She smiled at him. “Let’s hope you still think it’s fun when we get to the end of the class.”
He pulled her against him. “Oh, it’ll definitely be fun. I can feel it.”
She liked his confidence.
The first thing they were going to learn was how to make pasta.
“Whoa,” she said. “This sounds daunting.”
Tucker put his arm around her. “You’re a doctor. You do amazing things to help people every day, Aubry. Surely you’re not going to be intimidated by a little pasta, are you?”
She inhaled a deep breath. “I guess not.”
They put on aprons, Aubry rolled up her sleeves and they got to work on the eggs and flour, cutting the eggs into the flour and making the dough for the pasta. Aubry was intrigued by the pasta machine, and she watched with delight as Tucker had fun rolling the dough through the machine. They seemed to ace this part, and she set the pasta on the rack to dry.
She looked at him. “That seemed to actually work.”
“It did, didn’t it?” he said with a grin.
For the appetizer, they sliced the caps off mushrooms and dug out the insides to make stuffed mushrooms, mixing in cheese, garlic and bread crumbs before putting them in the oven to bake.
For dessert they were making almond biscotti, which made Aubry’s mouth water and her stomach grumble. She decided to start that, while Tucker worked on the spaghetti sauce and meatballs. It was truly a team effort, and the smells were divine.
Fortunately, the cooking school also provided wine, an awesome bonus. She sipped wine and made her log roll for the biscotti, tucked it into the oven and turned to see if she could help Tucker, who seemed to be mastering his sauce. She grabbed a spoon and slid it into the pan for a taste.
“This is delicious,” she said.
He looked at her. “Of course it is.”
She laughed, but she admired his confidence. She also believed that confidence would be what it would take to become a decent cook. You had to believe you could do it. It was a lot like medicine. Not for sissies. You had to believe in yourself.
She could do this. They could do this.
She helped him with the meatballs, and after those were ready, they added them to the simmering sauce while she went back to finish up the biscotti.
Their instructor was fantastic, not hovering, but giving direction and staying nearby to give them pointers, advising them how to manage the cook times and which items to prep at what times. Since it was just the two of them, it gave Aubry peace of mind to know Patricia wasn’t going to let them screw this up.
When their stuffed mushrooms were finished, they actually had time to sit and savor their wine and appetizer together. She fed one to Tucker, feeling nervous as he chewed, then swallowed.
“This is really good. Here, try one.”
She tasted it, as surprised as he was that they had cooked something that had turned out so well.
“It is good.”
“You two are funny,” Patricia said, tasting one of their mushrooms.
“Why?”
“You seem surprised that you can cook.”
Aubry laughed. “We can make eggs and bacon. That’s about it.”
“Don’t forget we can also do toast,” Tucker added.
“Right,” Aubry said. “Toast.”
“Buy some cookbooks and start experimenting,” Patricia said. “You might surprise yourselves with all the dishes you can make.”
Since her biscotti was done, and it smelled amazing, Aubry set a pot filled with water on to boil, then filled it with the spaghetti noodles. It wasn’t long before the main course was ready, homemade noodles and meatballs covered with sauce.
“I’m going to be honest with you here,” she said to Tucker.
“Honest about what?”
“I’ve never been so nervous about anything in my entire life.”
He gave her a quick kiss, then raised his fork to hers. “Here’s to testing our culinary prowess.”
They both tasted at the same time.
“This doesn’t suck,” he said.
The noodles were cooked well, and the meatballs were flavorful. The sauce was great, too. They might not be experts and this dish certainly wasn’t restaurant quality, but for a first effort, Tucker was right. It didn’t suck.
“We might actually be able to handle this cooking thing,” she said.
“Yeah.”
“Or maybe it’s just the wine talking.”
Patricia came by and filled a small plate with their main course and took a taste.
“It’s not the wine talking. You both did good.”
Aubry felt like she’d just aced her MCATs all over again. “Yes!” She high-fived Tucker.
“Now enjoy your dinner,” Patricia said. “And the wine.”
“Thanks,” Tucker said. “We will.”