Page 33 of Cocky Cruiser

I grinned at her. I enjoyed experiencing firsts with Adele for some reason. Maybe it was because she got so much joy out of everything, and her happiness was infectious. No way could I be in a bad mood when she was so enthusiastic and thrilled by every experience.

I wondered how my life would be without her after the cruise. Would I go back to everyday life how I used to be, or would I have a new appreciation and positive outlook on life?

I guess I’ll find out soon enough.

The next day, we made our way to the main dining room for the galley tour and cooking class.

“I’ll let you know now that I’m not the greatest cook,” Adele said.

I chuckled. “Well, ragu is a pretty simple dish. And you have a pro to help you out.”

“I’m more excited to taste your cooking than to actually cook the meal myself.”

Pride swelled within me. “I hope I meet your expectations.”

She gave me a coy smile. “I have no doubt you will.”

After going through the galley, which I was impressed by since it was just like stepping into a high-quality restaurant kitchen, we were led to the cooking stations for the cooking class of the tour.

The head chef who had given us the tour was positioned on the opposite side as the passengers who had signed up for the class. Each station had the ingredients set out along with the necessary utensils and cooking vessels.

The chef started speaking, “Venison, which comes from the Latin wordvenari, meaning “to hunt,” usually refers to deer meat, but it can also mean meat from any large game animal, including elk, buffalo, moose, caribou, and antelope, as well as wild boar and hares. But today, we are cooking with the traditional deer meat.”

He continued, explaining the cooking process, “For the base of the ragu, you have butter, onion, carrots, celery, garlic, and cremini mushrooms. Then we will add in the venison, tomato paste, red wine, broth, and aromatics.”

“As our ragu simmers, we will make our pasta. Our chefs have already made the dough for you, but you will be able to roll it out and cut the pasta yourself.”

I was slightly disappointed not to be making the dough myself, but I understood. Dough was tricky, especially for beginners.

”We’re going to start by chopping all the vegetables for the ragu. Everything needs to be diced small,” the chef continued. “There is a recipe card for you to follow if needed. Please begin.”

I started with the onion, and Adele followed suit. I quickly sliced through the vegetable, and Adele gaped at me while carefully chopping through hers. “Oh, my God.”

“Years of practice,” I responded as I moved on to the carrots. “Please don’t compare yourself to me.”

She chuckled as she continued with her onion. I finished my carrots as she finished her onion. “How do you do it so fast? I feel like I would cut my fingers off.”

I grinned. “As I said, it takes years of practice. I think during my first year of culinary school, we spent hours each day just chopping different vegetables into various cuts.” I laughed as I thought back to my college days. “My hands and fingers would be so sore, and sometimes they’d go numb. And I did cut myself plenty.”

“Sounds intense,” Adele commented as she moved on to her carrots.

Once everyone had finished dicing the vegetables, we started the sauté. “We’ll cook the onion, carrots, and celery over medium-low heat for about ten to twelve minutes before adding in the garlic and mushrooms,” the chef instructed next. “As your vegetables cook, you can cube your venison.”

“When did you know that you wanted to be a chef?” Adele asked as she threw her veggies in the melted butter and stirred them around.

A small smile tipped my lips. “Since I was a kid. My favorite memories were all of cooking with my grandma. She taught Cara and me so many different recipes, and we helped her cook dinner every time we went over to visit her.”

Cooking with my grandma was an escape for me. Life with Cara could get pretty chaotic due to her condition, and it was nice to have something normal to ground me.

Adele smiled. “That is so sweet. I would’ve never guessed you had such a soft spot.”

My face heated, and I hoped I wasn’t blushing. “Yeah, well, don’t go telling everyone my secrets. I have a reputation to maintain.”

She arched a brow. “Oh yeah? Hotshot playboy chef?”

I pointed at her with my wooden spoon. “Exactly.”

We both laughed. Talking with Adele was effortless; I typically hated having to force small talk and conversation with dates, but I had to in order to get laid. With Adele, though, it was different. I actually enjoyed it.

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