Tough Cookie by Diane Mott Davidson Read Free Book Online Page A

juice, Worcestershire sauce, dry mustard, salt, sugar, and black pepper. Stir into mayonnaise along with egg and minced shallot mixture. Serve with crab cakes.
    Ice-Capped Gingersnaps
    1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened 1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar 2 eggs ½ cup dark molasses 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar 4 cups all-purpose flour 4 teaspoons ground ginger 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon baking powder ½ teaspoon salt
    Frosting (recipe follows)
    Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter two cookie sheets.
    Beat butter until creamy. Add brown sugar and eggs and beat until well combined, then add molasses and vinegar and beat thoroughly. Sift together all the dry ingredients and add gradually to butter mixture. Using 1 1/2-tablespoon scoop, space cookies about 2 inches apart on sheets. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, until cookies have puffed and flattened and appear slightly dry. Allow to cool on sheet 1 minute, then transfer to racks and allow to cool completely.
    Frosting: 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar 2 tablespoons whipping cream 2 tablespoons milk 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
    In a shallow bowl, mix all ingredients well with a whisk. Holding the cooled cookies upside down by the edges, dip the tops into - the icing. Allow to cool, icing side up, on racks until the icing hardens. Store between layers of wax paper in an airtight container.
    Makes 5 dozen cookies
    -4- As the credits rolled, I scanned the interior of the bistro. Arthur was talking urgently into his headset.
    Jack was handing Eileen a champagne glass filled with orange juice. Or perhaps it was part orange juice, part champagne. Eileen cupped the glass in her hands and beamed Jack a grateful smile. No one was hustling up to offer congratulations or tell me how much money we'd made. True, the show had been flawed by the cookie fiasco, and had lacked the public support of the pregnant widow. But there should have been some good news. Wasn't that what public broadcasting was all about?
    Unfortunately, the only news coming my way was in the shape of pudgy, self-aggrandizing Doug Portman. His pate shone in the bright lights as he waved and shouldered toward the set through the dispersing crowd of spectators. I swallowed. How did you greet someone you'd had three dates with, eight years before?
    "Hey, Goldy?" Doug bellowed. "You forgot my ticket!"
    "Sorry, I - "
    "Ready to rock?" he hollered. "It's really coming down out there!" People stared at him.
    "Yeah, okay, I'm coming." I yanked off my microphone and surveyed the mess on the hot line counter. Fortunately, the bistro staff cleaned up after each show.
    "Arch and Todd decided to take a group snowboarding lesson," said Eileen, suddenly at my shoulder. "Want a mimosa before you take off? Jack made them."
    "No, thanks, I've got some business to conduct. Need to be sober. Are you skiing down?" Eileen replied that she was staying to talk to the PBS people.
    The kitchen was jammed with folks, so I couldn't change there. I nabbed my clothes and Eileen and I walked together down the hallway to the bistro's ladies' room. While I was taking off my chef duds and slipping back into my ski clothes, Eileen sighed. "Sorry about the butter," she said ruefully. "It was almost frozen in the walk-in. Our microwave isn't working, and I was afraid to smash it to soften it, 'cuz that would have looked bad."
    "Not to worry. Is Jack skiing down now? He was awfully nice, and I wanted him to know how much I appreciated his help."
    "He has to do lunch prep, sorry." She looked at me solicitously. "Goldy, are you sure you're okay?"
    "Yes, and thanks." We left the ladies', then paused outside the Lost and Found and glanced outside. The sky had turned a bright nickel. Swirling snow powdered Widowmaker Run. With a pang, I thought of poor Rorry.
    "You can always stay with us, if the weather gets really bad," Eileen told me cheerfully.