AllFreeNovel
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She hit my shoulder lightly. “I’m just kidding. You need to loosen up a little.”
I lifted my scotch glass. “I am.”
She set the upper oven to preheat.
“We need bags to flatten the chicken.” I leaned over to get freezer bags from the drawer.
After I’d pulled two bags from their box, I found her pouring my drink down the sink. “Hey, that’s expensive stuff.”
She put the glass in the sink and turned to me. “Not while we’re talking.”
“We’re not talking, we’re cooking. Put a chicken breast in each of the bags and close them up.”
She took the chicken out of the store package and loaded it in the bags.
I grabbed a mallet from the drawer and handed it to her. “Now you need to pound on it to flatten them down.”
She handed the mallet back to me. “You do this part. You’re the one that needs to get your frustrations out.”
I glared at her as I pounded the chicken into submission. “We’re tenderizing the pieces as well as making them thinner. Grab two of your eggs and mix them in a bowl.”
“With what?”
“A fork will do.”
I kept hammering the chicken while she did the eggs.
“You’ll find flour in the pantry, did you bring breadcrumbs?” I asked her when she’d finished. “And we’ll need four plates in a line.”
She located the items and placed them on the island. “You want to tell me what’s bothering you?”
I shook my head and continued pounding the chicken. “I’m fine.”
“Bullshit. This is you screwed up. Drinking before dinner isn’t you being fine.”
She had that part right.
The chicken breasts had taken a good-enough beating. “Sprinkle some breadcrumbs on the second plate, carefully pour the eggs onto the third one, and put flour on the last one.” I watched her a moment. “What’s his name?”
She ignored me while she carefully poured the egg mixture. She looked up. “What’s her name?”
I ignored her the way she’d ignored me. “Now you’re gonna add a little Parmesan to the breadcrumbs and mix it up.”
“How’s this?”
“Looking good. Now, what are we doing for the sauce? You aren’t planning to use that jar of Ragu are you?”
She nodded. “Baby steps.”
“It’s your dinner.” I located a frying pan and put it on the stove. “Okay, take the breasts out of the bags, and you want to press each into the flour. Try to get it coated all over so it’s dry to the touch.”
She did fine with that step. “It’s Jennifer, isn’t it?”
I put a pot of water for the pasta on the stove. “Now take the first floured breast and put it into the egg mixture. Turn it over and move it to the breadcrumbs. Press it into the breadcrumbs on both sides so it’s well coated and then put it on the empty plate.”
She did a good job with the first one. “This gets all over your fingers.”
“You can wash them off after you’re done with the last piece of chicken.”
