Текст книги "The Coincidence of Coconut Cake"
Автор книги: Amy E. Reichert
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Текущая страница: 17 (всего у книги 18 страниц)
Lou noticed Al struggling to keep up. Warmth for him bubbled to the surface, but not enough to enlighten him immediately.
“How is this possible?” Al asked, turning his head to look around the restaurant.
Lou’s eyes misted and her voice cracked as she said, “Follow me.”
She led him to a table standing in the center of the dining room. On it sat a silver framed picture of Otto and Gertrude, their cheeks squished together, making them look decades younger than they had been. Al’s eyes watered a bit when he noticed, making Lou feel even better about the decision she’d made to take Gertrude’s advice.
Lou reached for the frame and opened the back, pulling out a folded paper.
“Before Gertrude and Otto’s funeral, their attorney contacted me about their will. They had left me their house. It wasn’t enough to pay for a new restaurant, but enough to reignite the dream—which was their intention. The money came with two requests. One was that I reserve a table in the center of the restaurant for them.”
Lou looked at the picture of the smiling faces. God, she missed Gertrude’s optimism and Otto’s steadfastness.
“What was the second?”
“That if I got a second chance, I needed to give one, too.”
Lou cut a piece of cake and set it on the plate.
“Where did the rest of the money come from?”
Lou smiled.
“I did it the old-fashioned way—hard work, creativity, and help; in my case that means Chef Tom and the bank.”
Al nodded, unsurprised by her accomplishment.
“There’s one more thing,” Lou said, looking serious again. She reached into her apron pocket and set the red leather ring box Al had given her on the table.
“You gave this to me. You should have it back. . . .”
“I don’t want it back. I gave it to you because—”
“Let me finish. You should have it back until you know what you want to do with it.”
Al’s face melted from anger to relief to understanding. He reached for the box, and Lou worried for a moment he meant to take it back. That wasn’t supposed to happen. Things were going so well. Instead of pocketing the ring, Al got down onto one knee, popped open the box, and pulled out the ring he bought months ago.
A little awed, he slowly looked up at Lou, giving himself time to gather his words.
With a deep breath he said, “Lou. My feelings have not changed at all. I’ve hoped for this chance and I’ll be damned if I’m not taking it. I love you. I love you for the million kindnesses in your heart, your infectious enthusiasm, your search for the perfect deep-fried cheese curds. I love that you take apart a recipe, look at the parts, then put it back together better than before. I love that my first memory of you is the smell of vanilla, coconut, and bacon. I love that you wear Crocs in the kitchen and heels when we go on dates. I want to fill a wall with magnets for all our special memories. I want to carve the Thanksgiving turkey using your hand-painted carving set every year for the next fifty. I want to cook with you, laugh with you, make love to you, and most of all, I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Elizabeth Luella Johnson, will you marry me?”
Al’s voice wavered with emotion toward the end, but as far as proposals went, he nailed it. Her answer was much simpler.
“Yes.”
Al slid the ring on her finger. He stood and pulled her to him, taking her face in his hands. Neither could contain their silly grins. Al studied her face as if searching for any changes he needed to memorize right away. Would he kiss her already?
Lou grew impatient. Sick of waiting for him to give her what she wanted, Lou pulled him in for a proper kiss.
• • • • •
A bit later, they sat at Otto and Gertrude’s table, neither wearing shoes, and Lou hadn’t picked up her apron from where it lay crumpled.
She took a forkful of cake and offered it to Al. With their eyes on each other, he took the bite off the fork. With his mouth full, he said, “Perfect. I’ve waited a year to taste this cake. So worth it.”
“Is that an official review?” Lou raised an eyebrow.
Al squirmed. “Um . . .”
Lou laughed, then leaned in to kiss him again. She rose, buttoned on her chef’s coat, slipped her feet into the spongy green shoes, and picked up her apron. As she retied it, settling it into the ideal spot on her hips, she looked at Al, still sitting in front of the cake, shaving slices off, then tossing them into his mouth like tequila shots.
“Do you need to get back to work?” Lou asked, twirling the new ring around her finger and chewing her lip.
Al got to his feet, looking around the empty restaurant, boxes stacked in corners, books and notebooks filling the empty tables, and pots and pans scattered among fresh vegetables and meats in the open kitchen. He stood in front of Lou, looking into her melted chocolate eyes.
“I’ll stay as long as you’ll let me. I can’t imagine a better place to spend my time. Can I do something to help? Or will I be in your way?”
Lou’s infectious smile spread to Al’s face, even though he didn’t know the reason for it yet; he was just happy he helped put it there.
“How would you like to sample some truffle and foie gras sausages?” Lou grabbed his hand, led him to the kitchen, and wrapped a crisp white apron around his waist.
“Truffles? Fantastic.”
Lou pulled the bow taut and stepped back to admire her new fiancé standing in the middle of her new kitchen, eager to taste her dishes. She noticed a bit of frosting on the edge of his lip, so she kissed it off.
Gertrude had been right. Second chances are good, and they taste like coconut cake.
• GRANDMA LUELLA’S •
COCONUT CAKE
Though Harley says to weigh the ingredients, I’m giving the instructions the way Grandma Luella gave them to me. If you prefer to weigh, you can find nifty conversions on the Internet.
Make sure to bring all the ingredients to room temperature before mixing.
5 large egg whites (save the yolks to make homemade pudding—yum)
3/4 cup cream of coconut
1/4 cup coconut milk—make sure to stir the contents very well to recombine before measuring (save the leftovers for Thai food or your coffee)
1 large egg
1 tsp coconut extract
2 tsp vanilla extract (I’ve been known to use more—make sure it’s REAL vanilla. I prefer Mexican vanilla, but use what you like)
2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
3/4 tsp table salt
12 tbsp unsalted butter, softened, cut into 12 pieces
1 recipe Coconut Frosting
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Brush or rub melted butter onto two 9-inch cake pans (you can use cooking spray, but the butter will taste better), then line the pan bottoms with parchment paper (trust me, this makes cake removal so much easier). In a medium bowl, whisk the egg whites, cream of coconut, coconut milk, whole egg, and extracts together until combined and set aside.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. With a mixer on low speed, beat in the butter, one piece at a time, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs, 2 to 5 minutes (about 2 minutes for a stand mixer, closer to 5 minutes with a handheld mixer).
• Increase the speed to medium-high and add 1 cup of the egg mixture. Beat until light and fluffy, about 45 seconds (a little longer with a hand mixer). Add the remaining egg mixture in a steady stream and continue to beat until the batter is combined, about 30 seconds. Scrape down the bowl and beaters as needed.
• Divide the batter evenly between the two cake pans and smooth the tops with a spatula. Bake until a wooden skewer inserted in the center of the cakes comes out with a few crumbs, about 30–35 minutes. All ovens vary, so be careful not to overbake. Rotate the pans halfway through baking.
• Let the cakes cool for 10 minutes on wire racks. Run a knife around the edge, then flip out onto the racks. Remove the parchment paper, flip the cakes upright, and let them cool completely before frosting.
• COCONUT FROSTING •
You can toast the coconut however you like: oven, microwave, or stovetop. I like to do it in a nonstick skillet on medium-low, stirring every few minutes. Careful once it starts to brown, as it can go from toasty goodness to burnt crud very quickly. I spread it out on paper towels to cool and save any leftovers to put on ice cream.
2 tbsp coconut milk
1 tsp coconut extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of table salt
16 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup cream of coconut
3 cups powdered sugar
2 cups toasted coconut
• Stir the coconut milk, extracts, and salt together until the salt dissolves.
• Beat the butter and cream of coconut in a large bowl at medium-high speed until smooth, about 20 seconds. Reduce the speed to medium-low and slowly add the powdered sugar. Beat until smooth, about 2 to 5 minutes. Beat in the extract mixture. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 4 to 8 minutes.
• Set one layer of cake on a cake stand or plate. You can use a daub of frosting to keep it in place. Take 1 cup of frosting and spread over the bottom layer (an offset spatula works well for this). Sprinkle with toasted coconut. This gives a nice crunch in the middle of the cake.
• Set the second layer on top of the first. Scoop out the remaining frosting onto the top of the cake. Spread the frosting to the edge of the cake, working it over the sides and down, spinning the stand or plate as needed to frost all sides of the cake. Don’t worry about making it too pretty—the toasted coconut will help hide the flaws.
• Press the toasted coconut onto the sides of the cake, and sprinkle it over the top.
• Cut and hide a piece immediately because people will soon arrive to swipe your cake—I’m looking at you, Harley and Al.
• ACKNOWLEDGMENTS •
The journey from first scribbles to finished book takes years of work by many, many people. Here’s my attempt to thank them. I’m sure I’ll forget someone important, so my apologies if I left your name off—it isn’t because you aren’t valuable, or you don’t deserve credit, but because I’m flawed and have a sucky memory. I’ll keep better notes for book two—I promise.
There’s something special about that first person in the publishing community who pulls your story out of the slush and proclaims it worthy, something other people need to read. A huge and hearty thank-you to Rachel Ekstrom of the Irene Goodman Literary Agency for pulling C3 out of the slush, washing it off, and seeing its potential. You worked your ass off to find C3 a home.
Speaking of home, to my brilliant editor Kate Dresser at Gallery, thank you for falling in love with C3. Your enthusiasm shone through in all your comments, coaxing out the best in C3, and making it so much better than I ever thought possible. I couldn’t have asked for an editor with more excitement and passion for my book. I’m still giddy that my words are in your very capable hands.
Thank you to Gallery for making my book Real (with a capital R). Louise Burke, Jennifer Bergstrom, Ciara Robinson, Jaime Putorti, Kristin Dwyer, Susan Rella, and anyone I may be forgetting—I am grateful you believed in me and my book. Your hard work makes me feel like my book was the only one you were working on. I’m a lucky author to be in the Gallery family.
Thank you to Regina Starace for designing my beautiful and perfect cover. I couldn’t love it more.
Thank you to Baror International, Inc., for selling foreign rights.
Both Erin Niumata and Jessica Sinsheimer offered incredible feedback on my manuscript and query, without which I’m not sure the book would have made it to publication. You are both shining examples of the generosity and good-spiritedness in the publishing world.
Ann Christensen at Milwaukee Magazine—thank you for answering all my questions about restaurant reviews. You were more than generous with your time. You inspired all of Al’s good behavior. Any errors are mine.
To all the chefs I have worked for, thank you for such good fodder for what happens in a kitchen. I edited out most of the cursing.
Andrew Heacock—you made me a beautiful website. I love it!
My local friends Val and Bob Wisniewski, Pam Gosenheimer, Courtney Marschalek, Lynnette Gunville, Jill Walworth, Joan Folvag (who also owns a magnificent coffee shop), and so many more I know I’m forgetting. You all kindly asked about and listened to my woes and successes during this long process.
My backside deserves a shout-out—it survived lengthy hours in uncomfortable chairs to finish this book. I promise I’ll get you more exercise in the future.
Kelly Johnsen, thank you for reading an early draft, but more importantly, for taking my stunning author photo. I’m sure there are very technical explanations for how you capture the beauty in all your subjects, but to me it’s magic!
To Erin Reichert, my awesome and bilingual sister-in-law, who not only read my book, but also provided me with German terms of endearment. You are my Liebchen!
And to Tom Reichert, thank you for being a supportive and enthusiastic brother-in-law.
To all my beta readers, Sue Molin, Brandi Manthas, Maria Cancino, Kate Clausen, Paula Kabara (who also keeps my hair looking fabulous), Sarah Cannon, Carla Cullen, and Sarah Henning, your helpful feedback made me a better writer. Especially those of you that read the early drafts when I had no idea what I was doing—your time was an invaluable gift.
Melissa Bielawski and Mark Benson, not sure what I would do without our ongoing conversations—you have saved my sanity more than once. Every writer should have friends as loyal and willing to call “bullshit” as you both are. *boob bump*
Ann Garvin—you are my writing guardian angel. You’re the first writer who read my work, kindly patted me on the hand, and told me I had a lot of learning to do. We are kindred spirits and I’m so happy we found each other all the way in NYC.
My mother-in-law, Sandy Reichert—a writer couldn’t ask for a more supportive and enthusiastic cheerleader!
To my siblings, Pam Lehman (also my bingo partner-in-crime), Steve Guertin, Paul Guertin, and Cathi Alonzo. One of my favorite childhood memories is each of us in a separate corner of the cabin reading our book of choice. I love that I’m part of a book-loving family and I love that a family gathering isn’t complete without a lively book discussion.
To my mom, the matriarch of our book-loving family—your nightstand is never without a book or two. You’ve shown me over and over again that we Guertin women can do anything—so I did. I love you!
My beautiful and patient children, Ainsley and Sam—so much of what I do is to inspire you both, to show you that you can do anything with hard work and persistence. My proudest moments are when I hear you tell people that your mom is an author. And yes, using Twitter is working.
John Reichert, my husband, best friend, first reader, and most trusted consigliere—sharing this with you is one of my greatest joys. When I first told you I was writing a book, that’s when it became real for me—a thing I was doing. That’s when I knew I would see it through to the end. You’ve been supportive from that moment on, with helpful feedback, taking the kids out of the house when I needed work time, and understanding that I’m probably just going to get weirder—and loving me more because of it.
GALLERY READERS GROUP GUIDE
The Coincidence
of Coconut Cake
• • • • • •
AMY E. REICHERT
INTRODUCTION
The last thing Lou, a talented and tireless Milwaukee chef, expects to lose when she dumps her cheating fiancé is her beloved restaurant, Luella’s. But when an off night in the kitchen—fueled by heartbreak and frustration—coincides with an anonymous visit from an exacting critic from the local newspaper, one scathing review is all it takes to see her promising business suddenly facing closure.
As the city’s most infamous restaurant critic, Al prefers to keep his professional identity a secret. A recent transplant from England, he runs into Lou as she’s drowning her sorrows in a pub and playfully challenges her to show him the best of Milwaukee. As Al and Lou explore the sights and sounds of her hometown, they begin to fall for each other—until Al realizes that it was his review that put the future of Luella’s in jeopardy. When the truth comes out, the two star-crossed foodies must find a way to overlook the past in order to forge a new future together.
TOPICS & QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1. It’s clear from the opening chapter of the book that Devlin and Lou have divergent plans for the future. What do you think drew them together in the first place? Did you find Devlin, with his good looks and promise of financial stability, alluring or stifling?
2. Lou considers the following quote: “Delight is indeed born in the heart. It sometimes also depends on its surroundings.” Do you think this holds true throughout the book? How do Al and Lou’s surroundings impact their happiness? Do you think that your surroundings dictate your own happiness? Or are your perception and attitude more important?
3. Both Al and Lou have fond memories of their grandmothers’ cooking, from Luella’s famous coconut cake to the rusty cast-iron skillet that Al still holds dear. What are some of your favorite culinary memories or traditions? How have they evolved—or not—over the years?
4. As Lou plays tour guide to Al and opens him up to a wealth of new experiences, she gradually smooths over his gruff exterior. How does your perception of Al change throughout the book? Was there a specific moment where you started to find him more likeable?
5. The Coincidence of Coconut Cake is as much a love letter to Milwaukee as it is the love story of Lou and Al. What is your favorite stop on Lou’s tour of the city? Which of their meals are you most eager to try?
6. Devlin says to Lou, “I may shape and bend the facts in my favor or make tactful omissions, but I don’t lie.” Were you surprised to hear Devlin’s explanation for the scantily clad intern in his apartment? Do you think he was telling the whole truth?
7. What do you think about Al’s decision to keep his identity a secret from Lou, particularly after he learns that Luella’s is her restaurant? Are his lies more forgivable than Devlin’s behavior? How would you have handled the situation if you were in Al’s shoes?
8. Lou reflects on the fate of Luella’s: “The fault was hers and hers alone. Taking responsibility gave her control. Taking responsibility gave her hope she would find happiness again.” What do you make of this sentiment? Do you think that Lou is being too hard on herself—that she’s just the victim of circumstance—or is she to blame for the restaurant’s closure?
9. The Coincidence of Coconut Cake features a vibrant cast of secondary characters, from John, the fashionista in disguise, to Harley, the loveable, tattooed pastry chef. Who is your favorite secondary character? How does he or she influence events or help to move the story along?
10. Gertrude emphasizes the importance of second chances to Lou. “Don’t let your heart get too hard,” she says. “[Al] made you happy. That was not an act. Try to forgive him—promise me.” Do you agree with Gertrude’s belief that a person deserves forgiveness as long as his or her intentions are good? What personal experiences have shaped your own attitude toward second chances?
11. What do you think the future holds for Lou’s new restaurant? What important lessons has she learned from Luella’s?
12. While the story of Luella’s is fictional, it’s not uncommon for a new restaurant to fail because of negative press—particularly in the age of crowd-sourced online reviews. Did the book make you more sympathetic to the plight of struggling business owners and the impact of online reviews?
ENHANCE YOUR BOOK CLUB
1. Host a book club potluck! Have each member bring his or her favorite family dish and describe the origin of the recipe.
2. Plan a day of sightseeing or activities in your hometown. What would you want an out-of-towner to experience?
3. Have each book club member write a review praising his or her favorite restaurant—or emulate A. W. Wodyski and pan a terrible meal.
4. Learn more about author Amy E. Reichert by visiting her website (http://amyereichert.com) or following her on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/amyereichert) and/or Twitter (@aereichert).
