Wedding Cake Murder (9 page)

“It’s going to be that big?” Ross asked Hannah.

“I’m afraid so. Mother only knows one way to throw a party. She doesn’t want to take the chance that she’ll leave someone out and cause hurt feelings. So, to make sure that doesn’t happen, she sends invitations to everyone she knows.”

“And some she doesn’t,” Michelle added, flashing a grin at Hannah. “You should have seen Hannah’s high school graduation party. There were kids there that none of us had ever seen before.”

There was a knock on the door, and Ross reached out to give Hannah a quick hug. “Go ahead and do what you have to do in the kitchen. I’ll greet the gang and let them in.”

Just as soon as coats had been removed, hands had been washed, and wine and beer had been poured, Ross and Hannah, Lonnie and Michelle, and Norman and Mike took seats around Hannah’s big dining room table. As they passed the pâté, conversation flowed. Norman had brought his cat, Cuddles, to play with Moishe and the two cats were prowling around, exploring every room in the condo, looking for anything that might provide feline entertainment.

Hannah noticed that at first Norman seemed a bit tense, but then Ross began to tell him about the new remote control cameras he’d bought for the studio at KCOW, and Norman visibly relaxed.

“You’re taping the basketball game tonight at the high school, aren’t you?” Hannah asked Ross, even though she knew he’d already gone there to set up his equipment.

“Yes, but it’s not taped, Hannah. We’re doing a live feed.” Ross turned to Norman. “I don’t suppose you’d like to come and help out, would you?”

A broad smile spread across Norman’s face. “Sure! I’ll be glad to come.”

“Then we’ll leave together, right after dinner. I still have a couple of things I have to set up before the game.”

“Fine by me,” Norman agreed.

Michelle, who was sitting next to Hannah, gave her a gentle poke in the ribs. Hannah turned to look at her and Michelle raised her eyebrows.

“Let’s dish up the stew,” Hannah said, knowing exactly what her sister meant. Michelle wanted to talk to her alone in the kitchen.

They waited, leaning against the counter, until the conversation around the table began again. Then Michelle turned to Hannah. “Do you think that was a ruse to get Norman to leave when Ross did?”

“Oh! I didn’t even think of that!” Hannah exclaimed, keeping her voice low so that no one around the table in the dining room could hear her. “Do you think that’s what Ross was doing?”

“Could be. And if that’s so, Ross is pretty darn sneaky!”

“Sneaky? I’m not sure I like that idea. I’d rather think that he just wanted a friend to go with him to the game, and he knows that Norman’s interested in all kinds of photography.” Hannah opened the cupboard and took out six bowls. “Come on, Michelle. I’ll dish up the stew while you take your corn muffins out of the pan and put them in a basket. We also need a bowl of sour cream for anyone who wants a dollop on top of the stew, some of that hot salsa I picked up at the Red Owl, and the bottle of Slap Ya Mama hot sauce for Mike. You can carry all those to the table while I fill the bowls. And when you come back, you can start carrying in the bowls of stew. We’ve got four hungry men out there who want to be fed.”

While Hannah finished dishing up the stew and Michelle carried bowls to the table, Hannah thought about what her youngest sister had said. It
was
rather flattering to think that Ross might be a bit jealous of Norman. She wished she could tell him that he didn’t have any reason at all to be jealous, but if Ross wasn’t being devious, she’d look very silly saying something like that to him. It would be wiser for her to say nothing and ignore the whole thing.

Once dinner was served, Hannah received wonderful compliments on her stew. Ross even said that it was a pity the Food Channel contest was limited to desserts. Michelle’s Cheesy Chili Corn Muffins were also a big hit.

“Now for the dessert,” Hannah said when everyone had eaten at least two bowls of stew and Mike had finished his third. “Michelle and I need your honest opinion. We’re testing desserts to see which ones we ought to bake for the competition, and Michelle baked a pineapple crisp.”

Lonnie grinned at Michelle. “If Shelly baked it, it’s bound to be great. I don’t even have to taste it to know that.”

“Thanks, Lonnie.” Michelle took time to smile at him, and then she said, “But what we really need is your honest criticism and any suggestions you have to make it taste even better.”

Hannah nodded. “Michelle’s right.”

The two sisters cleared the table and carried in coffee. Then Michelle cut squares of her dessert while Hannah carried the bowl of Nutmeg and Cinnamon Faux Crème Fraiche to the table. “Just pass the bowl around and take as much as you want after we bring in your dessert. And please think about whether we should serve it to the judges with the topping already on it, or whether we should give the bowl to the judges and let them pass it to each other.”

Less than five minutes later, everyone was munching happily and the consensus of opinion around the table was that Hannah should deliver the dessert plates to the judges and Michelle should follow in her wake with the bowl of topping so that the judges could taste the dessert without the topping, if they wished, and then take some of the topping and judge it separately.

“That’ll give you two chances to come out on top,” Norman pointed out. “One chance if they like it better without the topping and another chance if they prefer it with the topping.”

“Good idea, Norman!” Ross said, patting him on the back.

“He’s right,” Mike agreed. “That’ll cover all the bases.”

Michelle turned to Hannah. “I think we should talk to Lisa and Aunt Nancy about running a series of taste tests at The Cookie Jar. We could tell whoever’s there, and The Lake Eden Gossip Hotline would take care of the rest.”

“That’s a good idea, Michelle.” Hannah paused and gave Mike her own version of his own devilish grin. “Who knows? It might bring in as much business as another Lake Eden murder!”

GREEN TOMATILLO STEW

Grease or spray the inside of a 5-quart slow cooker with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray.

Start this stew in the early morning of the day you wish to serve it for dinner.

The Ingredients:

2 medium onions, roughly chopped

2 pounds frozen chicken tenders
(I used Foster Farms)

1 cup carrot nuggets
(I used a fresh pack, the kind
of
carrot nuggets that you might put in a school lunchbox)

14-ounce package frozen tri-colored pepper strips
(I used C&W, which is made by Birds Eye)

4 stalks celery, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

16-ounce bag of frozen pearl onions
(I used Birds Eye White Pearl Onions)

two 7-ounce by weight cans of Salsa verde sauce

diced green chilies
(I used one can
of
Ortega Green Chilies 4-ounces by weight)

diced jalapenos
(I used one can of Ortega Diced Jalapenos 4-ounces by weight)

Additional Ingredients:

You will add these ingredients 1 hour before you’re ready to serve your Green Tomatillo Stew.

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

two 7-ounce cans mushroom stems and pieces
(NOT drained!)

14-ounce can of green tomatillos
(If your store doesn’t carry these, use a 13-ounce can of chopped stewed regular tomatoes instead—it won’t be the same, but it will be tasty)

two .88-ounce packets of chicken gravy mix
(or turkey gravy mix—I used Schilling Chicken Gravy Mix)

Hannah’s 1
^st
Note: You may notice that there is NO SALT in this recipe. This is not an omission. The gravy packets that are called for in the recipe are very salty. They will usually add enough salt to the recipe. If your family would like more salt, you may add it later, when you adjust the seasonings right before you serve it.

Place the chopped onions in the bottom of the slow cooker.

Lay the frozen chicken tenders on top of the onions.

Sprinkle the frozen pepper strips on top of the chicken.

Put the celery on top of the pepper strips.

Place the pearl onions on top of the celery.

Open the cans of salsa verde sauce and pour them over the pearl onions.

Open the can of diced green chilies. If there’s any liquid, you can add that to your stew. Then sprinkle the chilies over the top of the salsa verde sauce.

Hannah’s 2
^nd
Note: CAUTION!!! If you use your fingers to sprinkle in the chilies, WASH YOUR HANDS IMMEDIATELY! If you touch your eyes without washing your hands, your eyes will burn and smart from the chilies.

Cover your slow cooker with the lid, plug it in, and cook it on LOW for at least 8 hours.

Hannah’s 3
^rd
Note: If you cook on LOW in a slow cooker, the time is not that critical. You’ll need 8 hours of cooking time, but if you don’t get back home for 9 or 10 hours, that’s okay, too.

When you get home from work, give the contents of the slow cooker a good stir and then add the additional ingredients in this order:

Sprinkle the garlic powder over the top.

Sprinkle the onion powder over the top of the garlic powder.

Stir the contents of the crock again to mix in the ingredients you just added.

Add the two cans of mushrooms, liquid and all. Stir them in.

Sprinkle in ONE packet of gravy mix and stir that in. Reserve the
2
^nd
packet of powdered gravy mix for later, if you need it.

Put the lid on the crockpot, turn it up to HIGH, and let the contents cook for another hour.

Right before you’re ready to serve, take off the lid of the slow cooker and taste the broth again. If it’s not thick enough, stir in the
2
^nd
packet of powdered gravy mix, put the lid on again, and let it cook for another 5 to 10 minutes.

Hannah’s 4
^th
Note: Some people like this stew with a dollop of sour cream with fresh salsa on top of the bowl. Have these bowl toppers handy on the table if your family likes them.

Hannah’s 5
^th
Note: If you invite Mike Kingston for dinner (or anyone else who likes things very spicy) make sure you have a bottle of Slap Ya Mama Hot Sauce on your table. If your guest is Mike, have a BIG bottle!