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 Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2009 10:19 pm
It had been a grim decision for Shane to conclude not to have the Russian join Archer and himself for a cooking lesson, but he had made it only to not risk upsetting the Englishman. No matter how sure he was he would wind up doing that in the end, anyway, as he was Irish. Shane had been entirely unsure how to arrange this meeting and so had merely hunted down a random passerby in the halls that looked as though he might know what he was doing and asked him to find the man named Archer and deliver a message to him. The look he had gotten from the man was penetrating, but he did it nonetheless, and so Shane continued his journey towards the kitchen to make sure everything was in order and would stay that way for the next three hours or so.
The recipe he had picked was fairly simple - most of the work the yeast did for you - and so he hoped it would be easy enough for the Englishman to work with. While Archer had mentioned enjoying cooking, he had said that he hadn't spent much time in the kitchen, so the Irishman was almost completely positive he'd picked THE recipe to bake.
As the tall man arrived in the kitchen, he slowed his pace checking to ensure that none of the usual women were in there before going to gather the ingredients necessary. If the man were to deliver the note in a timely fashion, then Archer would be only minutes away and he wanted to make sure everything was in place before Archer stepped one foot into the kitchen. So engrossed in the preparations was he, that he began to hum a light Irish tune as he worked, waiting patiently for his pupil to arrive.
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Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2009 10:28 pm
Archer was a naturally withdrawn person. Thus when a strange man gave him a message to meet Shane in the kitchen, he felt both surprised and perplexed, surprised that the correspondence had worked and perplexed that the man had found him. Nevertheless, Archer had arrived in a timely manner. Stepping up to the door, he reached a dilemma.
Should he knock on the door? It would be the respectful, proper thing to do. But if the message was wrong and the kitchen was empty, he'd be waiting outside the door, feeling a bit silly for a long time. And it would be even worse if the cooks were still around. It would be much more practical just to walk in or peek in or SOMEthing.
But propriety, as always, dominated Archer's actions. He gave a polite knock on the kitchen door and waited.
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Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2009 10:44 pm
The tall Irishman nearly dropped the two eggs he'd just pulled from the nearest fridge when he heard the knock on the door. His heart jumped nearly through his chest as he slowly tiptoed towards it and cracked it open just as slowly. While he doubted a kitchen lass would knock on the door and his gut told him it was the forever formal Englishman, he wanted to be sure just in case. Upon catching sight of the man on the other side of the door, a small sigh of relief escaped from his mouth and he threw the door open wide before stepping just slightly to one side and gesturing inwards with one arm.
"Come in, lad, come in!"
Leaning in with a conspiratorial tone he added, "And do be sure to be quiet, there're still a couple lasses in and out, y'know!"
While that wasn't entirely sure, it added a sneaky, adrenaline rush to the affair and made things just that much more fun for the man. Gesturing once more, he pointed towards the table where he'd laid everything out, except for the eggs still in his hand, he walked towards it with a jaunty pace.
"Here's where we'll be doin' your cookin' lesson, lad."
Now if only the Englishman didn't mind getting flour all over his nice, clean clothes...
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Posted: Sat Jan 03, 2009 9:34 pm
Archer felt a wave of relief wash over him as the Irishman opened the door. Never had he been so glad to see the flirty gentleman before, but considering the alternative was a gaggle of angry cooks, the Englishman considered himself lucky indeed. Shepherded into the kitchen by Shane, Archer saw the Irishman had been preparing.
"Good Evening, Mr. Rian." he said to his companion. "Thank you very much for organizing this lesson." Archer's tone was stiff as ever, one could have creased shirts with it. However, it changed a bit when Shane mentioned the situation. "There are still a few lass- er, cooks around?" Archer whispered cautiously. Images of vicious women beating eggs rose into his mind. There were some people even LOTUS agents would rather avoid, and the Englishman was even uncomfortable around nice cooks. There was just something about them that made him uncomfortable. Then again, considering the poor reputation of English cuisine, the feeling might just be a natural response. Like saying 'Yes' to any sentence that included the words 'Tea' and 'want some'.
Archer looked at the cooking space appreciatively. He warmed just a tiny bit towards the Irishman. "It's wonderful." he told Shane. "What shall we be cooking?" Taking off his long jacket, he folded it neatly, and put it in a safe corner. He then proceeded to roll up his sleeves.
He didn't take off his tie though. Just because he was nearly alone, didn't mean he could look indecent.
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Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2009 11:56 am
It really couldn't be helped that Shane would smile with just a hint of pride when Archer's stiff tone was changed for a more cautious whisper. Perhaps he could liven the Englishman up just a bit yet! With an amused twinkle in his eye, he gave a short nod before responding, "Aye, lad, I think I saw one or two earlier. Not to worry, though, they'll probably leave soon." Or that was what Shane hoped. And through the other door, at that. As much as he enjoyed flirting and having a bit of fun with the lasses...the kitchen lasses were less than enjoyable when you had interrupted their work.
As the Englishman prepared himself for cooking, Shane also rolled up his sleeves, smiling with mild amusement as Archer left the tie on but removed the jacket. With a tilt of his head towards the ingredients and the large glass bakeware he'd left out to fit the rolls he grinned, "Why, lad, we're making caramel rolls today! Something warm and gooey, but also delicious to eat!" With another glance around the kitchen he added, "The process will take a couple of hours, though, lad. So we'll have to be quiet about it!"
Unable to resist, he added with a sly grin, "And ye might want to take that tie off, or at least put it over your shoulder when we get to workin' lad, or you'll get it covered in flour and caramel." Stepping over to the table, he picked up the smaller bowl before gesturing towards the faucet and small meat thermometer he'd managed to locate. "We'll need to heat that water there up to 115 degree farenheit before we can add the yeast to the bowl. We mix that together and let it sit for ten minutes or so until its nice and creamy looking while we heat up some milk and add a few ingredients to that." He paused shortly to let that sink in before posing the question, "So would you like to work with the water and yeast or the milk and such?"
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Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2009 12:50 pm
Archer nodded. That was a relief anyway, he would hate to give any ladies cause to faint because a jacketless Englishman and an Irishman were using their kitchen unscrupulously.
The caramel rolls sounded good anyway. Archer smiled appreciatively. "It sounds an excellent recipe to learn, Mr. Rian." he assured the Irishman. "I look most forward to it." He was still whispering, for fear of being caught being improper by stern faced cooks. "I shall be sure to be as discreet as possible." However, he couldn't help but notice he seemed to be more self conscious about the situation than his companion. It must be an Irish thing, he decided. Anyone from a country that could listen to bagpipes appreciatively must have nerves of steel.
He blinked. Take off his... tie? Looking at the tie and the cooking utensils anguishedly, the Englishman mentally argued with himself. He liked to take good care of his clothes, but he didn't like to go around indecent.
Finally, he slowly took off the tie and put it with his suit before gloomily returning to the Irishman. What would he like to work with? Water sounded fairly harmless. But what was yeast? It was a complex mystery indeed. In the end, he said "I should like to work with the milk, if you please." Surely even Archer could add things to milk without mishap.
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Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2009 1:29 pm
At Archer's smile, Shane gave one of his own before giving only a slight wince and adding in, "Call me Shane, lad. We're not at a formal occasion here, we're baking!" It didn't make much sense to him to keep tacking "Mr." to his name, but it seemed the Englishman's sense of propriety overtook his common sense. Was it just an English thing, then? It was humorous, though, that even in something as informal and fun as baking the man was being as stiff and formal as he could manage. A tempting thought floated to Shane's mind, but he quickly banished it. Drinking and cooking rarely got on well, unless you were making whiskey cake...which they weren't.
Returning his thoughts to the task at hand and not to his love of the chocolate whiskey cake, he turned his head towards the sink as if to start running the water to hide the smile that came to his face at the anguish and displeasure with which Archer removed his tie. As his student returned from carefully placing the tie aside, Shane turned his attention back to him, letting a hand hang under the faucet while he let the water run and waited for it to grow warm. "All right, then, lad. If you'll be using the milk you will need to measure 1/4 cup of it into the small saucepan on the stove. The cups are labeled, so just check their handle to see what size they are."
As soon as the water felt like it was heating up, he put the thermometer under it and waited patiently for it to go up to 115 degrees. This was one of his least favorite parts, but as soon as the water was the right temperature he just had to measure the right amount of it into the bowl and stir in the yeast. Then he was all done with the water part for ten minutes. Even as he watched the dial, Shane continued for Archer's benefit, "You'll need to turn the heat on the stove up to about medium or medium-high and watch the milk until you see small bubbles form. That means its starting to boil. Once it does that we'll add in some sugar, butter, and salt."
The temperature on the thermometer had finally reached what he needed and so he returned to the table to grab the half cup measuring cup before filling it water water and putting it into the bowl. Again he tucked the thermometer in and watched the dial to make sure it was still between 110 and 115 before picking up the teaspoon and measuring out a teaspon of sugar and adding it to the water. Picking up the yeast, he added for Archer's benefit, "This is what you add to anything with bread in the recipe. It makes the dough rise by creating bubbles inside. Once added to the water, it activates the yeast and when added to the recipe, it'll make our dough rise up for us."
Stirring in the yeast and water, he again directed Archer, "Once that milk heats up, you'll need to add 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 butter and just a pinch of salt, lad."
Desperately Shane hoped he wasn't moving too fast for the man and that he was being descriptive enough as he went about teaching him as he finished stirring the yeast and set it aside to sit for ten minutes.
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Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2009 1:45 pm
Archer nodded and carefully measured out the milk, setting it onto the saucepan as if it might explode. "Very well, Mr. Shane." he said dutifully as he turned the heat up. He had always been nervous when cooking. He kept feeling like it could betray him at any moment.
He wondered if in his foggy and mysterious past he had been bad at cooking. He must of been, so how had he survived? Assuming he lived on his own. He doubted he had ever had a valet or servants... And he shuddered to think he might have still been living with his parents. Shaking his head, he chided himself mentally. It didn't matter who he WAS, it was that he was here, now. He watched the milk, to watch for bubbles and also because he was still suspicious of it now that it had gone from being plain, innocent milk to Cooking Milk.
He blinked. So that's what yeast was. Making a mental note of it, he said "Oh yes, indeed." impassively and contrived to appear as if he had known it all along. Heavens, yes. Everyone knew THAT.
The milk started to bubble and Archer took out the butter, sugar, and salt. He measured the butter and sugar easily, but the salt gave him pause. How much was a pinch? A man of scientific accuracy, if one thing flummoxed Archer it was vagueness. He looked towards Shane, who was stirring the yeast, then back at the salt. Finally, he gingerly reached in and pinched some, hesitating before he put it in the milk. He closed his eyes, but nothing caught on fire, so he supposed he couldn't have gone TOO wrong. The Brit turned back to Irishman. "I've completed the milk." he announced with a hint of pride. "What comes next, pray tell?"
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Posted: Thu Jan 22, 2009 10:14 pm
Slowly Shane ticked off the minutes in his head as he stood off by his bowl of water and yeast, monitoring the Englishman to ensure that no problem arose. It wasn't so much that he was worried as Archer looked awfully uncomfortable and unsure of himself, and so that made him more alert about the situation. Almost the Irishman drifted off into the random musings of his mind, but he managed to keep his head in the game and smiled slyly when the man watching the milk tried to act as if he had known what yeast was. So Shane had been right, and Archer hadn't known! Then again, he figured most people that didn't drink plenty or make baked goods probably didn't really know what yeast did, so it didn't matter to him that Archer may not have known what it was.
A small smile of pride encroached on his face when the Englishman managed to successfully add in the extra ingredients and he couldn't help but give a short applause for the man when he announced he'd finished with the milk. There were still a few minutes left until the yeast would be done, so he gave a small shrug, "Now, lad, we remove the milk from the heat and wait for it to be lukewarm. Once that's complete, we'll be using" at that, he grabbed the larger bowl he'd set aside on the counter for them earlier and held it up, "this bowl to mix your milk mixture with my yeast mixture, two beaten eggs, and plenty of flour." There was a short pause as he glanced around for that smaller bowl that would have been more suitable for the purpose of having a bowl of cereal first thing in the morning and set it down at their official work station. Then, he grabbed up the two eggs he'd had sitting there in his line up of ingredients and a fork.
"And while we wait for the milk to cool, I will teach you how to crack the perfect egg!" Having said that, Shane tapped the egg on the edge of the counter near the exact middle of the egg so that the shell broke inwards and gave him enough room to pull it apart over the bowl. Once that was done, he lifted the bowl to double check for egg shells, found none and returned the bowl to its place before giving a mildly flamboyant bow to the Englishman with a twinkle in his eye, "Now you crack your egg and place it in the bowl. Once that's done, you'll need to beat the eggs together with this fork." Again, he paused with a small frown on his face. Perhaps that last line needed some re-phrasing? If Archer hadn't ever really cooked...he might take "beaten" literally...Trying again, he explained, "What that means is you'll tilt the bowl a little bit and hold it with one hand while you stir the eggs harshly with the fork." In an attempt to explain, he made the stirring motion with his hands, hoping that got the point across before stepping back to give Archer room at the counter.
Leaving Archer to do his thing, Shane retrieved a butter knife and the half cup measuring cup and measured out the first half cup of flour so that once everything was mixed, Archer could do the stirring. It would give the man a bit of a work out, and let Shane do the fun part - supervise. Once the measuring was done, he also picked up the second, larger bowl and a piece of cloth that looked to be large enough to neatly cover the top of that bowl. Lastly, he grabbed the wooden spoon and set it next to his measured flour portion as he waited, hoping the milk would take only a couple of minutes to cool off.
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Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2009 3:40 pm
Archer looked alarmed. Cooking was more violent than he thought.
Oh. A different sort of beat. Coughing embarrassedly, he took the bowl from the Irishman and began to stir it, carefully imitating the other's pantomime. He watched the other measuring and relfected that cooking was somewhat like a science. Like a formula, perhaps a higher calling after all. Looking at the eggs, he wondered when he should stop beating and he addressed the Irishman with the query. "How's this, then?" he asked as the eggs began to look well and properly subdued. "When do i know I can stop?"
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Posted: Thu Feb 26, 2009 7:00 pm
As Archer worked at beating the eggs, the Irishman pushed his sleeves up just a little bit higher before returning his attention to his student's work, just a little amused that the man had clearly never before beaten an egg - and had no idea when to stop. The smile that touched his face was one that was a mixture of amusement and bewilderment, but as he caught sight of the Englishman turning towards him, he quickly wiped the look off his face before clearing his throat and taking a look at the egg - yet another smile pulling slightly at the corners of his lips even as he did so.
In a very grave voice, the man gave a nod to confirm the eggs were thoroughly beaten, "Normally, lad, we call them 'beaten' once the white of the egg and the yolk - or yellow - of it are mixed well together so you can't well tell one apart from the other." Finally he succumbed to the grin that was begging at him to be let out, and he grinned well and true, "Of course, your solemn thrashing of them works just as well!"
With that, the man gestured toward the bowl he had prepared for them, and checked the milk to ensure it had cooled off to a 'lukewarm' temperature before continuing with his lesson, "All right, lad, now we add the yeast mixture, the milk, and the eggs to this bowl." So saying, he lifted the bowl slightly to indicate exactly which one he meant as it was the smaller one and not the large one they'd be using to let the dough rise he intended for them to use, "Once that's done, we'll add one and a half cups of flour, the first half cup of which I've pre-measured for you, the other cup you'll measure yourself so you can learn how to take a cup of flour." Another pause, as he lifted the one cup measuring cup and a butter knife, "You will scoop the flour out with this cup," and with that he lifted it just a hair higher than the butter knife, "then you will level it off with this knife, like so," with that, he showed the motion one would use to level the flour off at the top of the cup. "And after that, you add it to the bowl with the other ingredients before mixing it well. Once all ingredients are combined, I'll continue adding one half cup of flour at a time until the dough is ready for kneading."
With that, Shane took a couple of steps back and gestured towards the prepared ingredients and utensils at hand, "Your work awaits you, lad!" And finally, with a grin, Shane leaned up against the counter near to the table but not so close as to make Archer nervous, allowing the Englishman to have full control of what they were doing.
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Posted: Sun Jun 14, 2009 10:23 pm
Grave nodding ensued as the Irishman spoke of eggbeating. Missing the joke, Archer gravely stated "I shall be sure to keep it in mind in the future to prevent excess beating." and proceded to listen to the Irishman's rapid instructions.
He did as he was told, watching things fall into place neatly. Perhaps this cooking nonsense wasn't so hard after all! Merely following directions appeared to be the gist of it, and the Englishman certainly had a great deal of experience in that. Feeling more confident, he leveled off the flour with the knife. Adding it to the other ingredients, he began mixing it with the same grim fervor he had used while beating the eggs. He would keep stirring until told to stop, he supposed, he had a vague idea of what properly mixed ingredients looked like, but it was up to the instructor to decide. He was a novice, after all! Waiting on Shane, he stirred with more vigour, because if he was going to be taught by an Irishman and humiliate himself to learn to cook, he may as well give it his all.
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Posted: Wed Sep 02, 2009 3:13 am
It was a difficult task indeed for the Irishman not to chuckle at the grave manner with which the Englishman approached the task at hand. Had the man truly never learned to cook, or was it the fact he was being taught how to do so by a man who was supposed to be his mortal enemy? Ah well, the reason for the man's behavior wasn't so much Shane's concern now as cooking the perfect caramel rolls. The tall man deftly added one half cup of flour in as Archer stirred until he deemed the batter ready to be kneaded.
Raising one hand in the universal 'stop' gesture, Shane smiled, "Now, lad, the stirring is done. On to the fun part!" With the same hand he'd made the gesture with, Shane grabbed another cup of flour before sprinkling a good portion of it onto the counter before them. "Now you dump the dough out onto the counter top, in the middle of this flour circle I've made for you." The Irishman paused, allowing Archer time to do so before continuing, "Now lightly dust your hands with flour," so saying, Shane quickly dusted his own hands in flour before grabbing the lower half of the dough and pushing it forward and in to the upper half, "after that, you knead the dough like this." Deftly the cook shifted the dough around and kneaded the lower half up into the upper half once again, continuing to do so for about a minute before standing off to one side and gesturing towards the dough, "Go ahead and give it a try, lad. You've got about seven more minutes of kneading to do."
As Shane moved to the sink to wash his flour covered hands he added, "Once the kneading is done, we will place the dough into a greased bowl, cover it with a towel, and let it rise for about an hour. Once we set the dough up to rise, I'll tell you how we'll make the caramel topping for the rolls."
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