Bones, Booze & Bouquets

by Marianne Spitzer

  Phillips shot me the stare of death and the room erupted in applause. Lou stood up and said, “Every business in this town will have a form in their shop for the residents to sign. You’ll have your signatures before you know it. Annie for mayor.”

  Phillips glared again and looked out at the faces of the people in the seats and then back to me. “You actually want to run for mayor? You have a successful bookstore. Besides, you’ll be busy with all the details of the mansion donation. The museums and city historian will need a lot of your time.”

  I smiled slowly and looked back at him, “Yes, I understand that, but if I’m elected mayor I need a bigger place to live and entertain. I’m keeping the mansion.”

  Shouts of “Annie for mayor” erupted again and Phillips banged his gavel yelling the meeting was adjourned just before he left the room.

  “Mayor Ryan-Cavanaugh,” Georgie said hugging me “I like the sound of that.”

  I did, too. Now all I had to do was explain it to Clark.

  The End

  Recipes Follow:

  Beef Rouladen

  8 (4 ounce) pieces of round steak pounded approx. ¼ inch thick—some grocery stores and most butcher’s shops have the pre-pounded steak for sale or they may do it for you, if requested.

  1/4 cup brown mustard

  ½ cup minced onion

  ½ cup minced dill pickle

  8 slices crisp bacon well crumbled

  2 tsp. salt and pepper (More or less according to taste)

  3-4 tbsp. vegetable oil

  2 cups water

  2 beef bouillon cubes

  2 tablespoons flour

  1 cup cold water

  ¼ cup sour cream, if desired.

  Spread 1/2 tablespoon mustard over one side of each piece of meat. Sprinkle the onion, pickle, and crumbled bacon evenly over the steaks. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roll the steaks jelly-roll style and secure with toothpicks.

  Heat the vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat. Brown meat on all sides. Add the beef bouillon cubes and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low. Simmer covered until tender, about 30 minutes.

  Remove the meat rolls. Mix the flour and 1 cup cold water with a fork or whisk. You may wish to strain the flour mix to ensure there are no lumps. Heat the beef liquid to just boiling. Add the flour mixture to the liquid, stirring constantly, until thickened. Stir in the sour cream, if desired. Serve the gravy over beef rolls.

  Rouladen is usually served with potato dumplings. Making them from scratch can be time consuming and frustrating since many kitchens no longer keep a potato press as part of its necessary tools. My mom made them from scratch when I was a small child, but she eventually discovered the convenience of a potato dumpling mix. The mixes make delicious dumplings with less chance of crumbling which can occur if cooked too quickly. Enjoy.

  Applesauce Cake

  Cream 1 cup sugar and ½ cup butter until well blended. Add 1 egg and beat well.

  Mix 2 cups flour and 2 tsp. baking soda together.

  Alternate adding some of the flour mixture and some of the 1½ cup applesauce to the sugar mixture until all is well blended.

  Add ½ tsp. cinnamon, ¼ tsp. ground cloves, ¾ cup dates, ¾ cup nuts (your choice), and 1 cup raisins.

  Bake in a lightly greased 13x9 inch cake pan at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

  Frost with buttercream frosting.

  Vanilla Coconut Cake

  2 eggs

  1 cup sugar

  1 tsp. vanilla

  1 cup flour

  1 tsp. baking powder

  ¼ tsp. salt

  ½ cup milk

  2 tbsp. butter

  Combine eggs, sugar and vanilla. Beat until thick. Add sifted dry ingredients. Heat butter and milk to boiling point and add to above mixture. Bake in greased 8x8 pan at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. Remove from oven and frost.

  Frosting

  ¾ cup brown sugar, ¼ cup cream, ½ cup melted butter, 1 cup coconut.

  Combine all ingredients, blend well. Frost cake and place under broiler for a few minutes to lightly brown coconut. Watch very carefully as it can burn very quickly. Cool and enjoy.

  Thank you for reading my book. I hope you enjoyed it. If you have a chance, please leave a review on Amazon. I would appreciate it. Reviews are the best way to let authors know if you enjoyed their books.

  For more information on all my books, future Annie Ryan Cozy Mysteries, and short story mysteries please visit my web site Marianne Spitzer, Author, Amazon site Marianne Spitzer on Amazon, my blog Musings Under the Willow Tree., Facebook page Marianne-Spitzer, Author or follow me on Twitter @MarianneSpitzer