Part 52: Kitchen Skills-1

"What time is everyone coming, again?" Quinn was sitting at the kitchen table in the barn, mincing shallots. "Cocktails at six; dinner at seven. Be careful!" Lucy winced, watching him finely chop the onion, terrified he'd cut himself again. "Are you sure this is a good idea? I can prepare the whole thing; you can go rest. You planned out the simplest dinner party menu in the world. Even I can do it, you said so yourself!" "Relax Lucy, I'm fine. Really. Check it out." To her complete horror, he twirled the handle of the razor-sharp chef's knife like a rock drummer before zipping it through a shallot at lightning speed. "Ha! I've still got it, baby!" "Quinn Allen, if you cut all your fingers off and die, I'm never speaking to you again!" He laughed. "Little trick I picked up from a sushi chef. Seriously, I'm bored to death lying around. I'm getting more dexterity back in my hand and I need to practice chopping — physiotherapist's orders. I can help you with dinner prep." "You better be careful," she said, taking a sip of the most beautiful wine; a delicious cabernet. "I love this wine, where is it from again?" "Bolgheri, a tiny little hamlet on the coast. Just one stop on our chef's tour of Tuscany," he said, smiling. They were finally getting to go to Italy, on their honeymoon. "I can't wait," she said, coming to him and putting her arms around his neck. She kissed his cheek. "Are we crazy, trying to plan a wedding in just five months?" "Maybe, if you were some kind of Bridezilla. But I love your idea of a simple ceremony on the beach with all of our friends in September, followed by a beach bonfire supper. I just wish you'd let me do it!" "Absolutely not," she said, giving him a squeeze and returning to the stove. "You're not catering your own wedding. I want you to relax and enjoy it. It's your day, too!" "OK," he said grudgingly. "Besides, Akira is an even more famous celebrity chef than I am, and she's excited about the gig. We'll have a fun day with the friends and family on our beach and then jump a plane to Italy!" "I can't wait to see it with you, Quinn." She gazed at him. Now that they'd been home in the barn for a week, he had his colour back and was getting stronger every day. It was a miracle he was recovering so quickly, and she vowed to enjoy every moment with him. They had a whole lifetime of beautiful moments to look forward to, starting with their engagement party that night. She'd kept it a careful secret even from Faye and couldn't wait to see the looks on everyone's faces when they shared the news. "So, what goes in this cognac butter again?" She shook her head, focusing on the task at hand. "Get the butter melting; about a stick and a half. Are you sure you don't want me to throw the dinner together? I'm feeling much better," he said, taking the shallots to her. "No way, pal. You're the sous chef today, and only if you feel up to it. Butter, shallots, what else?" "I've got some minced thyme leaves here, about a tablespoon but that step comes later. Sauté the shallots in the melted butter first for a few minutes." He dumped them in and inhaled before letting out a contented sigh. "Butter," he breathed. "Is there anything better in life?" "Not much," Lucy agreed, stirring them with a wooden spoon until they were glossy and translucent. So far, so good; she thought she would have set the kitchen on fire by now. "I am a culinary genius. OK, what's next?" "Three tablespoons of cognac," he said, splashing them in while Lucy continued to stir. "And we wait," he said, bending over to kiss her on the bridge of her nose. "You're distracting me from the stirring," she said with a grin. "Sorry. OK, that's reducing nicely. Let's take the pot off the heat and let it cool. Then, we'll stir in the fresh thyme and pepper and whip the whole mixture into a big pile of softened butter. Roll it up like a log and chill it in the fridge. When the beef tenderloin is done, we'll melt slices of the cognac butter into the meat after it rests. It'll be decadent." "Everyone is going to be so impressed. Don't tell them you helped me!" She pointed the wooden spoon at him. "I won't." He put his hands on his hips and looked around the kitchen. "So, you have your veggies prepped for the garlic maple potato mash. Desert is done; we made the dark chocolate cheesecake this morning. What else?" He looked around the kitchen. "Right, we need to prepare the tenderloin." "Done," she said, reaching around and bringing the dish to him for inspection. "I combined the Dijon mustard with honey, soy sauce, salt and pepper like you said and painted it onto the meat with that brushy thing." "Looks great." Quinn sprinkled the last of the chopped thyme onto the meat. "Just cover it in plastic wrap and pop in the fridge. Now, all the prep work is done. You can relax and have a drink with everyone and at 6:30 turn on the vegetables and pop the tenderloin in the oven. Easy peasy," he said. "I like cooking with you," she said, putting her arms around him, and looking up into his eyes, deep blue and warm on hers; always with hint of mischief in their depths. "I love that I'm enhancing my cooking skills. You're a great teacher. Mostly, I like being able to take the credit for all of your hard work." She reached up on tiptoe and kissed him. Just a hug and a couple of tiny kisses from him and she was tingling from head to foot. It had been a while since they'd been together in that way, and she missed being that close to him. But he was still recovering, and she wanted to wait until he was completely well and ready. "There is one more thing, you forgot the salad," she admonished him, grabbing some brightly coloured peppers and slicing into them. "Ugh." Watching her, he had a look of sheer torment on his face. She put down the knife. "What is it? Are you OK? Do you need to lie down?" "No, I'm good. But that's not how you slice vegetables," he said. "They're all different sizes and shapes!" "Well, why don't you show me the way, Hot Chef?" He came behind and put his arms around her. "You fold your knuckles in, like this. So, your fingers are always behind the blade. I'm pretty sure we've gone over this before." He took her hand in his and gently guided her through it. "Uniform slices, see? Much more attractive." His deep, resonant voice was like warm honey.