Plum Pudding Murder (31 page)

The serving platter went over the top of the ring mold Andrea had used for her Jell-O. A quick flip of Hannah’s wrists turned the mold upside down, and once she’d given it a little shake, she heard the Pineapple Cranberry Jell-O Salad break loose and settle down on the platter. Hannah lifted the ring mold and smiled. Andrea really was the Queen of Jell-O. This one was as pretty as a picture.

The Christmas Bell Salad was next. Hannah had prepared it an hour before the guests were due to arrive and it was waiting in a bowl in the refrigerator. She took it out, pulled off the plastic wrap she’d used to keep it fresh, and set it next to the Jell-O on the counter.

The salted water was gently simmering for the Petite Green Pea Boats and Hannah turned up the heat. Then she went to the refrigerator to get the “boats” she’d made by removing the fruit from orange halves, and arranged them on a pretty platter. When the water was boiling, she put in the petite frozen peas, and gave Michelle and Andrea the high sign. It was time to stage the rest of the meal while Tracey carried in the empty soup bowls.

Andrea and Michelle knew exactly what to do. They’d worked it all out in advance. Andrea stuck the toothpicks with the little sails on the orange “boats” that would receive their cargo of buttered petite peas, and Michelle started the Lingonberry Gravy, which was actually flavored with apricot jam since Hannah hadn’t been able to find lingonberry jam.

The peas were ready. Hannah poured them out into a strainer and then quickly doused them in the ice water she had waiting to preserve the bright green color. It took only a moment to toss them with butter, salt, and pepper and spoon them into the boats Andrea had decorated.

The Scandinavian Spuds were waiting in the oven in their ovenproof serving dish. Hannah took them out with her best pair of oven mitts and set them at the end of the lineup on the counter.

“Pork roast, gravy, and we’re done,” she said, grabbing a cutting board and her electric knife.

The Jeweled Pork Roast sliced like a dream. Hannah cut it into one-inch-thick slices and transferred them to her meat platter. By the time she was finished slicing, Michelle had poured the gravy into the pitcher Hannah preferred to use in place of a gravy boat, and they were ready to serve.

“What do you want me to carry, Aunt Hannah?” Tracey asked.

“How about all the serving utensils?” Hannah scooped up the meat forks, serving spoons, and the cake server she’d been planning to use for Andrea’s Jell-O salad, and plunked them into a basket. “All you have to do is follow us to the table and we’ll get the serving utensils from you.”

Hannah turned to look at the counter again, and frowned. “I’m missing something,” she said. “I wonder what it is.”

“Bread?” Tracey guessed. “You always have rolls or something, don’t you?”

“Good call!” Hannah praised her, reaching up to grab the towel-lined basket of Cranberry Scones she’d removed from the oven shortly after her guests had arrived. “Is everyone ready?”

There was a chorus of assent from Michelle, Andrea, and Tracey. Hannah stepped to the front of the line with her Jeweled Pork Roast and within moments they’d lined the long table with the dishes that made up their festive meal.

Hannah took her place at the table. There was nothing more for her to do until it was time for dessert and coffee, and she was looking forward to enjoying the fruits of her labors.

Other than the occasional “Mmmm!” from one diner or another, they all ate in contented silence for several minutes. And then, when ravaging appetites had been partially appeased, the conversation began to flow again.

“Did you hear what Nancy is going to do with Larry’s money?” Delores asked them.

“Who’s Nancy?” Michelle asked.

“Dr. Love,” Delores answered. “She’s Larry Jaeger’s legal widow.”

Mike looked interested. “I haven’t heard.”

“Neither have I,” Carrie said, and Hannah noticed that she was holding her fork in left hand so that she could hold hands with Earl.

“She’s going to refund the money to all of Larry’s investors.”

“There’s that much money?” Michelle was shocked.

“There’s more than enough,” Delores told them. “Nancy and Courtney went through all of Larry’s papers. They found the ledger he used to list the investors in every business he ever owned and they’re writing checks to all of them.”

“So is your name on the list, Earl?” Delores asked him.

“Not mine. I went out there to talk to Larry the night Hannah saw me. He wanted investors for the spa he was planning to open in Duluth. I asked him a couple of questions about financing and I didn’t like his answers so I turned him down flat.”

“Smart man,” Carrie said, smiling at Earl.

“I’m really glad you think so,” Earl said, and smiled back.

“I have some news about the show.” Michelle said, putting down her fork. “Did anybody see the DVD we made of my number in the Christmas Follies?”

“I did,” Hannah said, grateful that her sister had shown it to her. While Michelle had performed her song and dance number, Miss Whiting had been shooting at her in the woods.

“There’s an important money man in New York who likes it. He says he might finance the show if he sees a couple of the other numbers performed live.”

“You’re going to New York?” Delores asked, barely able to contain her excitement.

“That’s right, Mother. We’re leaving on Monday and we’re going to his theater to perform it for him.”

Andrea began to frown. “But what if he decides he wants you for the part and he offers you a contract? Will you take it and live in New York?”

“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that,” Michelle said with a laugh. “He wouldn’t want an unknown college student like me!”

The conversation turned to other things then, but no one mentioned Miss Whiting. Mike was handling the fact that he’d killed her to defend Hannah quite well, but no one wanted to broach the subject.

When everyone at the table had put down their silverware and leaned back slightly in their chairs, Hannah gestured to her sisters and they began to clear the table for the dessert.

The coffee was ready. Hannah had dashed to the kitchen to flick the switch midway through the dinner. Now she transferred the coffee to a serving pot and took down the tray she’d prepared earlier with cups, spoons, and sugar. Once the cream had been added to the tray, she sent Andrea out to serve the coffee while she put on a second pot. Then she scraped and rinsed dishes, and Michelle slipped them into the dishwasher.

When Andrea came back, she put away the leftovers, stashing them in the refrigerator. “All done,” she said, wiping down the counter where they’d staged the dinner.

“Time for dessert,” Hannah announced, handing them bowls of Hard Sauce and Soft Sauce, and giving them both a little shove toward the living room. “You go sit down. It’ll only take a couple of minutes.”

“Tracey’s all ready with the lights,” Andrea informed her. “She knows her cue word. She wrote it on her arm with a felt-tip pen.”

“Uh-oh. I hope it’s not a permanent marker,” Michelle said.

“It may be, but it’ll wear off eventually.”

When her kitchen was sole occupancy again, Hannah got out the bottle of brandy she’d purchased specially for this occasion, and poured some in a small saucepan. She turned on the heat, warming it slowly as she lifted the domed cover on her cake carrier. Her Minnesota Plum Pudding sat inside, and it was going to be a spectacular dessert.

The brandy was almost warm enough. Hannah could see the vapors rising toward the overhead lights. She heard the doorbell ring and Michelle call out that she’d get it. Her friend from college had arrived right on time!

Hannah pulled the saucepan from the heat and drizzled the brandy over the top of her plum pudding. Then she picked up the long lighter she used to light the pilot light on her gas fireplace whenever it blew out, and held it close to the top of her dessert.

When the brandy ignited, Hannah made a circle over the top with the lighter. It was flaming beautifully and it was time to give Tracey her cue.

“Don’t you just love Christmas Eve?” she called out, watching the light level in the living room. Tracey must have been standing right by the switch, because the room went dark almost immediately.

From the glow cast by her upside-down Christmas tree, Hannah carried in her spectacular dessert. She set it down in the center of the table and looked up with a smile as everyone applauded.

“Bravo! Well done!”

A deep voice praised her, and Hannah recognized it in an instant. It was the same voice that had murmured sweet nothings in her ear, told her she was the only woman for him, and promised her he’d love her forever. Her startled eyes darted to the chair they’d saved for Michelle’s college friend and met the gaze of Bradford Ramsey.

SHRIMP LOUIE SPREAD

Hannah’s Note: This is best served well chilled with a basket of crackers on the side.

8 ounces softened cream cheese

½ cup mayonnaise

¼ cup chili sauce (I used Heinz)

1 Tablespoon horseradish (I used Silver Springs)

? teaspoon pepper

6 green onions

2 cups finely chopped cooked salad shrimp
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(measure AFTER chopping)

Salt to taste

Mix the cream cheese with the mayonnaise. Add the chili sauce, horseradish, and pepper. Mix it up into a smooth sauce.

Clean the green onions and cut off the bottoms. Use all of the white part and up to an inch of the green part. Throw the tops away.

Mince the onions as finely as you can and add them to the sauce. Stir them in well.

Chop the salad shrimp into fine bits. You can do this with a sharp knife, or in the food processor using the steel blade and an on-and-off motion.

Mix in the shrimp and check to see how salty the spread is. Add salt if needed.

Chill the spread in a covered bowl in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours. You can make it in the morning if you plan to serve it that night.

Yield: Makes approximately 3 cups.

HOLIDAY SQUASH SOUP

2 ten-ounce packages winter squash (the kind that’s in a solid block and already pureed)

½ cup chopped onion

2 teaspoons chicken bouillon beads (or whatever measure it gives to make 2 cups of chicken broth)
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2 cups heavy cream

¼ teaspoon pepper

8-oz package cream cheese, unwrapped and softened in the microwave for 1 minute

sour cream and/or parsley for toppings

Hannah’s Note: If you don’t have a large enough blender to do this all at once, blend half of it at a time and stir it all together when you get it in the crockpot.

Cook the squash according to package directions, drain it and put it in a blender.

Add the chopped onion and the chicken bouillon beads.

Add the heavy cream.

Zoop it up in the blender and make sure all the onion pieces are pureed and the mixture is smooth.

Add the pepper and the softened cream cheese.

Zoop it up again until it’s all smooth and then dump it in the crockpot you’ve sprayed with Pam.

Once your soup is in the crockpot, give it a final stir and taste a little bit for seasoning. If it needs more salt, DON’T ADD IT. Add another teaspoon of bouillon beads instead to make it really chickeny. If you want to make your soup sinfully rich, this is the time to cut a half-stick of butter (4 ounces, ¼ pound) into little pieces and throw them in the crockpot.

Turn the crockpot on LOW and cook for 4 hours. (This can go an hour or two longer if your company doesn’t arrive on time.)

Check for seasonings again right before serving. When you dish it into the bowls, you can top it with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of fresh parsley if you like.

Yield: approximately 4 cups.

Hannah’s Note: If your soup gets too thick in the crockpot, thin it with a little chicken broth.

PINEAPPLE CRANBERRY JELL-O SALAD

6-ounce package raspberry Jell-O

1 and ¾ cup boiling water

16-ounce can jellied cranberry sauce

8-ounce can crushed pineapple (do not drain)

¾ cup orange juice

1 teaspoon lemon juice (freshly squeezed is best)

½ cup chopped walnuts

Dissolve the Jell-O in the boiling water. Stir for at least 30 seconds to make sure it’s dissolved.

Add the cranberry sauce and stir until well blended.

Add the pineapple (with the juice), orange juice, lemon juice, and walnuts.

Mix everything together and pour in a ring mold.

Refrigerate until firm. This should take about 4 hours, but you can make it the night before your dinner and keep it in the refrigerator until you’re ready to unmold it and serve it.

Hannah’s Note: Andrea got this recipe from Sally Hayes.

CHRISTMAS BELL SALAD

1 large red bell pepper (cleaned, seeded, and cut into thin strips)

1 large yellow bell pepper (cleaned, seeded, and cut into thin strips)

1 large green bell pepper (cleaned, seeded, and cut into thin strips)

6 green onions (cleaned and minced—use up to one inch of the stem)

¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

4 cups fresh spinach (or a bag of spinach salad from the store)

½ cup golden raisins

½ cup roughly chopped nuts (I used walnuts)

? cup (2 Tablespoons) raspberry vinegar (or red wine vinegar)

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

¼ cup white sugar

Freshly ground black pepper

1¼ teaspoon salt

Hannah’s Note: If fresh bell peppers are not available in your area, use a bag of frozen, multi-colored bell pepper strips. Let them thaw naturally in your refrigerator overnight and dry the strips with paper towels before using.

Assemble the pepper strips, onions, parsley, and spinach in a large salad bowl. Mix in the golden raisins and nuts and toss.

Put the vinegar, olive oil, sugar, pepper, and salt in a small bowl. Whisk them until they are well blended.

You can dress the salad now and refrigerate it for up to an hour, or dress and toss it at tableside.

Yield: Serves 4 to 6 people.