Cheese Ball

For years. I wish I had kept count. I do know that I have dozens of little glass Kraft Old English jars in my cupboards. Dozens. I would give them away, I even threw a few away. Cringe. Solid glass. They make great juice glasses. Two ingredients in my cheese ball. Two. Not counting the walnuts and maraschino cherry. Kraft Philadelphia cream cheese and Kraft Old English jar cheese. With a dark blue lid.

You will see some recipes that add garlic salt and Worcestershire sauce. All are okay, but I find out you really don't need them. I always serve my cheese balls with Keebler's Club crackers. They are the firmest cracker that will withstand a cheese spreader pushing on it. Ritz and Townhouse crumble under the pressure. They taste just as good, but club crackers are tougher.

I have discovered that it isn't worth walking into a party or a get together sans cheese ball. I can't handle the look of disappointment on some folks faces. Because it is so darn easy for me to make one, I just take one, regardless. The very few times I have been asked "Did you bring your cheese ball?", and I didn't, just to see their faces fall - reminds me each and every time. Just do it. Just make one. Sometimes it does not turn out very well, but they don't care. It usually tastes the same. The one above came out near perfect. The weather has to be right. Maybe the ingredients have to be fresh. I have to leave the cheese out just the right amount of time before I mix them together. Too long and I will have soup. I have to leave it uncovered in the refrigerator just the right length of time or it will have a hard crusty edge. Yuck.

This is for tomorrow's cook-out at my sister's house. I am travelling to another sister's house today for a visit. We are going to make a fruit pizza to take to the cook-out. I have never made one, so I hope to take pictures.

Tabor's post for Saturday, May 24th reminds me of the chapter I read in "Charlie Wilson's War" by George Crile. Seems Charlie drank too much one evening and drove to his townhouse. Leaving Washington D.C. towards Virginia he hit another vehicle. He kept driving to his townhouse. He had to look out his driver's side window to see the road. That is how smashed up the front end of his car was.

Beside the fact that this is a horrible act of irresponsibility (especially for a man of Congress), what bothered me the most was how it was handled. Or, how it wasn't. He was scheduled to fly out of the country the next day. He hid from the police by not answering his door. He called his assistants (or whatever they were) and it was swept under the rug. The driver of the other car was not injured. I think. It wasn't real clear. His car was smashed up pretty bad and Charlie's people paid for the damage. Charlie laughed about it later. I have only followed the next chapter where he gets to go on out of the country as scheduled. It appears as if nothing happened at all. Not a thing was done to this S.O.B. This was NOT in the movie.

Get this. "Federal law prohibits local authorities from arresting a national legislator on his way to or from Congress." When Charlie called his lawyer from his townhouse (while the police were banging on his door) the lawyer advised him to drive directly to Congress the next morning and they couldn't touch him. Then there was a fine line about hitting the car in one police station's jurisdiction and his townhouse being located in another. Wilson had friend's on the police department. He told them that he was saving the world from Communism and HAD to catch the plane in the morning and that there might be substantial raises in store for the District police. Charlie recounted this statement years later and laughed about it.

The Pentagon provided an escort officer to take him to his plane. His administrative assistant handled everything for him. He told the police and the press and the boy who was driving the car that "Charlie thought he'd hit a bridge railing and came on home." Which means that the Congressman would NOT have checked to see if the driver of the car was okay. Wilson laughed later saying that the kid was new in town and didn't know that he could have really caused some problems for him.

Oh, and the administrative assistant? He finally had it with Charlie. He moved along to another position later. He had fixed everything for Mr. Charlie Wilson one too many times.

This sickens me. I said it after I watched the movie and thought maybe I would feel different after I read the book. So far, I don't. "Charlie Wilson is NO hero."