Plum Pudding Murder Bundle with Candy Cane Murder & Sugar Cookie Murder
Page 88
There was the wise thing to do and the foolish thing to do. Hannah knew the wise thing would be to call for help, or wait for Norman, or do anything other than go into the kitchen to check it out by herself. But the time it took to do the wise thing could spell the difference between life and death for whoever was wearing that shoe.
Maybe the best thing to do is nothing at all, the not-so-nice side of Hannah’s psyche whispered in her ear. What difference would it make if you just went back to The Cookie Jar and pretended you hadn’t seen that shoe? Who would know?
“I’d know,” Hannah answered out loud, accepting the burden of her own good character. It didn’t matter what she thought of Shawna Lee personally. If her cookie competitor was hurt or in trouble, Hannah had a responsibility to do what she could to help.
Once she’d made up her mind, Hannah moved quickly. She raced to the back door, fully prepared to kick it in if that’s what it took, but when she turned the knob she found it unlocked. She pushed the door open, praying that the two holes she’d seen weren’t bullet holes, the shoe behind the counter had no foot in it, and the peach cobbler on the floor meant nothing more than a slip of an oven glove. But where was Shawna Lee? And why hadn’t she shut the oven door and cleaned up the mess?
“Uh-oh,” Hannah gasped, skidding to a stop as she rounded the corner of the kitchen counter. Shawna Lee was down on her back on the tile floor and there was a huge blossom of what looked like dried strawberry syrup on the bib of her white chef’s apron. There was also a neat hole in the middle of the blossom and Hannah knew that there was no point in continuing to contaminate what was surely a crime scene. Shawna Lee had been shot in the chest and anyone with an ounce of brains could see that she was dead.
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Copyright © 2009 by Joanne Fluke
Plum Pudding Murder
Copyright © 2007 by Joanne Fluke
Candy Cane Murder
Copyright © 2004 by Joanne Fluke
Sugar Cookie Murder
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ISBN: 978-0-7582-6868-6
*** -My family isn’t fond of Asiago, so I leave out the Asiago and make my biscuits with double cheddar. They’re absolutely delicious and I haven’t met anyone who doesn’t like them! I have the sneaking suspicion you could use ANY cheese you like in these biscuits with the possible exception of triple creams like Brie and Saint Andre, or exceptionally strong flavored cheeses like Gorgonzola.
**** - Prudence says that sometimes you’ll need to add more or less milk, until everything combines together in a wet/dry like mixture that’s about the consistency of cottage cheese. I’ve made these biscuits at least a dozen times and a half-cup milk has always worked perfectly for me.
*** - As Mike suggested you can substitute an ounce of brandy, an ounce of Grand Marnier, or an ounce of orange-flavored vodka.
*** - Make sure your pumpkin has NO spices added. Some canned pumpkin is already spiced for use in pumpkin pies. You could probably use it if it’s snowing outside and your car won’t start and it’s more than a mile to the store, but just remember that it’s somebody else’s mixture of spices, not yours.
*** - That’s 1½ ounces or a little less than half a stick—don’t worry if you’re not super accurate. A little more butter won’t hurt.
*** - If you spray your Tablespoon measure with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray, the molasses will slide right out without sticking.
*** - A sandwich loaf is best because it’s easier to cut off the crusts. I used Oroweat white sandwich bread. There are usually 22 slices, but you won’t use the end pieces.
*** - The butter should be at room temperature unless you live in an igloo.
*** You can make your own crust from chocolate cookie crumbs, or buy one pre-made from your grocery store. It’s just like it says in “The Three Bears”—an 8-inch crust will be a little bit too full (be careful carrying it to the oven,) a 10-inch crust won’t be quite full enough (you can pile whipped cream on top after it’s baked,) and a 9-inch crust will be just right!
*** - It’s best to use frozen cooked salad shrimp that you’ve thawed according to package directions and dried on paper towels. You can also use canned salad shrimp, but they will be more salty, which is why you should salt to taste after everything is mixed up together.
*** - You can use a can of condensed cream of chicken soup instead of the bouillon beads, but then you’ll have to reduce the cream to one and a half cups. You can also use the bouillon cubes, but you’ll have to mix them with a VERY small amount of hot water and mash them before you put them into the blender.
*** - My bags contained prunes, peaches, pears, apricots, and apple slices. I used some of every kind. Even though I’m not fond of prunes, they were excellent inside the pork roast!
***If you and your guests are on a diet, you can substitute Half ’n Half for the heavy cream, but it won’t be as good!
***If you can’t find Gruyere, use really sharp white cheddar and that’ll be fine. And if you can’t find white cheddar, use really sharp yellow cheddar.
***If you and your guests are on a diet, you can substitute Half ’n Half for the heavy cream, but it won’t be as good!
***If you use the kind of stuffing mix that’s made of croutons, crush them a bit before you measure out one cup. The stuffing mix is necessary because it soaks up the liquid given off by the bell peppers as they bake.
***A Word of Warning about COCOA
***Brown sugar is nothing more than white sugar with added molasses. All you have to do to make 1 cup brown sugar is to measure out a cup of white sugar and drizzle in 2 teaspoons of molasses, and then mix well. You can mix it with a fork and a little muscle, or with an electric mixer and a little electricity. It’s your choice. Knowing this little trick eliminates the necessity of keeping brown sugar, the kind that develops hard lumps, on hand in your pantry.