bought me some F.R. to tempt me to eat. I immediately threw up and now, thirty years later, the smell of F.R. or Nutella still makes me gag.


Posted by: jms | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 2:01 PM
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72

I love FR, because hazelnuts are delicious.


Posted by: J, Robot | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 3:10 PM
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73

Ferrero Rocher were also ubiquitous as gifts in Narnia. Yes if my relatives went to California they'd bring back See's, but you could buy Ferrero Rocher anywhere, which is not true for See's. For that reason Ferrero Rocher is also more recognized as a 'fancy' gift chocolate because most people don't have relatives who go to California regularly.


Posted by: Ponder Stibbons | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 6:39 PM
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74

If I ever go to Asia, I'm buying square watermelons for gifts. Unless they cost too much.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 6:54 PM
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75

Gay Tel Aviv followed me home.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 7:13 PM
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76

We used to give Merci as gifts.


Posted by: CharleyCarp | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 7:17 PM
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77

Gay Tel Aviv is where the heart is.


Posted by: dalriata | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 7:20 PM
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78

I've never associated these with anything special, and am pretty sure my family having them as snacks was the direct result of them showing up at Costco. I also don't associate them with Nutella, which I barely ever see or eat. Yes there's corporate and ingredient connections, but I don't think of them together.


Posted by: fake accent | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 11:44 PM
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79

what ponder says. there's always ads near muslim holidays with ferrero rocher towers, like croquembouche. no one would ever make one, but it's just to highlight the inherently fancy nature of the chocolate. they are hella good and girl x ate a three-pack just yesterday.


Posted by: alameida | Link to this comment | 05- 9-18 11:45 PM
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80

I think I've seen ads like that too. Not with Muslim holidays though.


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 05-10-18 12:46 AM
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81

They tend to pop up as Christmas gifts here anyway but when I think about it I have received them from Chinese clients in particular. I don't like them myself so I try to re-gift them. (Visions of box of of FR as an eternally circulating mathom.)
The other thing I get given a lot is bottles of Baileys - I like it ok but my consumption levels don't keep pace with what I receive.

Many years ago a friend had a theory that you could keep drinking Baileys without getting drunk. I can report that this is not true, you get drunk with added sugar high. No idea what the crash the next day was like.


Posted by: emir | Link to this comment | 05-10-18 1:56 AM
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82

So I bought a box of FR because why not.


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 05-10-18 8:50 AM
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83

I guess I should share with my colleagues, but that's a long time away.


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 05-10-18 8:50 AM
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84

81: We would have Baileys every Christmas. I would rather have just whiskey, but I think the family finds that unseemly for a holiday.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 05-10-18 9:01 AM
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85

My family traditionally makes pitchers of Manhattans at holidays. Whiskey makes the sniping more energetic and entertaining.


Posted by: LizardBreath | Link to this comment | 05-10-18 9:13 AM
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86

I don't think we've ever made drinks in a pitcher.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 05-10-18 9:15 AM
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87

Nobody ever agrees on anything.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 05-10-18 9:16 AM
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88

My mother-in-law makes piƱa coladas on New Years Eve, and she's also a big fan of Christmas Baileys. She's basically a winter-holidays-only drinker.


Posted by: dalriata | Link to this comment | 05-10-18 9:17 AM
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89

I have an aunt (by marriage) who started me drinking Manhattans. I don't agree with her on much (for example, we once had an unfruitful conversation about whether or not the CIA invented AIDS), but she was right about the Manhattans.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 05-10-18 9:19 AM
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90

I don't think I've had a frozen drink in my life.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 05-10-18 9:20 AM
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91

85 - martinis, but otherwise we could be related


Posted by: Robert Halford | Link to this comment | 05-10-18 9:21 AM
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92

The only martini I ever had was ordered at the Olive Garden. I should probably give them another chance.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 05-10-18 9:22 AM
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93

I thought we'd established that I was basically your New York liberal aunt, right?


Posted by: LizardBreath | Link to this comment | 05-10-18 9:22 AM
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94

Yes. I honestly think you should meet her, but I don't know how to arrange that without embarrassing, you, her, or myself.


Posted by: Robert Halford | Link to this comment | 05-10-18 9:25 AM
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95

Probably can't be done. I'll just enjoy feeling knowing that I have a doppleganger out there someplace.


Posted by: LizardBreath | Link to this comment | 05-10-18 9:41 AM
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96

There's a 50% chance you're the evil twin.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 05-10-18 10:21 AM
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97

That would explain this goatee.


Posted by: LizardBreath | Link to this comment | 05-10-18 10:59 AM
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98

Growing up with Asian immigrants in the family, I didn't realize that Ferrero Rocher wasn't an Asian brand until I was an adult. Ferrero Rocher and Guylian chocolates were mandatory gifts at all holidays and formal occasions.


Posted by: Buttercup | Link to this comment | 05-10-18 1:14 PM
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99

Among my people in Chicagoland, it's Fannie May chocolates or nothing.


Posted by: Stanley | Link to this comment | 05-10-18 3:03 PM
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100

My mom makes delicious chocolate chip cookies with rice krispies in them.


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 05-10-18 3:06 PM
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101

That's not something I ever heard of before.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 05-10-18 3:07 PM
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102

Among my people in Chicagoland, it's Fannie May chocolates or nothing.

But it should be the Frango chocolates from Marshall Field!


Posted by: Cryptic ned | Link to this comment | 05-10-18 3:07 PM
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103

99: My dad's boss had those in his office. We always got one when we visited.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 05-10-18 3:07 PM
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104

102: Those are good, but I've only ever had one box.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 05-10-18 3:09 PM
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105

Ha. If you google "freddie mac chocolates," the first result is Fannie May Chocolates.


Posted by: dalriata | Link to this comment | 05-10-18 3:13 PM
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106

I was just listening to a podcast where the hosts made an "Ambassador you are spoiling us" joke. 25 years later.


Posted by: Ginger Yellow | Link to this comment | 05-12-18 3:49 AM
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107

If only Clinton had passed out candy.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 05-14-18 6:07 AM
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108

Those Ferrero Rochers bought much goodwill among my non-racist colleagues.


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 05-14-18 6:49 AM
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