Karen's Cooking Contest

  The judges were two men and one woman from the Cocoa-Best company. They gave a little speech, and then started walking around the room tasting everything.

  “I am so nervous,” whispered Nannie.

  “Do not be nervous,” I whispered back. “Your Chocolate Magic will definitely win. It is the best. And you know what? There are twelve people here with chocolate-chip cookies. There are only three dipping chocolates.”

  “I am glad we did not make cookies,” said Nannie.

  It was very, very hard to wait for our turn. I always have trouble waiting for anything. But I tried to be patient.

  Finally the judges came to our table. I pushed the Chocolate Magic sign a little closer to them. The judges peered at our samples on the cookie sheet.

  “Nice color,” murmured one judge.

  “Good sheen,” said another.

  “Very rich-looking,” said the third.

  I turned to Nannie and wiggled my eyebrows. She smiled at me.

  Then the judges started tasting. They each tried a strawberry, a pretzel, and a tiny chocolate-covered cake. Then they each took another piece of chocolate-dipped fruit.

  In between the samples, they sipped water and made notes in their notebooks. I could hardly stand the excitement. I crossed the fingers of both hands behind my back, and tried to cross my toes inside my sneakers.

  “Thank you very much,” said one judge. “We will now confer, and decide on our winners.”

  I could not sit still while the judges huddled at the front of the ballroom, whispering to each other. I felt as if I would have to jump up and start running around. But I did not. I sampled other people’s recipes. (We were allowed to do this. Everyone was doing it. It is a good thing we had brought lots of samples of Chocolate Magic.)

  I tasted many delicious chocolate things, but nothing was as good as Nannie’s Chocolate Magic. And I am not just saying that.

  Finally the judges called for our attention. “We have a winner,” one man announced. “The first-place blue ribbon goes to … Janet Taylor, for her Chocolate Magic!”

  “Oh, my goodness!” cried Nannie. She and I stared at each other. Then I leaped into her arms.

  “Congratulations, Nannie!” I yelled. “Hooray!”

  We began jumping up and down. The judges came to Nannie’s table and pinned a huge blue ribbon to the cloth.

  “Congratulations, Mrs. Taylor,” each of the judges said. All three of them shook Nannie’s hand. Then they shook my hand too. I felt very proud and important. After all, I had done a lot of the dipping and swirling. Not to mention a lot of the taste-testing.

  “The first-place prize in this, the first round of the Cocoa-Best Chocolate Cook-off, is a fifty-dollar gift certificate,” said the lady judge. “It is good for any of the many Cocoa-Best products wherever they are sold.”

  “Thank you very much,” said Nannie. She took the certificate and smiled. Someone from the Stoneybrook News took a picture of Nannie and me each holding one side of the certificate. I smiled extra big.

  “And of course we will see you next week in Hartford,” said the second judge. “For round two of the cook-off.”

  “Round two?” I asked.

  “Today’s contest was just for Stoneybrook,” explained Nannie. “Next week’s contest is for all of Connecticut. Then comes all of the states in the Northeast.”

  “Wow,” I said. “We better get to work!”

  Tasty Treats

  “How many recipes do we have so far?” asked Terri Barkan on Tuesday morning. The bell had not rung yet, but most of us were already in Ms. Colman’s room.

  Addie Sidney counted. “Forty-five,” she said.

  “Forty-five!” I exclaimed. “We have heard from forty-five celebrities?” (None of them was mine.)

  Addie shook her head. “No. Some celebrities sent more than one recipe.”

  “I have heard from all five of my celebrities,” said Pamela. She tossed her long hair over one shoulder. I gritted my teeth.

  Pamela turned to Nancy. “Did you ever hear from your weatherman?”

  “Yes,” said Nancy. “For your information, I did. And he sent a pot roast recipe that sounds delicious.”

  Pamela tossed her hair again and went to the back of the room to talk to her two best friends, Jannie Gilbert and Leslie Morris.

  I sat down at my desk and put my head in my hands.

  Nancy guessed what was wrong. “Do not worry, Karen,” she said. “I am sure you will hear from a celebrity soon.”

  “It has been a long time,” I said.

  “Yes, but some people are just taking longer,” said Nancy.

  “Nancy is right,” said Hannie. “I have received only two replies. Nancy has gotten three. A bunch of kids have heard from just one person. And you are not the only one who has not gotten any letters yet.”

  I made a face. “Only me, Audrey, and Natalie. We are losers in the cookbook project.”

  “Karen, I do not like to hear that,” said Ms. Colman from her desk. (I sit in the very front row, because I am a glasses-wearer. The other glasses-wearers are Ricky and Natalie and Ms. Colman. My desk is right in front of Ms. Colman’s desk.)

  “I do not think anyone in my class is a loser,” said Ms. Colman. “If you have not received a letter yet, you may participate in other ways. For example, it is time for us to think of a title for our cookbook. As soon as class begins, I will collect suggestions. And we will also need some art. In the meantime, you may still hear from your celebrities. Okay?”

  “Okay,” I said. Ms. Colman always knows how to make me feel better.

  That morning we wrote down our cookbook title suggestions on a piece of paper.

  “Ms. Colman!” I said. “I have many excellent suggestions for a title. Should I write them all down?”

  “No, Karen,” said Ms. Colman. “Just choose your favorite.”

  Boo and bullfrogs. In the end, I chose Give Your Mouth a Party.

  Next Ms. Colman split our class into three groups of six kids. Each group had to choose just one person’s title. My group did not choose Give Your Mouth a Party. Instead, they voted for Nancy’s title, which was Tasty Treats.

  I decided that if they did not want to use my title, then I was happy that they wanted to use Nancy’s. After each group had picked a title, the class voted on the three titles. You know what? Nancy’s title won again!

  “Tasty Treats it is,” said Ms. Colman. “I think that is a fine title. Thank you, class. Now, we are each going to draw some pictures for our cookbook. Draw items that you feel belong in a cookbook, such as vegetables, fruit, cooking utensils, and so on. The paper and markers are over here.”

  That was fun. I drew many different things: a mushroom, a banana, a chicken leg, a doughnut, a bowl of mashed potatoes. Later, we all turned in our drawings. Ms. Colman said she would use as many of them as possible in Tasty Treats.

  I felt much better after I had turned in my drawings. Our cookbook was going to be very beautiful. And I was sure that I would hear from one of my celebrities soon.

  Round Two

  The next Saturday Nannie and I got up early. Nannie packed her car, the Pink Clinker, with all the things we would need for round two of the contest. Then she and I kissed our big-house family good-bye.

  Round two was going to take place in Hartford, which is a pretty big city (and the capital of Connecticut). I have been there a bunch of times. On the way to Hartford we sang songs and played road games. Nannie is very good to travel with. In Hartford, Nannie drove us right to the hotel where the contest would be held.

  Inside, we were sent to a big ballroom, much bigger than the one at the hotel in Stoneybrook. There were rows and rows of tables with white cloths, just like last time.

  Nannie gave her name to someone at the door, and he directed us to our table.

  “Well, let’s set up,” said Nannie.

  We put out our cookie sheets with waxed paper, and the bowl with the candle underneath to keep the choc
olate warm. I started dipping pretzels and strawberries.

  “Karen, look,” whispered Nannie. “That man is a famous chef. And that man has his own restaurant here in Hartford.”

  “Gee,” I said. Some of the contestants were even wearing tall white chef’s hats.

  “Oh, Karen, what am I doing here?” said Nannie. “I am a grandmother. I am not a professional cook. I wish we had not come today.”

  “Nannie!” I said in surprise. “You do not have to be a professional cook. Your Chocolate Magic will be the best thing those judges have ever tasted. I am sure of it. And being a grandmother is a very important job.” I patted Nannie’s hand. “Do not worry,” I said. “You will do fine today. And I bet your Chocolate Magic will win a prize again. You will see.”

  Nannie smiled at me and gave me a hug. “Thank you, Karen,” she said. “I feel better now. You are a great cheerleader.”

  I liked knowing that I had cheered up Nannie. “Look,” I said. “I think the judges are getting started.”

  * * *

  “And the first-place blue ribbon goes to … Janet Taylor!” said the head judge.

  For a moment Nannie just stood there, her mouth open in surprise.

  “Nannie! You won!” I cried. “Hooray!”

  “Goodness! Why, I never expected this,” said Nannie. She took the blue ribbon from the judge.

  “Your Chocolate Magic is delicious,” said the judge. “It is a perfect dipping chocolate. I am proud that it is made with Cocoa-Best chocolate.”

  “Why, thank you,” said Nannie.

  A reporter stuck a microphone under Nannie’s nose. “What else is in it besides Cocoa-Best chocolate?”

  Nannie drew herself up. “That is a secret,” she said firmly. “My recipe is secret. I created it myself, with help from my grand-daughter Karen Brewer.”

  I smiled for the camera.

  “Have you thought about marketing your dipping chocolate?” asked the judge. He helped himself to another of our chocolate pretzels and took a bite.

  “Oh, no,” said Nannie, smiling. “I simply could not. I am very busy. I only entered the contest for fun.”

  “Maybe you should think about it,” said the judge. “In the meantime, we expect to see you back here next week, for the third and final round of our contest.”

  “Yes, we will be here,” said Nannie, putting her arm around me.

  “Nannie’s Chocolate Magic will win next week too!” I said.

  “Maybe so, young lady,” said the judge. “Maybe so.”

  None for Karen

  “Yea!” cried Jannie Gilbert on Monday morning. “I have heard from my fifth celebrity!” She waved her letter around happily.

  Boo and bullfrogs. Jannie, Pamela, Tammy, Sara, Ian, and Omar had heard from all five of their celebrities. Terri, Chris, Addie, Hank, Nancy, and Hannie had heard from four of their celebrities. Every single other person in my class had heard from at least three. Except for me. I had not heard from a single one.

  “Maybe I forgot to put stamps on my letters,” I said to Hannie and Nancy during recess.

  “No.” Nancy shook her head. “You did put stamps on them. I saw.”

  “Maybe all my celebrities are out of town,” I said sadly.

  “If they are, they are taking long vacations,” said Hannie.

  “Maybe my celebrities are all meaniemos,” I said.

  “You have just had bad luck,” said Hannie. “It is weird that none of your celebrities have written back. But I bet it really is just bad luck. Maybe your letters came the same day they had to do a lot of other things, and they forgot about the recipes.”

  “Celebrities are very busy,” Nancy pointed out.

  “I know, but we will be sending the cookbook to be copied on Thursday,” I said. “If I do not hear anything by then, I will not have a celebrity recipe in the cookbook.”

  “Try not to worry,” said Nancy. “I am sure that by Thursday you will have three recipes, at least.”

  “I am sure too,” said Hannie.

  I smiled at my two best friends. “Thanks.”

  But on Tuesday, nothing came for me. Hannie heard from her fifth celebrity. So did Nancy. So did Chris and Addie. Ricky, Natalie, and Leslie heard from their fourth celebrities. In two days we would take the cookbook to be copied. I would not have any recipes in it at all. I was the only one in my class who would not have anything. Double boo. Double bullfrogs.

  Unless … Suddenly I had an idea.

  The Secret Recipe

  When I got home that day, Nannie was not there. She had taken Andrew to buy new sneakers. Kristy had fixed a snack for me, of apple slices and oatmeal cookies and a glass of milk.

  “How is your class project going?” asked Kristy.

  “Um, okay,” I said. I took a bite of cookie.

  “Have you heard from any of your celebrities yet?” she asked.

  “No, not yet. But I have until tomorrow afternoon. And I have a backup plan.”

  “Oh, good,” said Kristy. She took out a magazine and began to read.

  I waited until Kristy went to her room to begin her homework. Then I raced to Nannie’s recipe box. She keeps all of her recipes on index cards in a small wooden box that sits on our kitchen counter. I flipped through the dessert recipes until I found the one for Chocolate Magic. I tucked it under my shirt and ran upstairs to my room.

  I closed my door quietly and sat at my desk. I took out a sheet of paper and began to copy the recipe for Chocolate Magic.

  “One pound of chocolate,” I wrote. I wanted to finish copying it before Nannie came home. Nannie would be so surprised to see her recipe for Chocolate Magic in our celebrity cookbook, I told myself. She would be the only person who was not a real celebrity. She would be very flattered, I decided. I did not listen to the voice in my head that reminded me that Nannie wanted to keep the recipe a secret. I was just too desperate.

  I finished copying the recipe very fast. Then I snuck downstairs and put it back in Nannie’s recipe box. There! Now I was all set.

  * * *

  “Ta-daa!” I said at school on Wednesday morning. I waved my paper around. “I have a recipe for our cookbook!”

  “Good, Karen,” said Ms. Colman. “But did you finally hear from one of your celebrities? The mail is not here yet.”

  “No,” I said. “It is better than that. This is Nannie’s amazing prizewinning recipe for dipping chocolate. She has been winning every contest she enters with this.” For a moment I wondered if I should really hand in the recipe. Then I remembered that without Nannie’s recipe I would have nothing in the cookbook.

  I turned the recipe over to Addie. “Be very careful with this,” I said. “This recipe is worth millions.” I did not know if that was true. But it sounded good.

  “Okay,” said Addie. “I am glad you will have a recipe, Karen. With this last one, we will have exactly eighty-five recipes. That is a lot.”

  “Our cookbook will have a hundred pages,” said Ms. Colman. “That is a good size for a cookbook. And with all of your recipes and drawings in it, it will be very special. I think we will be able to sell a lot of copies, and make a lot of money for the library.”

  I smiled happily. I would not be the only one without a recipe in our book. Not anymore.

  Karen’s Clubhouse

  That night Nannie made chicken and dumplings for dinner. I picked out all the dumplings and pushed them to one side of my plate. I do not like dumplings.

  “How was everyone’s day?” asked Elizabeth. “Andrew, you start.”

  “My day was fine,” said Andrew. “It was my turn to hand out graham crackers at snack time. I was Miss Jewel’s special helper.” (Miss Jewel is Andrew’s preschool teacher. He loves her.)

  “I am sure you did a good job,” said Daddy. “Karen, how was your day?”

  “Terrific,” I said. “Tomorrow we will take our cookbook to be copied. It will be gigundoly wonderful.”

  “Will I be able to buy one?” asked Nann
ie.

  “Um, well …” I said. I was not sure I wanted Nannie to see her recipe in our cookbook. But how could I keep her from seeing the book?

  “On Friday we are unveiling our cookbook at the school library at one o’clock. We will have refreshments. If you want to buy a copy, you can come then.”

  “I will be first in line,” said Nannie.

  I tried to smile. I hoped maybe she would forget to come.

  “My day stank,” said David Michael. “I broke a shoelace. Lunch was yucky. And I lost my best marble during recess.”

  “I am sorry, honey,” said Elizabeth. “I hope tomorrow is a better day for you.”

  “I had a not-so-great day,” said Kristy. “At our Baby-sitters Club meeting we got only one phone call. I like it better when we are too busy than when we are not busy enough.” (Kristy and a bunch of her friends run a baby-sitting service. They baby-sit for me, Andrew, Emily Michelle, David Michael, and lots of other kids.)

  “I am sure it is a temporary lull,” said Daddy. “Business will pick up soon.”

  “I hope so,” said Kristy.

  One by one the members of my big-house family talked about their days. It took awhile. One of the good things about the little house is that there are only four of us, so I stand out more. It is easy to get lost in all the action at the big house.

  We had apple pie for dessert. Yum!

  Daddy tapped his water glass. “Has everyone thought about the pantry? Remember, I asked for ideas about what to do with it.”

  “Yes!” said Kristy. “I have put a lot of thought into it. You know, it would be the perfect place for the Baby-sitters Club to meet — if I could have a phone line installed. I bet club dues would cover the cost of having another phone put in.”

  “Hmm,” said Daddy. “I will consider it. Anyone else?”

  “Yeah,” said Sam. “If we wire the room for my stereo, then I could go in there and listen to music, and I would not disturb anyone. We could even soundproof the walls.”