Read Online The Perfect Dish by Kristen Painter - Free Book Online Page B

When Kelly walked in, they all greeted him with “Hi, Chef.” Kelly nodded and returned the greeting but didn’t stop. Through a second door and they were into another part of the kitchen. Kelly paused and spoke to a short woman with spiky red hair, also in kitchen attire. “Where’s JP?”
    “He’ll be right back, Chef. He just ran to the walk-in.” The woman glanced at their intertwined hands before going back to the sauce she was making.
    Aware of what their clenched hands must look like, Meredith pulled free. No need to give his employees any more to talk about than what they’d already seen. “Smells like a campfire in here. In a good way.”
    “It’s the smokers.” Kelly tipped his head toward another door. “The smell just sorta takes over.”
    A bald man in black-rimmed glasses came into the kitchen carrying two white tubs.
    “Chevré for the chicken special?” Kelly asked.
    The man nodded. “Yeah. It’s from that new supplier.”
    “JP, this is Dr. Meredith Black. She’s volunteered to be our guinea pig.”
    JP smiled. “Volunteered huh? I would’ve held out for at least minimum wage.” He held out his hand. “Pleasure to meet you.”
    Meredith shook it and slanted a glance at Kelly. “Oh, he’s going to pay, he just doesn’t know it yet.”
     

Chapter Seven
     
    JP placed the last dish in front of Mery. “Amarillo Sunset cheesecake,” he announced. Kelly grinned as she took the first bite. Still not a word about a diet. There was something undeniably sexy about a woman with an appetite.
    She closed her eyes and sighed. “Amazing,” she mumbled around the mouthful. She swallowed and forked up another bite. “What is this again?”
    JP smiled. “Amarillo Sunset cheesecake.”
    She nodded. “But what’s in it?”
    “We poach dried apricots in a mix of brandy and agave syrup with a touch of honey. When they’re soft, we take them out, puree them, add them back in to the poaching liquid, then cook them down to the butter stage. Once cool, the apricot butter gets folded into the cream cheese mixture.”
    She took another bite. Kelly wondered if she was always this receptive to food. Women who ate nothing but salads and broiled, skinless chicken breast bored him to tears. Mery looked thoughtful as she downed the third bite. “There’s more to it than that, though, isn’t there?”
    JP glanced at Kelly. “She’s got a good palate.” He looked back at Mery and crossed his arms. “I can’t tell you the rest. That’s Chef’s secret.”
    “Oh really?” she asked, a note of teasing in her voice. “So if you tell me you have to kill me?”
    JP laughed. “Yeah, we stick you in the smoker and serve you as the blue plate special.”
    Kelly jabbed him in the shoulder. “JP, we haven’t smoked anyone since Jimmy Hoffa.”
    Mery smirked. “Aren’t you a little young to know who Jimmy Hoffa is?”
    “Ouch,” JP said.
    “Sorry,” Mery offered. “Just forget I said that. So you really can’t tell me what’s in this recipe?”
    Kelly ignored the Hoffa comment for the time being. “Nope, gotta sign a confidentiality agreement before I can divulge those sorts of things.”
    “Hah.” Mery took another bite. She closed her eyes and seemed to be in serious consideration. “Some sort of spice or combination of spices. Something else, too. Something very familiar.” She opened her eyes. “Anise maybe? Vanilla definitely.”
    JP held his hands up. “I got no comment.”
    Kelly grinned. “Not bad. We add cloves and anise to the poaching liquid. There’s Mexican vanilla in the cream cheese base.”
    She took one more small bite. “There’s something else you’re not telling me.”
    “What are you, in league with the devil?” He shook his head. She got sexier by the minute. “We use piloncillo as a sweetener in the crust.”
    “I don’t even know what that is,” she said.
    “It’s Mexican dark brown sugar. It has a really high molasses content, so that’s what