Cafe Dazzling

by brzy

Chapter 31

There were no words. Aria just shook her head and turned back to her station.

"Sonata make sure the octopi don't boil over. Aria, I need you to chop up some tomatoes into small cubes."

Taking a medium sized prep knife, she expertly sliced the delicate tomatoes in half so they laid flat on the wooden cutting board. Then she delicately sliced it sideways 3 times before chopping them from above. Anon nodded approvingly at her technique. After she placed them into a large steel mixing bowl, Anon dumped in the chopped garlic he had cooked on the skillet by the bread. He removed the toasted sour dough and placed it in the warmer beside the fridge.

“Ok, all that’s left is to grill the octopus. Once that’s done, chop it up and add to the bowl with a splash of lemon juice. Then mix it up and spoon it onto slices of the sourdough.”

Anon focused back on the thick Chilean Sea Bass filets. Steaks would honestly be a more accurate term. They were nearly 6” long and almost an inch thick. It was crazy to think they all came off the same fish. They were so fresh that the white meat was clear and firm, none of the freezer damage that you see on nearly all commercially caught fish. He sprinkled them liberally on both sides with kosher salt and pepper. Turning back, he inspected the medium hot cast iron pan. The blue flames from the stove top glowed brightly as they spread up and around the base of the wide pan like a reverse waterfall. He got a handful of water from the sink and splashed it against the pan. Instead of instantly turning to steam, the water formed into tiny mercury like balls that sizzled and rolled around the pan. Satisfied, he took a deep breath and blew on the pan, sending them flying up and out. Taking an entire stick of unsalted butter, he melted them in the pan.

Anon took another deep breath as he watched the butter melt and coat the bottom of the large skillet. As it started to foam, he quickly placed the filets onto the searing hot pan. The heat pulled the fish onto the pan. He remembered way back to when he was a child fishing with his Uncle Anon.

It had been a bright cheerful sunny day. He had gone innawoods with his Uncle to go camping. The tall pine trees towered overhead, the red dirt was carpeted with pine needles. They had camped near the banks of a wide murky river, their individual bivuacs strung between the abundant pines. It had rained up north causing the creeks to run, and the catfish were all to eager to swim up them looking for all the food that washed into them. It had been a great haul, their basket filled with the fat silver channel cats. The large black cast iron Dutch oven was already sitting on the fire pit coals heating up the oil for the fish fry. There was also a lone big perch.

"We could just fry it up like the catfish, but that would be a waste. Panfish like this should be grilled."

Uncle Nonny placed the flat lid of the Dutch oven on to the coals. He waited until it was hot, splashing it with water to test it. Fishing a big glob of lard from the tin in his dark green canvas kitchen kit bag, he let the blob of fat heat and melt before placing in the 2 thin salted filets.

"If you try to flip the fish too soon it would rip apart from sticking. The trick is to wait until the sear is complete, then the pan releases the meat and it comes right up."

After a minute, he expertly flipped the 2 perfectly seared small filets, then flipped them again onto a dark blue melonite camp plate. He smiled looking at it before turning to his nephew. His eyebrows knitted as he looked at the high schooler before him.

"Always remember Anon, Deep Ones love fish, but they also like to be surprised. Centuries of living will do that to you. If you want to win look to your friends..."

"Wait, what? That's not what you said!"

His Uncle smiled at him one last time before Anon was violently pulled back into his body. He jumped and shouted "Cthulhu f'what'tha?!" The girls were staring at him bewildered as he looked down in the pan at the still melting butter. The fish wasn't in the pan yet. It had seemed so real. But if it was...

"Girls, I'm making a slight menu change!"

Comments

[Blue Aurora]

Woohoo

[Blue Blitz]

Amazing story can’t wait to read the next chapter when ever it gets added