Tourte Milanese- A Meal en Croute
May 18, 2013 at 5:11 am | Posted in Breakfast, Daring Cooks, Dinner, Lunch, Pastry, Rainbow, Vegetables | 25 CommentsTags: eggs, En Croute, Ham, Julia Child, Michel Richard, Peppers, Puff Pastry, Spinach, Torte Milanese, Tourte Milanese
Remember when I told you about the computer crash of 2010, where I lost almost everything, mainly tons of photos of some of the best goodies I’ve ever made, most of them pretty labor intensive? You see, I was on this roll from September 2010 t0 January 2011 – a fancy shmancy crazy roll. Once or twice a week I was creating showstopping sweet and savory dishes like they were going out of style, and as luck would have it, getting some good clicks of them.
It was an amazing food blog run. I had about 7 posts lined up. The posts weren’t written, but the photos were ready – tucked in and snug as a bug in a rug in my photo program, waiting until I was ready to write and post. Then..the crash.
A twist on Crack Pie, 12-Layer Macadamia Nougatine Milk Chocolate Torte, Cassoulet (which I had to make again immediately since it was a challenge I was co-hosting) , beautiful Quince-Fig Tartlets with Frangipane, and this Tourte Milanese. There were other potential posts lost, but these five bothered me the most, especially the Tourte Milanese.
I cried when I was told that they were so damaged there was no way of recovering them . I cursed, I screamed, but it wasn’t going to bring them back. I threw something, I think it was a banana, but all that did was leave a smudge on the wall.
I’m not a violent person by any stretch, but, damn, when you put so much heart, time and intensity into something and then it vanishes into thin air, you need to throw something. Think of those who don’t back up 100′s of pages of a book they’ve been writing for a year or more..and lose it in one fell swoop – for-ev-er.
Now I pay for an online backup service. More than worth it.
The worst part is..only those 5 creations were annihilated. Most of the so-so potential post photos were recovered or partially recovered. It freakin’ figures.
I never posted the so-so potential posts.
It still bugs me to this day because I will never recreate those photos. I had every step snapped, and for once, I was happy with the results. With artificial light, I didn’t think I could ever do better than those, so I never even attempted to recreate it. The amount of photos plus post processing was staggering. It was hours and hours of work. No way, no how.
Well, apparently my stubbornness and laziness are not as concrete as I thought. Once I saw the theme for this months Daring Cooks challenge, ‘en croute’, the tourte resurfaced aggressively. I couldn’t get it out of my mind. I knew it was time to erase the misery of those lost photos and just do it again. I was a mixed bag of excitement (because I love making it) and dread (he thought of all the photo work made me queasy), but with a few days to go, I let it loose and ran with it.
I had to make it easier or I wouldn’t do it, so I bought the puff pastry dough. I had no more homemade puff pastry in my freezer and I wasn’t going to make the puff pastry from scratch this time, no matter how much I enjoy doing so. Time is an issue..energy is an issue. Store bought or bust.
The tourte and photos didn’t turn out as nice as the 2010 annihilated batch, but I’m happy with it nonetheless and glad I could finally share it with you all.
Now to the lady whose blog name I love;
Our lovely Monkey Queen of Don’t Make Me Call My Flying Monkeys, was our May Daring Cooks’ hostess and she challenged us to dive into the world of en Croute! We were encouraged to make Beef Wellington, Stuffed Mushroom en Croute and to bring our kids into the challenge by encouraging them to create their own en Croute recipes!
I made individual beef wellingtons back in 2010 for another en croute challenge, so, naturally I wanted to go in another direction ‘en croute’ wise. The Tourte Milanese was perfect in that respect and it is ‘en croute;’, so there. It’s also either Italian in origin or a tribute to Italy via the French, or just Michel Richard, since the layers, yellow representing white (what white food is better than eggs? I rest my case) pretty much correspond to the colors of the Italian flag, and Milanese is well..from Milan.
Although this Tourte Milanese looks difficult, it isn’t. You cook eggs and spinach, and roast red bell peppers. The rest is rolling out dough and layering ham and cheese along with the three, and that’s it - unless you feel the need to butcher a pig and make cheese. It makes a beautiful brunch main dish, or anytime main dish. Switch out some of the ingredients for ingredients you like. For instance, broccoli instead of spinach, turkey instead of ham, cheddar cheese instead of swiss. Endless possibilities.
Oh, the 10 eggs? Remember, this serves anywhere from 4 to 8 people, depending on the size of the slices. That’s two or less eggs per person. It sounds much worse than it actually is.
Tourte Milanese
Recipe by Michel Richard
4 to 8 servings, depending how you slice it
Video of Michel Richard making the Torte Milanese - Starting at 6:23
1 pound puff pastry, chilled - homemade or store bought. If using store bought, roll both sheets together for 1 lb, then cut off a 1/4 lb for the top of the torte. Use any scraps to cut out designs for the top, if desired.
For the Eggs
10 large eggs
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 teaspoons snipped fresh tarragon
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
Filling
6 large red bell peppers
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 1/2 pounds spinach, trimmed and washed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
3 tablespoons heavy cream (optional)
8 ounces Swiss cheese or Gruyere, thinly sliced
8 ounces smoked or honey ham, thinly sliced
1 large egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water and a pinch of salt
DIRECTIONS:
1. Prepare the pastry: Generously butter an 8 1/2-inch springform pan. Cut off one quarter of the pastry, cover, and set aside. Roll out remaining puff pastry on a lightly floured work surface to a 1/4-inch thick round. Carefully fit the pastry into the pan, pressing to get a smooth fit, leave a 1-inch overhang. Roll out the smaller piece of pastry until it is 1/4 inch thick. Cut out an 8-inch circle of dough for the top of the torte and lift it onto a plate or baking sheet. Cover both the crust and the lid with plastic wrap and refrigerate while you prepare the filling. If using scraps for cut-out designs, like leaves, place the cut-outs on a separate plate, cover with plastiv wrap and chill in fridge along with top and lined springform pan.
2. Make the Eggs: Whisk eggs, herbs, salt and pepper together. Melt the butter in a large skillet over low heat and pour in the eggs. Gently but constantly stir the eggs around in the pan, pulling the eggs that set into the center of the pan. Slide the eggs onto a plate, without mounding them, and cover immediately with plastic wrap. You want a loose, soft scramble since the eggs will be baking for a little over an hour.
3. Roast the peppers: place whole and untrimmed, directly over the flame of a gas burner. As soon as one portion of a peppers skin is charred, turn the pepper. When black and blistered all over, drop into a bowl…cover with plastic wrap and let steam (I throw them all in a paper or large ziplock bag and seal it shut) for about 20 minutes. Use your fingers to rub off skin – DO NOT rinse under water, you lose flavor. Cut each pepper once from top to bottom, cut away the stem, open the peppers, and lay them flat. Trim away the inside veins and discard the seeds; season peppers with salt and pepper and set aside, covered, until needed.
Alternatively, lay the peppers on a baking sheet and place them under the broiler, turning them as each side chars Then continue to skin and seed them as instructed above.
The peppers release a lot of liquid once roasted. Make sure the peppers are dry (blot with paper towels) before adding them to the tourte. I cut up the roasted peppers because sometimes you end up with big or whole pieces pulling out with each forkful.
5. Cook the spinach: in a large quantity of boiling salted water for 1 minute to blanch it. Drain spinach in a colander, rinse with cold water, and press it to extract all of the excess moisture. Heat the oil, butter, and garlic in a large skillet over medium heat. Add blanched spinach and sauté for 3 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg, and add a little heavy cream. Bring quickly to the boil and stir so it mixes with the spinach. Remove the spinach from the skillet with a slotted and set aside. Once it’s coole, squeeze as much liquid out before adding it to the tourte.
6. Assemble the Torte: Remove the pastry-lined springform pan from the refrigerator and layer the filling ingredients in the following order: (quick tip: Sprinkle a little dry bread crumbs or grated Italian hard cheese on the bottom of the raw crust before adding first layer of scrambled eggs to protect against a soggy bottom crust).
- half the eggs
- half the spinach
- half the ham
- half the cheese
- all the roasted peppers, laid flat
Continue layering in reverse order;
- remaining half of cheese
- remaining half of ham
- remaining half of spinach
- remaining half of eggs
With each layer, make certain that the ingredients are spread to the edge of the pan. Fold the excess crust in over the filling, and brush the rim of crust you’ve created with the egg wash. Center the rolled-out top crust over the torte and gently push the edge of the top crust down into the pan, pressing and sealing the top and bottom crusts along the sides. Brush the top with the egg wash and cut a vent in the center of the crust. Use the point of the knife to etch a design in the top crust, taking care to cut only halfway into the dough. Chill the fully loaded tourte for 30 minutes to 1 hour before baking.
20 minutes prior to baking; position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat oven to 350°F.
7. Bake the Torte: Place the torte on a jelly-roll pan, give it another coat of egg wash, and bake it for 1 hour 10 minutes, or until puffed and deeply golden. Remove from the oven and let rest on a rack until it reaches room temperature. Run a blunt knife or offset spatula around the edges of the pan and release the sides. Let cool for 20 – 30 minutes before cutting. I let it cool for 1 hour before cutting because it still felt like it would fall apart upon cutting, after 30 minutes.
Please excuse the hideous photos of the spinach layers, below. The spinach was too dark to get a decent photo of with the artificial light.
Peanut Butter (or Almond Butter) Matzo Brei with Fresh Strawberry Syrup or Jam
March 27, 2013 at 9:09 pm | Posted in Breakfast, Fruit, Holiday, Jams/Jellies | 26 CommentsTags: almond butter, matzo, matzo brei, Passover, Peanut Butter, strawberries
I wanted to make Egg Foo Yung.
It was cooking class in 6th grade, mid-Passover. The teacher said those of us who observed Passover would be making Matzo Brei and everyone else would be making Egg Foo Yung.
“Can I have a show of hands of those who observe Passover, please?” she asked with an evil glint in her eye.
Continue Reading Peanut Butter (or Almond Butter) Matzo Brei with Fresh Strawberry Syrup or Jam…
Streusel Overkill is Good – Raspberry Brown Butter Pecan Chocolate Chip Streusel Cake
February 4, 2013 at 11:59 am | Posted in Breakfast, Cakes, Dessert, Fruit, Giveaway, SRC | 78 CommentsTags: baking, Brown Butter, chocolate chips, Pecans, raspberries, Recipe, streusel, Streusel Cake
I love warm rainy days in the spring and summer. I love the scent of lilacs. I love the smell of Fall. I love when someone brushes my hair. Are you gagging yet? Well you won’t be when I tell you what I love next.
I love streusel..lots and lots of streusel. Who doesn’t? I don’t think I’ve ever met a person who doesn’t love streusel. However, I know plenty of people who hate the scent of lilacs, abhor rainy days, despise Fall because it’s the official end of summer, and can’t stand someone else brushing, much less touching, their hair.
Peanut Butter Brown Sugar and/or Double Chocolate Overnight Oatmeal, plus the KA Mixer Winner, and Part 13A
June 9, 2012 at 3:55 pm | Posted in Breakfast, Fruit, Giveaway, Healthy, Jams/Jellies, Lunch | 47 CommentsTags: brown sugar, First Love, fruit, Greek Yogurt, Heavy Cream, Jam, Jelly, Milk, Overnight Oatmeal, Overnight Oats, Peanut Butter, Peanut Butter Oatmeal, Preserves, vanilla
I don’t usually go for food fads, trends or rules. In fact, I don’t abide by any rules when it comes to food. I’ve been known to bake pumpkin pies in June, and I know some people may argue this, but there is NO discernible difference between using fresh roasted pumpkin puree and canned. I’ve tested it many times over the years..and no one..I mean NO ONE, could tell the difference between the pumpkin pie using canned pumpkin and the pumpkin pie using fresh pumpkin. As long as the canned pumpkin is pure butternut squash or pumpkin puree, with no additives, it’s perfectly fine.
There..I said it, and I didn’t want to wait until Fall to say it.
By the way, did you know most canned pumpkin puree is actually butternut squash. or a variety of squash, not named pumpkin? Yes, this includes the one that starts with L.
Back to trends and fads in the food blogosphere. I have seen overnight oats all over the place for months now. Normally, I’d steer clear, because I’m not a trendy person. However, I need quick breakfasts, I don’t eat breakfast anywhere near as much as I should, and I’m sick of cheerios, toast or smoothies, when I do. After seeing Barbara’s (of Barbara Bakes) overnight oatmeal with berries, I decided I really needed to give these a shot. I also decided to blog it because I didn’t bake or cook anything for the KA Stand Mixer winner announcement, and Part 13…ummm…13A. I don’t like putting up posts without something tasty and visual in them.
This is a food blog..well, food blournal, you know.
That said, no pretty jars for these overnight oats, since you will be using up the peanut butter at the bottom and around the sides of the peanut butter jar, so everything goes into the almost empty peanut butter jar. If you want to make it look nice for serving to someone(s), spoon it into pretty glasses or bowls..like I did for photos. BUT, off of my blog, it’s getting eaten straight from the jar, then bye-bye jar – into the recycle bin!
This is not a completely healthy version, but if you want to add protein powder, flax, chia seed. hemp, swamp goo, motor oil..or whatever, go ahead – no rules.
Well, there is one rule, but it’s a general rule to get the right consistency..and that rule is 1 part oats to 2 parts liquid, plus extras of your choice. If you want it thicker, add more oats.
Here’s my version.
Overnight Refrigerator Peanut Butter – Brown Sugar Oatmeal with Jelly or Chocolate
About 2 servings
1 almost empty jar of peanut butter (about 1/4 cup peanut butter left in jar)
1/2 cup old-fashioned or quick cooking oats (I tried both and preferred the quick oats, but if you like more ‘chew’, choose the old-fashioned oats)
2 to 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1/2 cup whole milk or any milk you prefer (skim, soy, rice, almond etc)
1/2 cup vanilla bean Greek yogurt or 1/2 cup heavy cream steeped with vanilla bean scrapings and pod (pod removed after steeping, of course)
fruit or jam/jelly/preserves of your choice and/or chocolate chips, chunks (optional)..I even added chocolate ganache to the bottom of one glass. No rules! You can go healthy or decadent, or both!
DIRECTIONS:
1. Dump the oats in the almost empty peanut butter jar. Sprinkle the dark brown sugar evenly on top of the oats. Stir together the milk and yogurt or steeped cream, then pour on top of the oats and dark brown sugar. If you’re adding chocolate chips or chunks, add now. Put the cover back on the peanut butter jar, tightly, and shake it vigorously. You’ll be stirring it come morning, so this is just a preliminary ‘shake’ to get the oats soaked and dissolve the brown sugar.
2. Put the covered jar in the fridge overnight, The next morning, open up the jar and stir it all together, digging the peanut butter up from the bottom and around the sides. Stir in fruit if you like – raspberries would be great, or swirl your favorite jam, jelly or preserves into it. If you prefer your oatmeal warm, give it a nuke in the microwave for a minute or two. Grab a spoon and dig in! Throw out the jar when you’re done..my favorite part next to eating it.
Note - I stirred extra peanut butter into the oats after they soaked overnight, only because I’m a peanut butter freak. It doesn’t need extra, but it doesn’t hurt if you’re a freak too. Also, I topped it off with some fresh, whipped cream and chocolate. If you want it topped, but healthier, use Greek yogurt.
Double Chocolate Overnight Oatmeal
1/2 cup old-fashioned or quick cooking oats (I tried both and preferred the quick oats, but if you like more ‘chew’, choose the old-fashioned oats)
1 to 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar (taste)
1 cup whole milk or any milk you prefer (skim, soy, rice, almond etc)
1 tablespoon dark cocoa
1/4 cup chopped chocolate
DORECTIONS:
1. Stir together milk and cocoa powder until uniform.
2.In an empty jar..like a mason jar, dump in oats, dark brown sugar, chocolate milk and chopped chocolate. Shake the jar vigorously and set in fridge overnight.
3. Eat right out of jar. I like to microwave it for a few seconds to melt some of the chopped chocolate. Enjoy!
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Now to Part 13A (Yes, 13A, I’m determined to get this memoir finished in 14 parts, so I’m cheating) of Bad Boy First Love. If you’re just tuning in, Part One is HERE, Part Two is HERE , Part Three is HERE, Part Four is HERE, Part Five is HERE, Part Six is HERE, Part Seven is HERE, Part 8 is HERE, Part 9 is HERE, Part Ten is HERE, Part 11 is HERE, and Part 12 is HERE.
The month I had left with him before the two-week separation was so much fun, things about it still make me laugh to this day. For one, I finally saw him drunk. It was 4th of July, and a bunch of his friends got together in an empty parking lot to party and shoot off fireworks. I brought one of my friends, who was now completely ensconced in a full-fledged friendship with Coco and one of his brothers.
Empty parking lots were a big thing in his town, no matter how small or large the gathering. They even had different nicknames for each one.
For instance, “Meet me at The Barber Pole” meant the parking lot across the street from a barber shop with a spinning pole in front. I soon knew each lot, via the nickname for it, very well.
I’d already gotten to know his friends and family well. One of my friends and I spent most of that summer hanging out with Coco and one of his brothers, whether or not Dreamboat was around.
Yeah, I know what it looks like. Gross, huh? But tasty, tasty, tasty.
He had two younger brothers, one a year older than me, one a year younger than me, and they looked nothing like him. Dreamboat was the golden boy – his looks coming from his Mother, who was of German descent. His father was a sweet, Italian man, and his brothers were dark-haired and brown-eyed like him.
They looked nothing like each other, either. The one who was older than me was about the same height as Dreamboat, but that height came with a slouch and a generous helping of grunge movement chic. He had a faint ‘stache of soft hair on his upper lip because he wasn’t old enough or hairy enough to grow a full one yet. The brother younger than me was shorter than the both of them and had a head of thicker, slightly curly hair. He was a metrosexual..rarely a hair out-of-place and always dressed well – the scent of Giorgio Armani wafting from his pores.
They looked up to Dreamboat in a way that was kind of rare in sibling dynamics, at least in my world. They adored and respected him, but at the same time – feared him as you would a parent if you did something wrong.
They called me ‘sistah-in-law’, it was cute.
SO, that night, Dreamboat got drunk – super drunk. thoroughly shnockered.
He had a very cool and calm disposition, never raised his voice to me, never out of control in any way, shape or form – BUT, on this 4th of July, once blitzed, he was all over the place, and it was fun…I couldn’t help but enjoy my pickled Dreamboat.
He was always affectionate publicly (PDA!), he didn’t care what people thought, but because he was drunk, he was almost slobbering me, hanging all over me like a dead weight. I could barely converse with anyone. I was laughing, but relieved when he pulled me away from the crowd to talk in a wooded area off to the side. He pushed me up against a tree..kissed me for a few minutes, then leaned back a bit, just looking at me. A very serious look came over his face, and although he was 10 sheets to the wind, he sounded completely sober when he said this..
“I don’t want you to leave me, please don’t go”
I reassured him instantly..”It’s only two weeks, baby..we’ll have the last three weeks of August togeth…” He interrupted me..
“No, I don’t want you to go to Boston. I mean, I want you to go to college..but locally”
Huh?
I didn’t know how to respond, because I had thought about that myself. It was too late, though.. I’d already changed colleges to be closer to him, and everything was paid for and set.
Double Chocolate Oatmeal with melting chocolate shards
He nestled his face in between my shoulder and neck, and mumbled into my collarbone..
“I can’t stand the thought of not seeing you for months at a time”
He was like a child – so vulnerable, I’d never seen him like this before. I wanted to hold him forever, keep him safe…soothe his heart.
I stroked his hair (god, I loved his hair) and whispered, “But you can come visit me anytime you want, and..”
He cut me off again…
“No, you’ll meet other guys..rich college guys, you won’t want me anymore”
Was he kidding? That would NEVER happen..I loved him with every inch of my body, heart and soul. I could NEVER be with anyone else. I told him this, but not in those exact words..body, heart and soul was too poetic – I don’t talk like that..
“I don’t want anyone else, baby..I can’t even fathom it.”
That was better.
He hugged me tight, but I could tell he still didn’t feel good about it.
We remained that way for a while, his face buried in my neck, squeezing me to him so tight, at some points I couldn’t breathe. After about 15 minutes, the bark of the tree was starting to scrape my back. I tried to wiggle into another position, but then felt pain. The damn bark had scratched me..since I was wearing a white sun dress with straps in the back. I could feel the blood starting to ooze.
He was too wasted to tend to my latest injury, so I let him know what happened and suggested we go back to the parking lot. He tried to tend to it, he felt awful, but instead we went back to his house with Coco, his brother, and my friend. His parents had left for the shore with his other brother earlier that day..so after my friend patched me up, she took my car home, and I spent the night because he wanted me to. He was out like a light in minutes.
While I watched him sleep…I tried to think of a way to tell my father I was going to change schools again..apply to NYU. I couldn’t bear to be away from him for months at a time either.
Well..it didn’t work.
“NO, you’re going to school in Boston, and that’s it! ” my father shouted angrily when I tried to reason with him, “But, Dad, you went to NYU”
He left the room.
OKAY..no Plan B here, this was sticking like super glue – arguing or begging wasn’t going to get me anywhere.
Dreamboat remembered what he said by the tree..it wasn’t the alcohol, he really meant it, but in the light of day, minus the alcohol, he knew that was something he couldn’t ask of me. He apologized, but I could see in his eyes that he was hoping I would tell him I’d stay.
A little over 2 weeks of more wonderful with him, later, he left for the shore, and I left for Florida with my friends and family. The night before, I cried, and he tried not to, but we would see each other in 2 weeks, so this wasn’t the end – yet.
I have to admit, I had a blast in Florida. We hung out a lot with some guys (just friends) that my raven haired friend and I had met during X-Mas break of my junior year, who lived in the condo, owned by one of their parents, year round. Lots of partying, lots of cruising, lots of beach, and lots of climbing the fence and swimming in the condo pool at 3 or 4 am. But, I still couldn’t wait to get home and start packing for the shore and my last 3 weeks with Dreamboat. We spoke on the phone a few times, but we were always interrupted by my friend wanting to talk to his brother.
When we finally got home, packed up, and left for the shore the next day, early evening, I couldn’t contain my excitement. I drove so fast, my friends finally convinced me to let one of them drive the rest of the way. They were right, I was too keyed up and anxious to see him. As soon as we got there, around 8 pm, I fixed myself up and practically ran to the pier. The one friend who accompanied me could barely keep up, and bitched about it plenty.
I was in a zone, and that zone was him..and only him..I had to see him, smell him, touch him, feel his lips and body against mine again. He was my oxygen, my drug, the love of my life.
With Cocoa Nibs
That summer he was working on the most popular ride on the pier, second to the roller coaster, called The Enterprise. This was a ride that started spinning horizontally, then lifted up slowly, until it was spinning round and round upside down, a non-stop loop – the one Dreamboat took me on the summer before that I hated, because I don’t like being upside-down, unless my head is hanging off the edge of a bed. It also scared the crap out of me. I felt like I was going to fall out, regardless of the closed car and how tight he held me from behind.
Gravity and I don’t mesh.
Naturally, there was not only a huge line for this the ride, but a throng of girls trying to get his attention. As I approached the platform, he was running from car to car closing them shut. He looked amazing, his hair was lightened and streaked by the sun, his lightly tanned skin accentuating his beautiful blue eyes. New ‘summer muscles’ had appeared from working on the ride.
Suddenly I felt like I did the summer before, insecure, scared, nervous..worried he wouldn’t want me anymore. We had been inseparable all year-long – in our own little world back in North Jersey, and now he was the ‘rock star’ again, but on a much bigger and more popular stage than the previous summers.
I tentatively stepped up on the first step of the platform, away from the line. He saw me and came jogging over..grabbing my hand and pulling me the rest of the way up..hugging me, lifting me in his arms, then kissing me long and slow. I heard a collective groan and a few curses from the girls as we put on our little show.
When we broke for a moment, he took my hand and walked me over to the booth so he could start the ride, and then we embraced outside the booth and kissed more, little sweet nothings and ‘I love you’s’ peppering the moment. He was just as happy and excited as I was – the moment was perfect. All of my worries disappeared - just as fast as they had reappeared. I was bursting with joy, inside and out..I loved him so much it hurt.
He took both of my hands in his, and stood back..looking at me..his dazzling smile melting me to goo as usual.
“Wow, look at that tan, my beautiful girl” He still hadn’t had his eyes checked.
I was suddenly that shy, nervous 15-year old again. My voice was weird..
“You look awesome too, baby”
He kissed both of my hands in his. This was getting even better.
THEN…
“Baby, there’s something I need to take care of tonight in Bricktown (a town about a half hour from his shore house)…I promised Andy (his friend from Part 4, with the nice girlfriend), I can’t get out of it”
A slight chill came over me…all the warmth and happiness draining as I tried to register what he just said. We hadn’t seen each other in a little over two weeks..what the f%^k??
He saw the look in my eyes and pulled me to him..kissing my face all over and squeezing me tight. He pressed his lips against my ear and explained that there were some people giving Andy’s brother trouble, and they needed to take care of it. He didn’t want to bring me, it could be dangerous.
I couldn’t help it, the disappointment was so fierce, and the fear of him getting hurt, so scary – that my eyes started to well up.
Dammit!
Remember how I told you nothing ever rattled him? Well..there was a negative side to that. When I became emotional or feisty, he treated it like it was no big deal and there was no reason for me to get so agitated, almost amused by my reaction when I was angry or upset with him. It had happened a few times during my senior year, but now it was more painful than ever.
For some reason, I couldn’t help thinking that all the girls watching him hug and kiss me were thinking how lucky I was, and probably wished they were in my place, but little did they know..he was blowing me off..or at least that’s how I felt.
I started to pull away from him but he kept pulling me back. The people on the ride were getting a bonus round of upside-down.
He took my face in his hands..looked deep into my eyes, trying to be serious since he knew his nonchalant reactions to my being upset with him, bugged me.
“If I get back early enough, I’ll come by and get you, ok ? It’s no big deal, baby..we have lots of nights together after tonight”
He kissed me a dozen more times, but I didn’t feel any one of them. How could he blow me off for some tough guy shit when we hadn’t seen each other in weeks? Maybe there was a girl there he liked?
On top of soft chocolate ganache
For the first time in our relationship, I opened the vault to my anger, and let it fly..
“Why can’t you stop being such a tough guy? Why do you always have to be a f%^%ing hero? Why do you always have to put your life in danger??”
I pulled away from him and walked away fast. I knew the girls watching us were happy as pigs in shit now that it didn’t look good between us.
When I reached my friend, I grabbed her and pulled her with me. Suddenly I heard a girl in the swarm of Dreamboat lust say to her friend..”Go over and talk to him, I think I saw him look at you!”
I stopped dead in my tracks and turned to see two relatively attractive girls continuing to plot their move on him. I saw nothing but hot, blazing red. I took a step toward them..
“Don’t even think about it!”
They both looked at me with surprise, as did my friend…totally shocked at what came out of my mouth. One of the girls decided to pour fuel into my already raging fire;
“I don’t see a ring on your finger”
That was it..I was in NO MOOD..
“No, but you will see one around your eye!”
OMG, what had come over me? I was going completely Jersey on these girls. This was a first. I think some of Dreamboat’s friend’s girlfriends had rubbed off on me.
My friend yanked me away..as the girls continued to yell obscenities. She had to pull pretty hard to get me to move..I was ready to rumble. I was hurting and seething at the same time.
Once we got off the pier and onto the boardwalk..I started to cry…sob uncontrollably. She consoled me as we walked back to the apartment, reminding me that I was PMSing, so I was probably overreacting. All she ever saw was pure love in his eyes for me, and he would be ok – he was strong and not afraid of anything.
It didn’t matter, I told her..strong and not afraid do not trump a knife or gun.
Coco and his brother were waiting out in front when we got back to the complex..since our other friend’s BF had driven up an hour after we did, and they didn’t want to disturb them.
My friend told them what happened as I rubbed my puffy eyes. His brother hugged me…
“Awww, Sis, (short for sistah-in law), he’s crazy about you, trust me…there is something he needs to do”
Yeah..like his brother, who adored and feared him, would tell me the truth if he was in fact lying to me. But it wasn’t just that..it was the worry I now had to endure. What if he got hurt? What if he was killed??
His brother then announced that their Mom had made her killer lasagna, so why not go back to his house and have some, so we could leave our other friend and her BF alone for a while? Of course my friend, who loved to eat and never gained weight, jumped at the offer. I felt sick, but went anyway. Great..I’ll be at his shore house……without him.
When we got there, his Mom was only too happy to feed us..well, them, since I couldn’t eat, I was too upset. She also tried to soothe my worries…telling me there was no one else he wanted but me,…she’d never seen him so in love.
Her blue eyes, Dreamboat’s eyes, sparkled as she sipped some wine. and enjoyed having a daughter to talk to – she stroked my hair in a motherly fashion….
“I’m tellin’ ya…I’ve seen dozens of girls come and go, yaw the first one he’s evah fell hard faw”
It helped, but I still couldn’t shake that icky feeling. I couldn’t tell her about his ‘taking care of Andy’s brother’ deal, which was scaring me more and more as the clock ticked away. There was no need to make her worry too.
Swirled with raspberry jam
She suggested we stay the night. Since his father only came up for long weekends, due to work, she insisted my friend and I sleep in their bed and she would sleep on the couch. She was in a good mood.. excited because they were going to Atlantic City that coming Saturday night to Sunday night.
After hanging out for a while, watching movies and playing some board games (as I desperately hoped he would suddenly walk through the door, the later it got), we finally went to bed around 2 am.
Surprisingly, sleep came fast. In what seemed like minutes, I was jolted awake from my deep slumber, as if someone had dumped a pitcher of ice-cold water on my head. I heard the backdoor creak open. He was just getting home..it was almost 5 am.
Part 13B coming soon.
Now to the winner of the KitchenAid Professional 600 Series 6-Quart Stand Mixer! I really wish I could give everyone who entered one of these mixers. I promise, there will be more great giveaways coming soon! Thank you all for entering!
The Random Number Generator decided that Candace, who’s comment is #224, is the winner!
Congratulations, Candace! I will be sending you an email so you can choose a color and give me your mailing info. As soon as I get it, it will be sent out to you ASAP. If there is no response from you within 48 hours, another winner will be chosen.
One more thing – I’d like to thank Bonnie, of Bonnie Banters, for nominating me for a Food Stories Award! Again, I’m incredibly flattered! Since I was nominated late last month, and have already passed on 5 nominations…I’ll throw in another random fact about me.
When I was a child..having had the luxury of seeing several Broadway shows, and listening to my father’s collection of Broadway soundtracks..I decided I wanted to be a Broadway singer. I used to stand on my front door step and belt out tunes like Tomorrow, Memory, One etc. There was one small problem, I couldn’t sing. My poor neighbors.
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Parsley, Sage and Sweet by Lisa is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. -
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