Page 252 of Scoring the Player
“Quinces are sort of old-world romantic. They’re older than apples and peaches by thousands of years. When I thought about adapting the recipe for winter—I wanted to infuse some of the elements of winter so?—”
“People could taste winter itself,” she finishes.
“Yes! It’s inedible raw, but it blooms with heat and time. I like things that demand patience.”
I steal a glance at Blue, whose eyes darken just enough for me to notice.
“Like winter,” she adds.
I nod. “Like winter. It forces us to slow down.”
She stares at the fruit. A soft hush that’s easy to let breathe passes between us. “It’s an aristocratic fruit,” she says before she places it down. “Excellent choice.”
“What would you have chosen?” I ask.
“I went with—what was your word choice—blah.” She uncovers a bowl and shows us cranberries.
Blue snorts, making us laugh.
“I am thrilled to try your adaptation, though,” she says. “One more question. Why did you choose this one? I’ve included winter recipes in the book.”
“This is the only one that lets us experience the same fruit in three unique ways that vary in temperature, texture, and flavor. It’s the kind of contrast?—”
“That achieves perfect balance,” she finishes.
“How so?” Blue asks.
She nods for me to answer.
“So, picture three experiences, one dessert,” I explain, turning to him. “There’s a cold and sweet sorbet, a warm, crispy,buttery tart drizzled with an aromatic Banyuls glaze, and then a chilled, subtly flavored gelée that has a jelly-like texture.”
“Sounds like a mouth party,” Blue says. “What’s a Banyuls?”
“It’s a French fortified wine,” Kim answers. “They essentially take a high-proof alcohol distilled from grapes until most of its flavor is removed and toss it in with wine grapes during fermentation to stun the yeast and preserve some of the grape’s sugars before it turns into alcohol. You end up with a sweeter wine that has a higher alcohol content because of the high-proof alcohol added.”
“And you bake with it?” Blue asks.
“Yep,” she answers. “The natural grape sugars that are preserved caramelize like a dream once it’s reduced.”
“I get why you were stuck.” He blows out a breath. “Sounds like a lot.”
“Nothing the three of us can’t handle,” Kim says, rolling up her sleeves. “Okay, let’s jump in. We’ll start the gelée first, since it’ll need a few hours to set, then tackle the sorbet, which will also need time in the freezer, and then we’ll move on to the tarte Tatin, ending with the glaze. How does that sound?”
“Yes, Coach,” Blue says, making us laugh.
Arnaz
We finish six hours later. The last two hours were mostly spent cleaning up and talking while we waited for things to either chill, freeze, or bake.
Was it worth the effort?
Hell yeah.
Like all Salem’s desserts, it was visually stunning, and the flavors matched. I could only eat the sorbet and the jelly-thing. When Kim offered me a tart, Salem damn near smacked his hand over my mouth because of the butter in the puff pastry. It was dramatic and hot. I was already making plans for us tonight after hearing him wax on about wanting to take his time with quinces and feed me winter.
At least that’s how I heard it.
After the non-near-death experience that resulted in me licking the inside of his palm sealed against my mouth, he promised he’d make me a vegan tart this weekend.
