The Icing on the Cake by Alison Kent

Author:Alison Kent
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: ebook, book
ISBN: 9780757391767
Publisher: Health Communications, Inc.
Published: 2011-03-05T00:00:00+00:00

Thirteen

*Strawberry Girl: strawberry bottom

with strawberry buttercream top

“MOM?”

“In here, Shelly,” came the answer from the same kitchen out of which wafted the smell of hot butter and onions, causing Michelle’s stomach to rumble. And where else would her mother be? she mused, smiling as she headed that way.

She adored that about her mother. Not that Ann Snow was predictable, but that she loved turning the simplest of ingredients into the most masterful of dishes as much as Michelle did—and had parlayed that love into a business of her own as a caterer specializing in desserts.

Today, however, they were starting with a cauliflower and onion tart, one rich with both mascarpone and Gruyère cheese, and made even richer with whipping cream—not a dish for the faint or weak of heart, but definitely one Michelle was looking forward to sinking her teeth into.

Every week, she and her mother got together to test recipes, to shop for cookware, to attend baking demos, to pick out the best produce the local markets had to offer. Today, she was pretty sure the time with her mom was going to be the only thing capable of taking her mind off Todd.

She and Todd had just met. She wasn’t ready to be so caught up in a man, to miss him as much as she did. Or worse, to feel their separation as a tearing apart of the togetherness, the independence she’d always prided herself on.

Was it supposed to be this hard to balance individuality and coupledom? Or was she still having issues with trust?

Then again, she thought, tucking her purse into the corner of the counter before joining her mother at the kitchen’s big block island, she and Eileen would be going to the U.K. in a couple of months—a trip she’d been looking forward to for ages—and she’d be plying the same torture to Todd. At least she hoped he would miss her just as much.

“Did you pick up the truffle salt?”

“Oh, yes.” Duh. She was here to cook, not to moon or moan. She dug the small bag out of her purse. “I hope this stuff keeps because I can’t imagine either of us will ever use enough to justify the cost. And please promise me it tastes better than it smells. Eww.”

“It does, and yes, it’s pricey, but not as much as the truffle oil the recipe calls for. I think the salt will work better.” Ann took the jar from Michelle’s hand, studied the label. “I really do hate fussy ingredients, though.”

Her mother wasn’t the only one. “Like the cardamom I bought and have only used once? In the butter chicken I cooked for the dinner party I threw with Eileen?”

“You haven’t made it again?” her mother asked, setting the salt aside to break apart the head of cauliflower.

Michelle watched the tiny florets pile up, popped one into her mouth, and shook her head. “That was it.”

“Hmm.” Her mother reached for a knife, began making thin slices of the florets. “Then we’ll have to find another dish to justify the purchase.

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