The Glass Kitchen (41 page)

There was a universal groan, and Gabriel glanced over, as if he’d forgotten anyone else was there.

“What?” he demanded.

Ariel spoke up first. “Maybe think about asking her if she
wants
to be yours.”

Portia only laughed. “The way I look at it,” she said, “
he’s
mine. The truth of a meal never lies. Seems only fair that I give back as good as I get.”

Gabriel wrapped her in his arms then and kissed her, a deep claim mixed with an even deeper love and respect.

“Get a room,” Olivia demanded with an amused smile.

“Seriously?” Miranda added.

“Sheez,” Ariel chimed in.

“Come, sit, Portia,” Cordelia said, taking charge. “Let’s eat before it gets cold.”

They gathered around the table and ate the meal, every last bite.

Later that night, Portia didn’t return to the tiny rented apartment on Columbus Avenue. She stayed in the garden apartment and crawled into the old bed Gabriel had restored for her. Joy filled her for the first time in weeks when the man she was meant to be with climbed down the fire escape and into her room.

“Girls in bed?” she asked, sitting up.

He nodded and lay down next to her, pulling her to him. “I’m never letting you leave again,” he whispered.

“No more secrets?”

“No more secrets.”

“Can you really live with me knowing things are needed before we know why?”

He rolled on top of her, his hands framing her face. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Then he kissed her, long and deep, and Portia knew she had truly found her home.

Sixth Course

Dessert

Mountains of Wildly Sweet Watermelon with Fresh Violet Garnish

Forty-seven

T
HE GLASS DOOR OPENED
, ringing the old-fashioned bell over the entrance to The Glass Kitchen. But the café was closed, and the customer was told to come back the next day.

Miranda was doing homework, Portia frosting a cake. Cordelia was setting one of the long tables with old silver and mismatched earthenware, while Olivia was arranging flowers and playing around with some sort of new software.

Ariel sat hidden in a small area in the back that had yet to be organized. No one in The Glass Kitchen knew she was there. She hadn’t meant to stay out of sight. But when she came in through the side door, everyone was so busy that no one noticed her.

She sighed at the thought, hating the possibility that she would always be disappearing, an adjunct to these people, not ever completely a part of them.

But the minute the thought flitted through her head, she realized what the cake Portia was frosting was for. Her birthday. Today she was thirteen.

Ariel had sat down on an overturned plastic bucket, shocked. All these people were throwing a surprise party for her. So she stayed out of sight while they finished preparing, even though the brand-new cell phone her dad had gotten her kept vibrating because Miranda was texting her over and over, wondering where she was. Ariel watched and listened as they talked about making all of her favorite things.

Her life had changed so much in the last few months. As the
New York Times
food critic had written, “The Glass Kitchen, owned and operated by three Texas sisters who create magical food in a world that sometimes spins too fast, is a must for demanding New Yorkers.”

The original Glass Kitchen cookbooks were kept in a country cupboard near the old-fashioned register, and were going to be published next year. Portia might have hidden them away in a closet for the first months she was here, but now Ariel found her poring over them almost every day.

The bigger change had come when Portia married her dad and moved in with them. Slowly Portia was turning the whole place into what even Ariel could see was going to be a real home.

When she saw everything was ready, Ariel nearly chirped with excitement, pulling out her phone and finally answering one of her sister’s texts.

“Ariel will be here any minute,” Miranda shouted, excited in a way that was still hard to believe.

But Portia had pulled Miranda into her circle, which made Ariel wonder if all along Miranda hadn’t felt a little bit invisible, too.

“Is everyone ready?” Portia asked. She was rubbing her stomach again, the way she’d started to now that she was carrying around a baby in there.

At first, Ariel had been jealous, afraid her dad and Portia having a baby would crowd her out. But watching everyone talk about Ariel’s favorite things made her realize she wasn’t being as incredibly smart as she really was to think that.

She saw her dad walk over and pull Portia close, putting his big hand over hers. “Ready,” he said.

Ariel knew that was her cue.

She slipped out the side and started to run the short distance to the front door, but forced herself to calm down. Then, taking a deep breath, she walked the last few feet to the front of The Glass Kitchen and stepped inside.

The bell rang overhead. She watched as Dad and Portia, Cordelia and Olivia, Miranda, and Marcus and Stan, whipped around. Even her grandmother Helen was there, still sad that Uncle Anthony had moved to Spain, but sort of resigned. Dad, with Portia’s help, or maybe her insistence, had been trying to include Nana in more of their family dinners. Good luck with that, Ariel had swallowed back more than once.

At the sight of her, the whole crew’s eyes lit up.

“Surprise!” they cheered.

Ariel slapped her hand to her chest and gasped. “Oh, my gosh! For me?”

Portia raised an eyebrow, and Ariel knew that her new stepmom saw right through her. Ariel just smiled as everyone crowded around her, bellowing the Happy Birthday song, Marcus and Olivia doing a good job of hamming it up. As soon as they were done, Ariel’s dad came over and picked her up, twirling her around. “Happy Birthday, sweetheart. You’re now officially thirteen.”

She held on tight, relishing the fact that he was her dad. No one could take her away from him. They had legal papers to prove it.

He set her down and guided her to the table. All of her favorite foods marched down the center like an ordered list of prime numbers. Or maybe not, she amended. Maybe the dishes were lined up like grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup, cupcakes, banana pudding. And watermelon. Mountains of wildly sweet watermelon littered with violet petals, and even a centerpiece made from those same purple flowers.

Watermelon and violets.

She felt her eyes get hot, because it was like Portia had made sure her mom was there, too. And then, proving the point, Portia’s arms went around her from behind and she said, “I’m so happy that she led me to you, sweetie.”

Ariel leaned back into her, holding on to her hands.

The day Portia and Dad got married, Portia told her that they were one big family now.

“We’re like a big pot of vegetable stew,” Portia told her that day. “All the better for the mix of different flavors, even if it’s messy.”

Everyone started talking to her at once then, asking her questions, handing her presents. In one way or another, all these people here in The Glass Kitchen, all of them mixed together, big and messy, looked at her, saw her. She realized then that Portia was right. This had been the solution to her problem all along, because a big, messy mix of family like this would never let her disappear.

THE GLASS KITCHEN MENU

First Course

Appetizer

Chile Cheese and Bacon-Stuffed Cherry Tomatoes

Second Course

Soup

Crab and Sweet Corn Chowder

Third Course

Salad

Grapefruit and Avocado Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

Fourth Course

Palate Cleanser

Blood Orange Ice

Fifth Course

The Entrée

Fried Chicken with Sweet Jalapeño Mustard

Sixth Course

Dessert

Mountains of Wildly Sweet Watermelon with Fresh Violet Garnish

First Course

Appetizer

Chile Cheese and Bacon-Stuffed Cherry Tomatoes

INGREDIENTS

20 cherry tomatoes

½
lb. bacon, cooked and crumbled

¹
/
₃
cup chopped green chilies (Old El Paso canned works well)

½
cup grated mix of Asadero or Monterey Jack cheese with Cheddar cheese

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350°F. Carefully cut off a thin slice from the top of each tomato. Hollow out the pulp, leaving a thin layer inside, and discard the extra pulp. Turn the tomatoes upside down on a paper towel to drain. In a bowl, combine all the remaining ingredients. Mix well. Spoon the mixture into the tomatoes. Spray a cookie sheet with nonstick vegetable spray. Place the tomatoes on the cookie sheet. Bake approximately 15 minutes, or until the cheese is melty.

Second Course

Soup

Crab and Sweet Corn Chowder

INGREDIENTS

4 strips of bacon

2 tbsp. butter

½
cup yellow onion, chopped

½
cup carrot, chopped

½
cup celery, chopped

4 cups frozen yellow corn kernels, thawed

4 cups whole milk

3 cups low-salt chicken broth

1 medium potato, peeled and diced

Pinch of cayenne pepper

1 bay leaf

Salt and pepper to taste

6 tbsp. sour cream

½
lb. freshly cooked crab meat, cut into bite-sized pieces

DIRECTIONS

In a large saucepan, sauté the bacon until crisp. Place the bacon on a paper towel to drain. Pour off all but one tablespoon of bacon renderings. Add 1 tablespoon. butter, melt. Sauté the onion until soft. Add the carrots and celery; cook for 5 minutes. Set aside. Purée two cups of corn. Now, add all the corn to the onion, carrots, and celery. Mix thoroughly. Add the milk, broth, potatoes, cayenne pepper, and bay leaf, plus half of the crumbled, crisp bacon. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove the bay leaf. Add salt and pepper to taste. Continue to simmer for an additional 10 minutes. Set the pan aside and let cool slightly. Stir in the sour cream.

Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in skillet. Sauté crab meat until heated.

Spoon the crab into bowls. Pour soup gently on top. Garnish with crumbled bacon.

Serves 6

Note:
For a real Texas kick, season to taste with hot red pepper sauce.

Third Course

Salad

Grapefruit and Avocado Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

INGREDIENTS

3 ripe, sweet grapefruits

3 ripe avocados

6 leaves butter lettuce

DIRECTIONS

Cut the grapefruits in half crosswise. Use a knife to cut grapefruit sections from the membrane. Cut the avocados in half. Remove the seed. Peel off the skin. Slice avocados into long slices.

Poppy Seed Dressing

INGREDIENTS

¹
/
₃
cup sugar

½
cup vinegar

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground dry mustard

1 cup olive oil

1 tbsp. poppy seeds

DIRECTIONS

Vigorously blend sugar, vinegar, salt, and mustard until the sugar dissolves. While still blending, slowly add the oil. When mixed, gently stir in the poppy seeds.

Makes approximately 1
½
cups.

Place one butter lettuce leaf on individual plates. Place grapefruit sections and avocado slices on each lettuce leaf. Drizzle the poppy seeding dressing on top.

Serves 6

Fourth Course

Palate Cleanser

Blood Orange Ice

INGREDIENTS

3 cups freshly squeezed blood orange juice (or use tangerines or oranges)

½
cup sugar

Juice of 2 large limes—adjust based on sweetness of oranges—the sweeter the orange the more lime needed

2 tbsp. orange liqueur

1 tbsp. kirsch

Vodka (optional)

DIRECTIONS

In a mixing bowl, stir together 1 cup blood orange juice and the sugar until they are thoroughly dissolved. Stir in the remaining blood orange juice, lime juice, orange liqueur, and kirsch. Mix thoroughly.

Pour the mixture into gallon-size plastic zip bags. Before zipping closed, squeeze out as much air as possible. Freeze overnight.

Take the bags out of the freezer; manipulate the bags with your hands just a bit to loosen up the ice. With a fork, break up then ice into small chunks. (The consistency should be icy slush.) Spoon into glasses. Top with splash of vodka if desired.

Serves 6

Fifth Course

The Entrée

Fried Chicken with Sweet Jalapeño Mustard

INGREDIENTS

2 cups panko

2 cups bread crumbs

Seasoned salt, salt and pepper to taste

2 to 3 eggs, scrambled (can use yogurt or buttermilk instead)

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (use kitchen mallet to pound into flat, even pieces)

6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (use kitchen mallet to pound into flat, even pieces)

Vegetable oil for pan frying

DIRECTIONS:

Mix the panko, bread crumbs, and seasoning in a bowl for dipping, or a bag for shaking.

Dip the pieces of chicken into the egg to coat; then dip in the bowl of crumb mix. Coat the chicken in the mixture. (For extra-crispy chicken, repeat the dipping steps.) Place the prepared chicken on a cookie sheet.

Cover the bottom of a large skillet with a thin layer of vegetable oil. Heat on medium-high until hot. Carefully fill the bottom of the pan with chicken pieces. Brown, approximately 4 to 6 minutes each side (depending on the thickness of the chicken), until cooked thoroughly. Place on a paper towel to drain.