Joanne Fluke Christmas Bundle: Sugar Cookie Murder, Candy Cane Murder, Plum Pudding Murder, & Gingerbread Cookie Murder (82 page)

“Are you okay?” Hannah asked, entering Andrea’s room the second that Bill had vacated it.

“I’m fine, but Mother and Regina won’t be. There’s no way I’m naming my darling little daughter Delores Regina or Regina Delores!”

“I can understand that,” Hannah said.

“So what am I going to do? You’ve got to help me!”

Tears threatened to roll down Andrea’s cheeks and Hannah reached out to give her a hug. “I’ll think of something. Just give me a minute. Did you promise specifically to use their
first
names?”

“No.”

“That’s good. That means we have at least two more names to work with. Mother’s middle name is Elizabeth. Do you know what Regina’s is?”

“Anatolia,” Andrea said promptly. “Since they had such a common last name, Regina’s mother decided to give her children distinctive names. Regina Anatolia is the Italian baby. Bill’s aunt, Martinique Renée, is the French. And then there’s the youngest sister, Dona Esmeralda, and she’s the…”

“That’s enough family history for now,” Hannah said, holding up her hand in a gesture that meant
halt
in any language. “I think I might have come up with something that’ll please everybody, you included.”

“What?” Andrea asked, looking hopeful.

“Bethany.”

“That’s one of my favorite names! But…how do you get Bethany out of Regina Anatolia and Delores Elizabeth?”

Hannah grinned, feeling rather proud of herself. This had
taken some fast brainwork.
“Beth
is a nickname for Elizabeth. And
Annie
could be a nickname for Anatolia. Combine the two and you get
Beth-Annie
or
Bethany.”

“Perfect,” Andrea said, reaching out to give her older sister a hug. “You did it, Hannah. Mother’s going to be pleased, and so is Bill’s mother. You’re a miracle worker, especially if you can find me some chocolate somewhere in this hospital.”

D
ue to a stroke of good fortune, Hannah just happened to have her emergency stash of three Chocolate Chip Crunch cookies in plastic wrap in her coat pocket, and she turned them over to Andrea without a whimper. Then she hurried off to the nursery to have a peek at Bethany. She was about to leave in search of Mike so that she could return the keys to his Hummer, when Mike found her at the nursery window.

“Is that her?”

There was something close to reverence in Mike’s tone and Hannah smiled. “That’s Bethany. Andrea just named her.”

“I like it. It was one of the names on our list when…”

Mike stopped in mid-sentence and Hannah reached out to squeeze his arm. She knew his wife had been killed by a stray bullet from a drive-by shooting when she was pregnant with their first baby. “So, do you think she’s pretty?”

“She’s the most beautiful baby in the nursery,” Mike said with a smile. “Of course she’s also the only baby in the nursery, but that doesn’t count.”

Mike’s arm tightened around her, and Hannah did her best to switch gears. They had unfinished business. Since Shawna Lee had already landed in Georgia, they were no
longer engaged in the brownie wars. She needed Mike to return the pan of Hot Brownies before he tasted them.

“You know those brownies I brought out to the sheriff’s station this morning?” Hannah dived right in. “I hope you haven’t tasted them yet, because I think I might have made a mistake and left out an ingredient. If you’ll give them back, I’ll dump them and bake you another batch.”

“No way!” Mike said, staring at her with a frown.

“Why not?”

“Because I tasted them, and they’re terrific. They’ve got jalapeños, right?”

“Uh…right,” Hannah said, and she swallowed hard. Mike didn’t look all that angry, but you could never tell about a guy who was used to hiding his emotions in an interrogation room.

“That was a stroke of genius. You’re the only one I know who’d think to put diced jalapeños in brownies. Sure, they’ve got a little burn, but if you eat them with milk on the side, they’re great. I’m going to get some vanilla ice cream tomorrow and try them à la mode.”

Hannah stood there with a gaping mouth, not even noticing that little Bethany Todd wore the same puzzled expression as her aunt. “You…uh…you liked them?”

“The chilies really bring out the taste of the chocolate. You don’t have to take out an ad or anything, but Shawna Lee’s brownies can’t hold a candle to yours!”

Hannah stared up into Mike’s face. He was serious. He liked her jalapeño brownies. Should she confess that she’d baked them out of meanness, and spite, and jealousy?

Oh, sure. When pigs fly. Hannah smiled demurely, no easy task for her, and gave Mike a little hug.

“Thank you for the compliment,” she said, following her mother’s golden rule. “I’m so glad you liked them.”

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F., rack in the middle position

This is Lisa Herman’s recipe, and she says to tell you that it’s the easiest appetizer she ever made in her life.

6-inch round just ripened baby Brie
(5-inch will also work)

one round, unsliced loaf of bread, 10 to 12 inches in diameter

¼ cup chopped green onion
(clean and peel them first—then you can use up to two inches of the stem)

¼ cup chopped shallots

¼ teaspoon white pepper

2 Tablespoons white wine
(or 1 Tablespoon water, 1 Tablespoon vinegar)

½ teaspoon Season Salt
(See Priscilla Knudson’s recipe on backmatter)

Slice the top from the bread. Keep the top—you’ll need it later. Hollow out the inside of the bread, leaving at least ¾ inch of bread in place on the sides and 1 inch on the bottom.

Slice off the top rind of the baby Brie.
(If you dip your knife in water frequently, it won’t stick as much.)
Leave the rest of the rind in place. Place the Brie in the bread.

In a small bowl, mix together the green onion, shallots, white pepper, white wine, and Season Salt.

Spread this mixture on top of the Brie, replace the top slice of bread, and wrap the entire loaf in aluminum foil.

Bake at 375 degrees F. for 30 minutes.

Serve with cubed bread or crackers.

This recipe is from Mike Kingston (Actually, it’s from his sister but she said Mike could use it.)

8-ounce package of braunschweiger
(liver sausage—I used Farmer John’s)

¼ cup horseradish sauce
(4 Tablespoons—I used Heinz)
***

*** If you can’t find horseradish sauce where you live, mix 1 Tablespoon of horseradish with 3 Tablespoons of mayonnaise, and it should work just fine.

Cut the braunschweiger into chunks and place it in the bottom of a microwave-safe bowl. Heat it on HIGH for 45 seconds. Stir it around a bit, and if it’s still cold, heat it on HIGH for another 10 to 15 seconds, or until it’s soft enough to be mashed with a fork.

Mash up the braunschweiger and add the horseradish sauce. Mix until it’s blended.

Transfer the warm pâté to a bowl, cover it with plastic wrap, and refrigerate it for at least 3 hours before serving.

A half-hour before you’re ready to serve, take the pâté out of the refrigerator and let it warm to spreading consistency.

Serve with a basket of assorted fancy crackers.

Carrie Rhodes got this recipe when she went to Los Angeles on vacation and stopped off at an estate sale. A lady named June Pierce kept her from spending too much money on a silver vase that wasn’t really silver and gave her this recipe to boot.

8-ounce or larger jar of lumpfish caviar
(you can also use red caviar)

1 ½ teaspoons good olive oil

4 hardboiled eggs, finely diced

¹
/
₃
cup finely diced sweet onion
(or green onions)

½ to one cup sour cream

2 Tablespoons mayonnaise (
¹
/
₈
cup)

1 teaspoon salt

Put lumpfish in a small bowl. Pour in olive oil, stir, and refrigerate while you make the rest of the recipe.

Boil the eggs. Cool them, peel them, and dice them.
(If you have a food processor, use the steel blade—if you don’t have one, use a sharp knife to chop them finely.)

Put the diced eggs in the bottom of a 9-inch glass pie plate or shallow glass dish. Press them down with a metal spatula.

Dice the onions and sprinkle them over the diced eggs. Press them down.

Mix the sour cream with the mayonnaise and the salt. Put dollops of the mixture on top and carefully spread them together. Use as much as it takes to make a nice layer.

Drop the lumpfish on top of the sour cream by spoonfuls, spreading it out carefully. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for 4 to 6 hours.

Serve with toast points or crackers for an elegant appetizer.

Claire Rodgers got this recipe from her best friend Jayni Bailey who used to teach second grade in Lake Eden before she moved away to California. When Claire started dating Reverend Knudson, she felt uncomfortable bringing “deviled” anything to the parsonage, but Reverend Knudson said it didn’t matter what she called anything that tasted so heavenly.

When Claire asked for tips on boiling perfect eggs, Jayni said she put rubber bands around the egg cartons and tipped them on their sides in the refrigerator the night before she planned to boil them because that kept the yolks in the center of the eggs. After they were boiled, Jayni cooled them, put them in a covered bowl and refrigerated them for 24 hours before she peeled them.

To make six eggs:

Hard boil the eggs, using your favorite method. Peel the eggs. Cut the eggs in half from top to bottom. Remove the yolks and put them in a small bowl.

Mash the yolks with a fork until they’re crumbled. Then add:

¼ cup mayonnaise

½ teaspoon minced onion

½ teaspoon parsley flakes

¼ teaspoon celery salt

¼ teaspoon dry mustard
(MUST be the dry kind)

Mix thoroughly and then fill the yolk cavity, mounding the mixture a bit in the center. Place on a small platter. If you want to garnish the eggs, sprinkle them with a bit of paprika or parsley. You can also garnish them with a slice of ripe or stuffed olive.

Yield: Makes 12 halves

Sally Laughlin serves this out at the Lake Eden Inn when her customers watch football games in the bar.

16-ounce can spicy refried beans
(I used Rosarita Spicy)

3 large ripe mashed avocados

¹
/
₃
cup salsa ranchero
(I used La Victoria Salsa Ranchero labeled “hot”)

1 finely chopped onion

1 cup sour cream
(
½
pint)

1 can
(4
¼
-ounces)
chopped black olives, drained

1 cup finely grated cheddar cheese

1 cup finely chopped lettuce

1 cup finely chopped tomatoes

You can layer this in a 9 x 13 inch glass cake pan, or on a round platter.

Spread the beans on the bottom of the dish you’ve chosen.

Peel and mash the avocados. Blend in the hot salsa ranchero and layer it over the beans.

Sprinkle the chopped onion over the avocado mixture.

Mix the black olives with the sour cream and spread it over the chopped onions.

Sprinkle on the grated cheddar cheese.

Sprinkle the chopped lettuce on top of the cheese.

Sprinkle the tomatoes on the very top.

Press everything down with a metal spatula, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate it for at least 4 hours so the flavors will marry.

Serve with a basket of tortilla chips and let everyone scoop up the dip.