INTERLUDE:

Way of the Cook

“NO, NO, NO. You get the skin off the duck this way, not that way, not another way. When you’re a master cook, then you can do it your way. Not that you’ll want to; you will have learned to do it correctly by then.

“If you’ve survived.

“In the meantime, this is my kitchen, and we will do it correctly.

“ ‘Which it?’ Every it, you fool.

“No, no, it doesn’t matter a fig that the dinner is for both our lord and Lord Orazhi. Concentrate on the thing itself, not on who is going to eat it. Pay careful attention to what you are doing, and let it carry you along. Feel it all. If you do, you will know what to do, most of the time. Yes, yes, timing is everything.

“For example, I can tell you that the stockpot has been over the charcoal long enough now, and it’s near the boil. Yes, yes, you had better slide it to the side and watch it carefully—if it boils, we’ll never be able to make the broth clear again.

“Oh. Idiot. Yes, yes, yes, you know so much, so very much, that I shouldn’t waste your time with your Master’s instructions. Yes, yes, you can clear a broth with egg whites, but that takes the flavor out of it, too. If you want a perfectly clear broth with no flavor, boy, then why bother adding the vegetables and spices and the chicken? Why bruise the peppercorns and toss them in—it would be so very much easier your way.

“No, no, you go ahead, you make a tasteless broth—set a bowl of hot water down in front of Lord Toshtai, sprinkle some thyme leaves on its surface, hand him a spoon and tell him it’s soup. I don’t think he’ll be impressed.

“So; you want to do it my way? Very well.

“Good, good, stir the broth, but don’t get your thumb in it. Not so vigorously—let the spirits of the fire do most of the work. Taste it, and try to taste what it will be like when it’s done, not just what it is now. Will it need more salt? No? Correct. Pepper? No? It should need more pepper. Hmmm ... let me taste. Yes, yes, bruise another five of the green peppercorns, I think, and two of the black ones. Add another few thyme leaves, and maybe a carrot. Definitely no more onion.

“Now, where were we?

“Ah. Of course: we were getting the skin off the duck. Just insinuate that tube into the slit, yes, yes, you’ve seen me do it a hundred times before, and now puff in, and watch it pull away from the flesh. Yes, you have to hold the tube in, and if you keep hacking away at the poor dead bird you’re going to have to do more than sew up the rents in order to keep the air in.

“Good. Very nice—the skin is separating, so we sew the hole shut, put the duck in a pan, and pop the pan in a medium oven. Oh, good boy—you think that’s a medium oven? You don’t think that’s a medium-hot oven?

“Well, bank the fire a bit, anyways. Good.

“Next, the fish. Simplicity, simplicity is everything, boy. Yes, yes, you’ve cleaned the trout adequately, but you’ve handled it far too much—all of the slime is gone from the skin. Let’s try it again. Get one from the tank, and set it on the board. Yes, yes, I know it flops around rather a lot, but you gauge it by eye as you pin down the tail and with one whack of the cleaver—there. Without the head, he flops much less, eh?

“Very well. Now, again—notice that I’m just holding it by the tail—with one cut, we open Lord Trout’s belly, and pour out all those nasty viscera. You run the pump for a moment, and we’ll clean out the insides. Good.

“See? Now, into the pan we put the peppercorns, and the juniper berries, and the salt, and cover it with the boiling water, and then add the vinegar. Oh, fundleberry wine vinegar, you think? Perhaps—let’s try it.

“In goes the trout—and see? See how the skin is turning that beautiful blue? Another few moments of this—you can chop some onions while we wait; much of what happens in my kitchen starts with a chopped onion—and Lord Trout is fully poached; we slide him onto a warm plate, garnish with a few carved radishes, and that lemon-butter sauce you worked so hard on. And then, we taste. Mmm ... nice choice of the vinegar, young one. There may be some hope for you, appearances to the contrary. I think a bit more dill and a few mussels as a garnish would make it better, don’t you? Now, the trout doesn’t need to rest—you there: quickly, quickly, bring it out to Lord Toshtai. And you there: start another one for Lord Orazhi.

“Now, we are going to work on the beef strips. Do you think the loin is cold enough? Well, you’re wrong, it is—if we leave it on the ice any longer, the ice will steal some of the flavor. No, we don’t want any flavor stolen. It’s different with those ham-and-roe balls—they have to be absolutely icy for their flavors to balance out right, when we wrap them in the hot duck skin.

“So. I’ll have to do the beef myself. Be quiet now. Yes ...

“I’ve been thinking about getting the potter to glaze a plate with writing on it. You should be able to read through the beef, it should be so thin. Ah. So good you are with the knife, you think you can slice the beef so thin, so thin—look at this: as it sits in my hand, you can see the lines of my palm through the redness. Mmm ... dodn’t tasht bed—lemme swillow. There. I was saying that it doesn’t taste bad either.

“So. We slice the beef thinly, and carefully deposit it on the plate, fanning out from the center. The first ring will take about twelve slices—yes, I’m leaving a space in the center. While I do this, you will start the sauce.

“Beat the egg and the sunflower oil together. A pretty oil, isn’t it? Vigorously, now, put your back into it. Good. Add a squeeze of lemon, and beat some more—you forgot to taste it, see if the balance is right. Let me taste. Mmmm ... no, that egg had started to turn. Throw it out, and do it again ...

“Better. A bit more lemon, and then the ground mustard, and the mustard seeds. Very good, and very well. Now you do the last ring of beef slices, and I’ll get the basil leaves out.

“Sloppy cutting, but I’ve seen worse. We’ll try a couple of rolls now, and see if it’s right. Do it in this fashion: take a basil leaf in one hand, and set a beef slice on top of it. Good. Sprinkle with a bit of pepper, and roll it up. I’ll dip it in the mustard sauce, and then, we taste.

“I’d say that everything’s in balance, wouldn’t you?

“Oh, you would, would you? You think everything is in balance, you young fool? What, tell me, what is so balanced about that duck that’s about to burn in your so-called medium oven?”