-4- "I'm just so thrilled to meet you, Mrs. MacIntyre." Marge Beeseman's voice shook slightly as she reached out to take Connie Mac's hand. Her brown hair was clipped short and frosted with blond, but it was clear to Hannah that Marge's new "do" hadn't succeeded as a total confidence builder. "Your cookbooks arrived yesterday, all two hundred of them."
Connie Mac smiled the sweetest smile that Hannah had seen yet, the very same smile she used on her show. "You really must call me Connie Mac. 'Mrs. MacIntyre' is simply too formal. May I call you Marge?"
"Of course," Marge breathed, obviously impressed by Connie Mac's tailored suit of peach wool and her gracious manner. "Just follow me and I'll show you the table I set up for your book signing. It's going to be such a wonderful fund-raiser for the library! Everyone in town wants to meet you and buy an autographed copy."
Connie Mac frowned as they approached the table that Marge had set up at the back of the library. "This is where you want me to sign my books?"
"Yes, I set it up this way on purpose. When people come in, they'll get to see the whole library on their way to your table."
"That's certainly important," Connie Mac said pleasantly, but Hannah could tell that she wasn't pleased. "I have an idea, Marge. I think we should move my book signing to the lobby of the community center."
"But we want people to see the library. If you're in the lobby, they won't come all the way back here."
Connie Mac linked arms with Marge and walked her back toward the entrance of the library. "Let's put our heads together, Marge. I'm sure that between the two of us, we can come up with a solution to our little problem. We have to decide which is more important, raising funds for the library, or giving people a tour."
"They're both important," Marge insisted, digging in her heels.
"Of course they are, but how about this? I'll sign copies of Sweets For Your Sweetie in the lobby and you'll sit right next to me at the table. Then, when people ask about the library, you can tell them about it and invite them to come back to visit when the Winter Carnival is over. With all the other activities going on, I doubt they'll do much reading this week anyway."
Hannah waited for Marge to explode. The Lake Eden Community Library was her baby. She was proud of what she'd done and it was only natural for her to want everyone to see it.
But the expected explosion didn't come. Marge just looked flattered as she asked, "You want me to sit with you?"
"Of course I do. The mayor told me how instrumental you've been in planning this library. He said it was all your idea and you should take credit for it." Connie Mac patted Marge's arm. "And I must admit that I have a selfish reason for wanting you to sit with me, Marge."
"Really?"
"Most people don't know this about me, but I'm really a very shy person and I just hate the idea of sitting in the lobby all alone. If you're with me, you can introduce me to all your friends."
Marge preened a bit. "I could certainly do that. I know everyone in Lake Eden. I was born and raised here."
"I'm sure we'll have a wonderful time together," Connie Mac said, stepping out of the library and into the hallway. "I'll see you tomorrow, Marge."
Hannah rolled her eyes as she followed Andrea and Connie Mac down the stairs to the banquet room. The Cooking Sweetheart was a steamroller when it came to get- ting her way, but she had charm and she knew when to dish it out. After only one dose, Marge Beeseman, one of the most obstinate women in Lake Eden, had caved in like an underbaked cake.
"Edna? We're here," Hannah called out as they entered the banquet room in the basement of the community center.
Edna, a thin woman with wiry gray hair that had been permed to death, bustled out of the kitchen. She was wearing a new, sparkling-white apron that Hannah knew was her version of "all dressed up."
"Hannah, Andrea." Edna smiled as she greeted them and then she turned to Connie Mac. "I'm real pleased to meet you. Mrs. MacIntyre. Where's the cake?"
Hannah choked back a laugh. Edna had always been blunt. But it didn't seem to faze Connie Mac, because she just smiled.
"It's in my supply van and my driver is bringing it," she told Edna. "It's six tiers high, the decorations are white on white, and I worked on it for simply hours last night. Where do you think we should display it?"
"We could set up a card table," Edna suggested.
Connie Mac considered it for a moment and then she sighed. "I'd rather not do that. Card tables are so unstable." She pointed to the pedestal in the center of the room. "How about that pedestal? It looks sturdy enough."
"We can't use that." Edna shook her head. "That's where the crowns for the Prince and Princess of Winter are going to be displayed."
"But we could put them on that card table you mentioned. The pedestal is just the right size for my cake."
Edna looked as if she wanted to object, but she didn't. That made Hannah suspect she'd been warned to be extra nice to their favored celebrity. "I'll have to ask Mayor Bascomb."
"I'm sure he'll agree. After all, my cake is the star of the show, so to speak. I'll have one of my people rig up a spotlight and it'll create a wonderful photo op right here in the center of the room. I think we should pose for a picture together, don't you?"
"Well. . . I don't know about that. I'm going to be pretty busy in the kitchen."
"It'll only take a few minutes. I'd really like to have a picture of us together, Edna." Connie Mac paused and looked a bit embarrassed. "You don't mind if I call you Edna, do you?"
Edna shook her head. "Edna's fine. That's what everybody calls me."
"Good. And I hope you'll call me Connie Mac. I'd like to be friends since we'll be working on the banquet together."
"You want to help me cook for the banquet?"
Connie Mac gave a sweet little laugh. "I wouldn't dream of interfering, especially since the mayor told me that you're the best cook in the county. Have you heard about my new kitchen boutique at the Tri-County Mall?"
"'Course I have. Your grand opening's on Monday. Rod Metcalf ran an article about it in the Lake Eden Journal."
"I do hope you'll come out to take a peek, Edna. It's going to be our largest store, and you have no idea how many new things I've ordered! As a matter of fact, I went down to our main warehouse in Minneapolis this morning to see what I could find for you."
Edna looked surprised. "You brought me something from your boutique?"
"It was the least I could do. After all, you're organizing the whole banquet. I chose a dinner setting for two hundred, including glassware, linens, silver, and some simply lovely decorations for the tables. It's a gift from the new Connie Mac's Kitchen Boutique."
Edna seemed stunned at this largesse. When she recovered, she gasped, "Well, my goodness! We could use those dishes, that's for sure. Whenever we throw a big supper like this, Rose over at the caf? lets us use her plates and silverware. Problem is, we have to schedule it after she closes. And since Rose doesn't use tablecloths, we have to make do with the paper kind."
"Those days are over now, Edna. You'll have your own things." Connie Mac reached out to give Edna's arm a friendly pat. "Could we go into the kitchen for a minute? I'd love take a peek at the banquet menu and see if there's anything else you need from my boutique."
Andrea waited until Connie Mac had gone into the kitchen with Edna and then she grabbed Hannah's arm. "Did you hear that? A complete dinner service for two hundred! Isn't Connie Mac the sweetest, most generous person you've ever met?"
Hannah grunted, settling for the most noncommittal reply she could make. She was no accountant, but she was willing to bet that everything Connie Mac had donated to the community center would qualify as a tax write-off.
"It's just wonderful to have this time with Connie Mac," Andrea gushed. "When we get back to the limo, I'm going to ask her about her recipes."
"Recipes? Who are you trying to kid, Andrea? You never cook."
"But Connie Mac doesn't know that. And if I did cook, I'd follow her recipes. There was one last week that Bill would adore, meatloaf with three different sauces."
"I saw that episode," Hannah said, and then she clamped her mouth shut. Connie Mac's recipe for a meatloaf dinner was totally ridiculous. There was no way. any busy Minnesota housewife would have the time and energy to mix up a meatloaf, wrap it en cro?te, prepare three different sauces, drizzle them artistically around the lip of an oversized china plate, and arrange slices of meatloaf in an overlapping design that was garnished with piping hot deep-fried parsley.
"Didn't it look just wonderful?" Andrea insisted.
"Yes," Hannah admitted truthfully. It had been a beautiful presentation, but she suspected that how food looked on television was a lot more important to Connie Mac than how it actually tasted. "You seem stressed, Hannah," Andrea said, looking concerned. "Are you worried about getting back to The Cookie Jar?"
No, I'm worried that my tongue will start bleeding from biting it so many times, Hannah thought, but she didn't say it. Andrea had just presented her with an acceptable excuse for bowing out "You're right, Andrea. I still have a lot of baking to do. Could you finish the rest of the tour without me? All you have to do is show Connie Mac the Ezekiel Jordan house and escort her back out to the inn."
"Of course. No problem." Andrea looked very pleased. "I'll stop by later to tell you how it went."
"Great I'll dash back to The Cookie Jar then. Make my excuses, will you?" Hannah shrugged into her parka and practically flew up the stairs, leaving Andrea to cope with the biggest sweet-talker and manipulator ever to set foot in Lake Eden.
"Try this," Hannah said, handing Lisa one of the blueberry muffins she'd baked for the Winter Carnival judges.
"Gladly." Lisa took a bite and a rapturous expression spread over her face. "It's perfect I love blueberry muffins."
"So do I. I just wish I had fresh blueberries."
"The frozen ones are almost as good." Lisa took another bite and chewed thoughtfully. "My blueberry muffins taste like vanilla, unless you happen to bite into a blueberry. Yours taste like blueberries all the way through. How did you do that?"
"Blueberry pie filling. I mixed some in before I added the frozen blueberries. The dough turns a little purple, but I like the end result."
"So do I. They're absolutely delicious." Lisa finished the last bite and picked up the plastic boxes that Hannah had filled with muffins. "Do you want me to put these in the cooler??
"They don't need to be refrigerated. Just stack them on a shelf in the pantry and I'll deliver them tomorrow morning."
Lisa opened the pantry door and stashed the muffins on a shelf. Then she came back and sat down again. "I still can't believe that Connie Mac asked your mother to repaint the kitchen walls."
"And I still can't believe that Mother actually agreed to do it." Hannah just shook her head. Andrea had reported in right after the final leg of Connie Mac's tour, and she'd de- scribed everything that had happened at the Ezekiel Jordan House. Not only had Connie Mac asked Delores to paint the kitchen walls peach so that she could have her picture taken in the first mayor's kitchen, she'd also managed to talk Norman into coming in late this afternoon for a special portrait sitting.
Lisa glanced up at the clock on the wall. "It's almost six. They must be through with the pictures by now."
"Maybe, but I have a feeling that Connie Mac was late. I think she likes to make people wait for her."
"She's on a power trip?"
"That's the impression I got. She sure knows how to make people do what she wants. You should have seen Mr. Purvis cave in when she asked him to reserve the special sleigh for her. He couldn't agree fast enough."
Lisa looked puzzled. "But I thought that sleigh was for the Prince and Princess of Winter."
"Not anymore. They're riding in one of the regular sleighs now. Connie Mac can get anything out of anybody."
"Not you."
"I'm a hard case." Hannah began to grin. "Actually, that's another reason I bailed out of the tour'. I didn't want to find out what Connie Mac wanted from me."
The phone rang and Lisa got up to answer it. She listened for a moment and then she handed it to Hannah. "It's Janie Burkholtz. She's calling from Connie Mac's cell phone."
?Great," Hannah said with a smile. She hadn't spoken to Janie for years. "Hi, Janie. I'm sorry we missed you when Andrea and I came out to the inn. What's up?"
"Your mother said I should call you, Hannah." Janie sounded on the edge of panic. "We've got a real disaster on our hands. Mrs. MacIntyre's supply van went into the ditch on the way here and the Winter Carnival cake was ruined."
"That's terrible. Was anyone hurt?"
"No. The driver's fine and there were no passengers. All the other supplies came through just fine, but Mrs. MacIntyre is determined to bake a replacement cake and we have to find some commercial ovens to use."
"How about the school?" Hannah suggested.
"I already spoke to Mr. Purvis and they're replacing the kitchen floor this weekend. And I tried the inn, but Sally's serving hot appetizers tonight and she's using all of her ovens."
"The kitchen at the community center?"
"That won't work either. Edna's baking rolls and she'll be there until midnight or later."
"Really?" Hannah's surprise was reflected in her voice. "I thought Edna was buying breadsticks and setting them out in baskets."
"She was, but Mrs. MacIntyre thought crescent rolls would be a nice touch with the salad course."
"I see," Hannah said and sent sympathetic thoughts Edna's way. Baking crescent rolls for two hundred guests was a lot of work.
"Your mother suggested that I call you before you left for the night She thought maybe we could use your ovens."
Hannah hesitated, She didn't like the idea of Connie Mac baking in her kitchen, but Janie was on the spot and the Winter Carnival cake was important, "Sure, Janie. We were just getting ready to lock up. Come on over when you're through with the pictures. We'll wait."
"We're all through. We finished a couple of minutes ago," Janie said, still sounding stressed. "Thank you, Hannah. You don't know how much this means to me."
"No problem."
"Can you hold on for just a second? Mrs. Macintyre wants something."
"Sure. Take your time." Hannah covered the mouthpiece and turned to Lisa, who was staring at her curiously. "Connie Mac wants to use our ovens. Her supply van went into the ditch and the Winter Carnival cake is mush. I told Janie they could bake here."
"Then I'd better make sure everything's clean." Lisa jumped up and grabbed a bottle of cleaning solution and a sponge. She wiped down the door of the cooler and then she started to giggle. "What?"
"Now you know what Connie Mac wants from you. And you gave it to her, just like everybody else in town."
"Hannah?" Janie came back on the line. "Mrs. Macintyre is very grateful and she wants to do something for you in return.?
"That's not necessary, Janie."
"But she insists. Norman is going to bring over his equipment and take Mrs. Macintyre's picture in your kitchen. She thought you'd want to hang it over your counter in the coffee shop."
"That's. . . uh. . . very nice of her." Hannah hung up the phone and snorted. Hell would freeze over before she'd hang Connie Mac's picture over the counter in her shop!
Blue Blueberry Muffins
Preheat oven to 375?F, rack in the middle position
? cup melted butter (1 ? sticks) 1 cup sugar 2 beaten eggs (just whip them up with a fork) 2 teaspoons baking powder ? teaspoon salt 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (no need to thaw if they're frozen) ? cup blueberry pie filling 2 cups plus one tablespoon flour (no need to sift) ? cup milk
Crumb Topping: ? cup sugar 1/3 cup flour ? cup softened butter (? stick)
Grease the bottoms only of a 12-cup muffin pan (or line the cups with cupcake papers). Melt the butter. Mix in the sugar. Then add the beaten eggs, baking powder, and salt, and mix thoroughly.
Put one tablespoon of the flour in a plastic bag with your cup of fresh or frozen blueberries. Shake it gently to coat the blueberries, and leave them in the bag for now.
Add half the remaining two cups flour to your bowl and mix it in with half the milk. Then add the rest of the flour and milk and mix thoroughly.
Here comes the fun part: Add ? cup blueberry pie filling to your bowl and mix it in. (Your dough will turn a shade of blue, but don't let that stop you ? once the muffins are baked, they'll look just fine.) When your dough is thoroughly mixed, fold in the flour-coated fresh or frozen blueberries.
Fill the muffin tins three-quarters full and set them aside. If you have dough left over, grease the bottom of a small tea-bread loaf pan and fill it with your remaining dough.
The crumb topping: Mix the sugar and the flour in a small bowl. Add the softened butter and cut it in until it's crumbly. (You can also do this in a food processor with hard butter using the steel blade.)
Sprinkle the crumb topping over your muffins and bake them in a 375?F oven for 25 to 30 minutes. (The tea-bread should bake about 10 minutes longer than the muffins.)
While your muffins are baking, divide the rest of your blueberry pie filling into ? cup portions and pop it in the freezer. I use paper cups to hold it and freeze them inside a freezer bag. All you have to do is thaw a cup the next time you want to make a batch of Blue Blueberry Muffins.
When your muffins are baked, set the muffin pan on a wire rack to cool for at least 30 minutes. (The muffins need to cool in the pan for easy removal.) Then just tip them out of the cups and enjoy.
These are wonderful when they're slightly warm, but the blueberry flavor will intensify if you store them in a covered container overnight.
Grandma Ingrid?s muffin pans were large enough to hold all the dough from this recipe. My muffin tins are smaller; and I always make a loaf of Blue Blueberry tea bread with the leftover dough. If I make it for Mother; I leave off the crumb topping. She loves to eat it sliced, toasted, and buttered for breakfast.