“If Michelle is working with the same people, she’ll probably be able to find out some things about Tori Bascomb as a director. If she was tough on anyone in particular at rehearsals, if she had favorites, how she got along with the crew, that sort of thing. Oops. I’m needed for something. Hold on for just a second or two, Hannah.”
Hannah frowned slightly as Ross put the phone down with a thunk and said something she couldn’t quite hear to a colleague. Then the phone thunked again as he picked it up.
“Sorry about that. I’ve got to go, Hannah. I’ll be home around six.”
“Good. Mike, Norman, and maybe Lonnie are coming to dinner. Mike and Norman are bringing a wedding present for us.”
“Okay, sounds good. I love you, Cookie.”
And then, before Hannah could tell him that she loved him too, Ross ended the call with a click.
BROWNIE CANDY
DO NOT preheat oven. This dessert needs NO baking!
1 cup (2 sticks, 8 ounces, ? pound) salted butter, softened 1 cup cashew butter 1 pound powdered (confectioners) sugar 1 and ? cups finely crushed vanilla wafers (I used Nabisco Nilla wafers)
1 cup semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips (6-ounce by weight bag is fine)
Hannah’s 1st Note: Take the 2 sticks of butter out of the refrigerator, unwrap them, and put them in a covered mixing bowl the night before you want to make this Brownie Candy. They’ll be nice and soft in the morning.
Hannah’s 2nd Note: I chop my vanilla wafers in the food processor with the steel blade in an on-and-off motion. If you don’t have a food processor, put them in a sealable plastic bag and crush them with a rolling pin. Just make sure they’re finely crushed.
In a medium-size mixing bowl, mix the salted butter with the cashew butter. A wooden spoon works well for this. Continue to mix until the mixture is smooth, creamy, and thoroughly incorporated.
Add the powdered sugar to your bowl. There’s no need to sift unless it’s got big lumps. Stir until the powdered sugar is thoroughly incorporated.
Measure out a cup and a half of crushed vanilla wafers and add them to your bowl. Mix until you have a homogenous mixture.
Spray the bottom of a 9-inch by 13-inch cake pan with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray. Alternatively, you can line the pan with heavy duty aluminum foil and spray that.
Dump the butter, cashew butter, powdered sugar, and crushed vanilla wafer mixture into the cake pan and pat it out as evenly as you can in the bottom.
Melt the chocolate chips in the top of a double boiler over MEDIUM heat or in a heavy metal saucepan on LOW heat, stirring constantly.
Alternatively, you can melt the chips in the microwave by placing them in a small microwave-safe bowl or Pyrex 2-cup measuring cup and heating them on HIGH for 1 minute. At the end of that time, let them stand in the microwave for 1 minute and then try to stir them smooth. If there are still lumps, heat them in 20-second intervals with 20-second standing times until you can stir them smooth.
With a heat resistant spatula, spread the melted chocolate on top of the mixture in the cake pan. Spread it out as evenly as possible.
Place the pan in the refrigerator until the Brownie Candy is firm. This will take at least 2 hours.
When your dessert is firm and the chocolate on top has hardened, take the cake pan out of the refrigerator and cut your dessert into brownie-sized pieces.
Yield: Approximately 24 to 36 pieces, depending on cutting size.
Chapter Eight
Hannah was smiling as she carried the crockpot to the table. She’d tasted the Chicken Stroganoff and Noodles and it was delicious. The Cheesy Beer Muffins had also turned out to be very tasty and they had gone perfectly with the salad that Michelle had made for a first course.
Michelle followed Hannah with the huge bowl of egg noodles. They’d cooked them in boiling water and four chicken bouillon cubes to add extra flavor. Michelle had drained and buttered them so the noodles wouldn’t stick together in the bowl and the entrée part of their dinner was complete.
“This is a real feast, honey,” Ross said after he’d taken the first bite. “Please don’t tell me that we’re going to eat like this all the time.”
Hannah frowned slightly. “Why? Is there something you don’t like?”
“I like absolutely everything, and that’s the problem. If I eat like this every night, I’m going to gain hundreds of pounds.”
Everyone at the table laughed and so did Hannah. At first she’d thought Ross might be serious, but he was only teasing her.
“Just wait for dessert,” she told him. “Michelle made it and it’s delicious. You might have to change to your sweatpants after dinner if you don’t limit yourself to three pieces.”
“What’s for dessert?” Lonnie asked Michelle.
“Something we named Brownie Candy. One of the girls in my directing class brought it to rehearsal and I asked for the recipe.”
“Sounds dangerous,” Mike commented, ladling another helping of noodles on his plate. “I may have to stop with this helping or I’ll be too full for dessert.”
“Very funny,” Hannah said with a smile. “You’ve never been too full for dessert in your whole life, have you?”
“My sister says she remembers the time I refused ice cream. And it was chocolate, my favorite flavor.”
“Really?” Hannah asked.
“At least that’s what my sister says. I was so young, I don’t remember it.”
That earned Mike a laugh, but Hannah noticed that Norman was quiet. “Is there something wrong, Norman? You haven’t said much all evening.”
Norman shook his head. “It’s probably nothing, but I’m going to take Cuddles to Doctor Bob’s office tomorrow. She’s been sleeping a lot lately.”
“Maybe Cuddles is recovering from all that chasing she did with Moishe,” Hannah suggested. “She’s not used to having another cat in the house and they probably played all day while you were gone.”
“Maybe. But I’m going to take her in anyway. Cuddles likes Dr. Bob. She’s due for her annual checkup anyway and I’d feel terrible if something were wrong and I ignored the warning signs.”