Betty's Journal (Piper Anderson Bonus Material) (The Piper Anderson Series) (2 page)

Grilled Corn

Prep 12 minutes

Cook 20 minutes

Serving
s: 6

6 fresh ears of corn

1/2
cup of butter melted

1 teaspoon
salt

1 teaspoon
pepper

Remove and discard husks and silks from corn. (Make sure they are good and clean.) Brush corn with melted butter; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Wrap each ear with foil. (Make it tight) Grill over medium coals. 15- 20 minutes, (They’ll be hotter than two bunnies in a wool sack)

Baked Beans

(Your Pop-Pop
’s Recipe)

Prep 20 minutes

Soak 8 hours

Cook 4 hours

Servings: 10

1 pound dried navy beans

2 quarts of water

1 small ham hock

1 bay leaf

1 large onion, chopped

1 small green pepper, chopped

2 cups ketchup

8 ounces tomato sauce

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

2 Tablespoons molasses

1 tablespoon
mustard

Sort and rinse beans; place beans in a Dutch oven. Cover with water. (All the way.) Let soak over night. Drain and rinse. Add 2 quarts of fresh water, ham hock, and bay leaf.

Bring to a boil; cover, reduce hea
t, and simmer for 2 hours. Drain, reserving 1 cup of liquid. Discard bay leaf. Remove ham from bone, and chop. Add ham, and remaining ingredients to beans. Transfer to a greased casserole.

Cover and bake at 350 for 2 hours; stir occasionally.
(But not peeking your head in there every five minutes.)

Cole Slaw

(This is Clay’s recipe, thus the coconut and pineapple. Sometimes you have to compromise – so I let him make the coleslaw)

Prep 5 minutes

Chill 1 hour

Serving
s: 8

1 medium-sized head green cabbage, shredded

2 medium-sized carrots, peeled and shredded

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

2 tablespoons diced red onion

½ cup fresh shredded coconut

¼ cup minced pineapple

1 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons white vinegar

3 tablespoons sugar

1
/2 teaspoon salt

1
/4 tablespoon pepper

In a large bowl, combine the cabbage, carrots, bell pepper, coconut, pineapple, and onion. Mix it up but don’t be mashing it like a potato. Set aside. Combine the remaining ingredients; give it a good mix. Pour over the cabbage mixture. Make sure it’s all covered. Store it in the fridge for at least one hour.

How in the world did I ever make it twenty-
five years without holding a baby like this in my arms? Not since Jules have I seen a child come out of the womb with such spikey red hair. The dimple over her smile is all her daddy’s.

Just as I expected
, Michael is over the moon. How can you blame him? His strong, beautiful wife just gave him a gift he will treasure all of his years. Jules did wonderfully, and I’m flooded with pride as I think about it.

It was a race to the hospital. We weren’t sure we were going to make it. Jules in her normal style had explained all the pain away as nothing more than false labor.
Stubborn little thing. Her water breaking on my porch was the first time I think she realized this baby was coming.

Little
Françoise Taylor Cooper was born eight pounds three ounces, eighteen inches long and perfect. I know I gave Jules a hard time about that name, insisted she use it. But I had good reason. A name can carry with it so much of history and meaning that I believe it can genuinely help you later in life. My Grandmother Françoise was one of the most unique and funny people I have ever had the pleasure of spending time with. She could sing a hymn and tell a dirty joke all in one breath. She could drink you under the table on Saturday night over a game of cards but look flawlessly refreshed Sunday morning in church. Her spirit carried me through some of the tougher times in my life, and I want my grandbaby to be connected to her. Maybe it’s just a name, but I’m hoping she can channel my grandmother on the days she needs it. Little Frankie will be a force to be reckoned with, and I can’t wait to see it.

My arms feel painfully empty now that I passed her back to her Mama and headed home
. She had snoozed away on me for three hours while I sang her old lullabies I haven’t thought of in decades. I told her a few stories about how we all got where we are today leaving out some of the darker memories and focusing on only how we came to all be a family. And she is now a part of that. How lucky she is. How lucky we all are.

I truly don’t know how I lived this long without the sweet smell of a baby on my skin.
I forgot how intoxicating it was. I’d long since gotten over any misgivings I had about the circumstances of my daughter. If this child is not the plan of God, if she is not meant to be right here with us, then I don’t know what to make of this world. We’re all her destiny and she is ours. Circumstances mean nothing, and Frankie means everything.

I am a grandma
now. As of this day, I am a spoiling machine. I am where this child will turn when she hates her mama. Not that I wish that day ever comes but I’ve been in this world long enough to know it’s likely inevitable. If I do my job correctly I am where Frankie will come to cry, where she will come to talk. She’ll knock on my door when she wants to get her way. I’ve already done the discipline and the arguing. I’ve done all the “getting them in line,” it’s exhausting. This child is going to get whatever she wants from me, and I’ll be doing it with a smile.

Piper and Bobby
are the God Parents. Perfect choices. Their own wedding will need to be planned soon. With baby Frankie’s help, Bobby pulled off a wonderful proposal. I can’t really envision what their nuptials will look like considering they are both very easy going people, but I’m anxious to see what they do. I’m also looking forward to how it may bring Piper’s newfound family, the Wheeler’s, back into our lives. I like watching the person Piper is when she is with them. A confidence and sense of belonging seems to come over her.

As Clay and I pulled back up to our quiet house after this
eventful day, I thank the heavens for all the blessing that have been bestowed upon me and mine, and I considered begging Clay to drive me back to the hospital so I can hold that baby again. But there is always tomorrow.

Little Frankie’s Toes - Perfection

We went from a surprise wedding to a secret one. Michael, Jules, and Frankie weren’t ready to travel just yet so we had to go without them. I’d never been out to Las Vegas before and while everything I’ve heard about it made me think it was the devil’s playground, I decided for Chris and Sydney I’d make the trip.

Keeping in touch with
that dear little boy of his is still the highlight of most of my Sundays. Listening to his stories and jokes keeps me young, even though I’ll admit many times I have no idea what he’s talking about. It’s still nice to hear his voice and know he’s doing well. Even that uncle of his, Sean, who I’d never really cared for, seems to be thriving. Theirs is a success story if I’d ever heard one. 

The flight was exactly as unnerving as the first I took and I swear, this time I mean it, it will be my last. Not to mention their clocks are all wonky out there. A time change is not easily adjusted to at my age. I was
wide awake well before the sun came up and wondering how in the world I’d make it to dinner at the wedding.

But Vegas as a whole
wasn’t as bad as I had imagined it. I suppose the pile of chips I won at the black jack table has helped sway me. Clay sat beside me and kept giving me tips on what to do, but after twenty minutes I shooed him off and my hands got hot. That’s what they say out there. Hot hands. Good thing he came back and pulled me away or I might not have had a chance to get dressed for the wedding.

The ceremony was simple. I’d half expected an impers
onator of some sort would be performing it, but it wasn’t like that at all. The small chapel was beautifully decorated. And many traditions were upheld. Sean stood beside his brother as a proud best man. Little Chris carried the ring on a satin pillow. Bobby, Piper, Clay and I bore witness to a beautiful exchange of vows.

I had to hand out the tissues as Chris turned to Sydney and proclaimed that she’d saved his life. “You took a soul that most people would step right over in this world, and breathed new life into it.
You’ve done more than just accept the package deal that loving me comes with, you’ve embraced it. I’ve spent so much of my life searching for something that I didn’t even understand, and now I can spend the rest of my life enjoying what I’ve found.”

The man is smooth
, I will give him that. With his hair styled back and his black suit coat pulled over a tailored vest he looked like a true Casanova. But he couldn’t come close to how stunning his bride looked. Her dress was short, casual, but fitted so perfectly to her body that it made you think they’d spun the silk around her. Her golden blonde hair was twisted up at the sides and pinned like something you’d see more in my day than hers which I loved since I’m still convinced my generation had the best style in the last hundred years.

The minister was fairly normal looking beside a few extra piercings in the ear. One of them was a cross though, so I suppose it was fitting.

After the ceremony we headed off to a beautiful dinner that ending with a dessert that will go down as one of the best I’ve eaten in my life. Much to everyone’s embarrassment I insisted on getting the recipe from the chef. She was a young woman named Tabitha and handed it over without much of a fight. She was a doll, really, once I got her to loosen up. I’m tucking the recipe in here so I don’t forget it. I’m going to try to recreate it for Bobby and Piper’s wedding if they’d hurry up and get to planning. I swear the two of them would slide rings on each other while walking through the grocery store if I let them. That’s my next mission, getting a fire under their butts about having a proper wedding.

Coconut Crusted Flourless Chocolate Cake

Prep 20 minutes

Cook time 30 minutes

Servings
: 16

       
1 cup pecans (your favorite or a blend)

       
24 small coconut macaroons (They used some fancy gourmet ones but I’ve got my mothers recipe)

       
2 sticks unsalted butter (She used margarine but that’s just nonsense)

       
16 oz. semi-sweet chocolate

       
1/4 cup Chocolate Orange Liquor (a little extra for the cook)

       
8 whole eggs

       
1/2 cup sugar

Crust
:
Blend nuts and macaroons until finely chopped. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch spring form pan. Press crust mixture onto the bottom of pan.

Heat the oven to 325. In a saucepan, melt butter and then add chocolate (Not sure there are many things that smell better than this – margarine…really, what were they thinking?).

S
tir continuously until chocolate is smooth, add liqueur (then take a swig from the bottle to make sure it’s still delicious) and blend.

In a mixer, whip the eggs and sugar until doubled in size. Gently blend the chocolate mixture into the eggs mixture.

Pour batter into pan. Bake 30 minutes or until center isn’t jiggling around like a bowl full of jelly. Let sit for thirty minutes and then place cake in refrigerator. Let it come to room temperature prior to serving.