To Your Rescue: The Original Work From The Tumblr Author

Chapter Ninety-Two

Aubrey

Em was up and moving bright and early the next morning. As much as I wanted her to stay in bed with me and cater to my sore arm, I knew she had some work to get done before we flew to Vegas to start my birthday celebration tonight. Since I was up watching her get ready, I decided to go along with her to show my support. She was always in my corner cheering me on. It was only right to do the same for her and her passions.

Spoons drove us out to The Tasting Table Test Kitchen in the heart of Soho, where she would be working in the chef's kitchen with the in house staff preparing an appetizer, entree and dessert from her book. She was nervous. There would be food critics, chefs and other restaurant owners in the city coming through to try her creations. Of course, I had to talk my baby up and remind her that she was the best and had no need to be worried.

I kept a low profile, not wanting to derive any attention away from her and this moment. There were a few people that made it a point to come and speak to me, however, I kept my focus on her.

The venue was set up so that the chef's kitchen had an open floor concept. You could see how everything was being prepared from the seating in the dining room. She tied her hair up, rolled back her sleeves and got into her focused mode working both diligent and methodical in a timely manner with help from two sous chefs, who she coached along the way. The owner invited me to join the round table for testing and her presentation.

Mila came in behind three assistants who sat a plate in front of each of us as she described what we would be tasting.

"Good morning! How's everyone doing?" she flashed a warm, inviting smile looking so damn beautiful.

Good!

Excellent!

Wonderful!

"Great! The first course that has been placed before you are fried plantains and avocado sauce appetizer. It is a recipe inspired by my grandmother, mi Abuela Rosalyn. In her home country of Puerto Rico, plantains and avocados are very popular and were amongst the many goods she grew in her home garden. As a little girl, I used to go out and help her pick them from the trees and eat them as is. Then one day we had so many to where she allowed me to experiment with different ways to serve them. This is a perfected version of that. Here, I peeled and sliced some green plantains into one inch rounds, fried them until I got them a nice golden brown, flattened them to about a fourth of an inch and gave them another go until crispy. With the avocado sauce, I used a mix of fresh ingredients including cilantro, lime juice, garlic cloves and fresh Haas avocados. Enjoy!"

She nailed that shit. They were hanging on to her every word and didn't hesitate to begin tasting it. They went back and forth breaking down every element about what she had served. To me it was excellent. Hell, I thought that about everything she cooked so maybe I was biased. I never had plantains before, but the way she served them made me love them.

The next dish we sampled was brown sugar mustard glazed salmon, with wild rice and asparagus. The critics went back and forth about how wonderfully the fish was cooked and how fresh it tasted. The last course was dessert was an apple galette with cider drizzle that had everyone smiling and wanting another serving. Amazing.

If this was what to be expected in Owen and Gelo's restaurant when she took her position as executive chef, then they would surely have a full house every night.

I hung back with Spoons while she talked to each and every person that had been at the table. From the way she was smiling, I'm sure it was all positive. She looked so happy. Watching her thrive in her element made me proud. Especially after last night. She needed this.