The Love Goddess' Cooking School (33 page)

So was this what her grandmother had been trying to tell her? That she needed to be the love of her own life? Perhaps her grandmother had known that Holly would one day find her way back to her kitchen, back to herself. And she’d find the meaning of great love in the process.

The
sa cordula
was a mystery like her grandmother had been. And should remain.

With that, she took the plate and dumped it in the trash. A bit
stuck to the plate, so she set it down for Antonio. The old gray cat waddled over and sniffed it, then his mouth curled as if in utter distaste and he waddled away and jumped back up on his perch.

Ha. Even an old-world cat didn’t like
sa cordula.
“Antonio, you may not be my great love, but I do love you. So there, fortune.”

The weather held for the party. Sunny and sixty-one glorious degrees, Holly moved the gathering into the backyard, setting up the large outdoor table as a buffet. Antonio lay half-napping in a patch of sunlight by the withering tomatoes. Holly made a mental note to read up on Gardening 101 that night. If she could make an incredible risotto alla Milanese, she could grow a tomato.

At one o’clock, she set out her dishes on warming trays, her saffron risotto and her spinach and three cheese ravioli, two of her new pasta salads and a large platter of antipasto. Mia, her adorable boyfriend, and her handsome father were the first to arrive. Mia brought the chicken alla Milanese. Liam made his favorite penne in vodka sauce, and Daniel Dressler came full-handed with tiramisu that his mother made for the occasion.

As Liam and Daniel went into the little garage for the extra warming trays, a beaming Mia said, “Isn’t he so cute?”

“Very,” Holly said. Mia and Daniel made an adorable couple.

“And guess what? I made a new friend. A new potential best friend. She just moved to Portland, right across the bridge, so
we can even walk to each other’s houses, and her dad has custody of her too. We have so much in common. And we totally have the same taste in boys. Not that she’d ever go after Daniel, but she has a major crush on a guy who’s kind of a loner and into music just like Daniel is.”

“I had a feeling things would work out fine,” Holly said, popping an olive into her mouth.

The boy in question and Liam came back out, their arms full of warming trays, which Liam set up. Simon and his daughter were next to arrive with the spaghetti and meatballs they’d worked on together that morning. And then Tamara and Francesca arrived, one with minestrone and one with Italian wedding soup.

Holly laughed. “Perfect.”

After introductions and oohing and ahhing at the trays of delicious-looking and -smelling Italian food, everyone sat down, their plates full of a little of this, a little of that. Holly loved Mia’s chicken alla Milanese. And Liam’s penne was as overcooked as Holly’s used to be, but the vodka sauce wasn’t bad at all. In fact, Holly had a feeling he’d used a quart he’d bought from her a few days before.

“Oh, and I brought something else,” Mia said, reaching under her seat for a foil-wrapped plate. She peeled back the foil.

Holly gasped. It was
sa cordula.
She stood up, her mind going blank, her legs feeling like rubber. She sat back down. What the—

“Dad, try some,” Mia said, forking a bite and holding it up to him. “Don’t worry about not liking it—you won’t hurt my
feelings. I didn’t make it. I’m just curious to see what you’ll think of it.”

It was like slow motion as Liam smiled and leaned forward to take the bite with his lips.

No. No. No. Holly didn’t want to know.

Liam glanced at the fork Mia held before him. “Oh, it’s that dish you served me a couple of weeks ago. What did you say it was called again?

Mia grinned at Holly. “Just an old-world dish that Holly’s
nonna
used to make.”

He slid the fork into his mouth. Chewed. Swallowed. “I like it,” Liam said. “I still can’t quite figure out what it is, but I like it. To Holly’s nonna, then,” he added, holding up his bottle of beer.

He liked it.

Liam Geller liked
sa cordula.
One of the few people on earth.

Holly stared from him to Mia. What had just happened? And how?

Everyone raised their cup and sipped, and Holly managed to raise hers as well, and then Daniel got up and took over the iPod dock, a Killers’ song playing. When Liam’s attention was taken by Simon, Tamara came over to sit between Mia and Holly.

“Mia,” Tamara whispered, “you kind of took a big chance there. What if your dad hadn’t liked it? Holly would have felt terrible.”

Mia shook her head. “No chance of that. I had it made for him two weeks ago, after he told me he wasn’t getting back
with my mom and that he had feelings for Holly. I hired the Italian cafeteria lady at school to make it for me. I had to give her
fifty
bucks. I wanted to prove that my dad was wrong, that he
wasn’t
Holly’s great love, but he liked it. I couldn’t deal at all.”

Holly gasped again. She didn’t need to ask if the cafeteria lady had a big wart on her face.

“That’s why I freaked out so bad, Holly. My dad
is
your great love. Just like your grandmother’s fortune said. It took me a while to tell you. Well, show you. Good thing I kept the
sa cordula
in the freezer, huh?”

“Oh, Mia,” Holly said, putting her arm around her.

“So, this is kind of my way of saying I’m sorry again. For everything. And my way of saying thanks for teaching me how to cook—even if I didn’t make that
sa cordula
thing myself.” She leaned in. “I mean,
hello
—gross.”

Holly squeezed Mia into a hug. There were some wonderful highs and some terrible lows to come, Holly figured. But they’d muddle through. And they’d come through fine.

According to her decades-old fortune, Holly had found her great love. But as her grandmother had said, “You knew it when you had it.” And when you knew it, you didn’t have to test it.

Liam went back to his seat and picked up his plate, taking another bite of the
sa cordula.
“I really haven’t ever tasted anything quite like this. And the peas are interesting in it.”

Mia rolled her eyes and shook her head with a smile. “Love Goddess,” she whispered to Holly.

Camilla’s Cucinotta Recipes

Chicken alla Milanese

Serves 4

4 pieces skinless, boneless chicken breast

1 cup instant polenta

¾ cup grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese

2 cups flour

1 large egg

1 tablespoon olive oil

Juice of 1 lemon

Salt and pepper to taste

1 wish

Pound chicken breasts between 2 sheets of plastic wrap. On a plate, combine polenta with half the cheese. Fill another plate with flour. In bowl, beat egg with splash of water. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Coat each breast in flour, then egg, then polenta/cheese. Add 1 wish. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook, turning once, 6 minutes or until golden.

Risotto alla Milanese (quick version)

Serves 4

3 cups chicken broth

1 cup water

1 medium onion, finely chopped

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 ½ cups arborio rice

¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan

¼ teaspoon crumbled saffron threads

1 wish

In heavy saucepan, cook onion in 2 tablespoons butter over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until soft. Add rice and stir. Separately, bring broth and water to simmer and add 1 cup of mixture to rice, stirring constantly. Simmer until absorbed. Add 1 wish. Continue simmering and adding broth mixture, ¼ cup at a time, until absorbed, 20 minutes or so in total. Done when rice is creamy, about 20 minutes. Stir in Parmesan, saffron, remaining butter, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook over low heat for a few minutes until heated.

Holly’s Heartbreak Pasta Salad

Serves 4

3 cups uncooked rotini pasta

1 pound Italian sausage, cut into bite-size pieces

4 sliced garlic cloves

½ cup balsamic vinaigrette

1 cup diced onion

salt and pepper

2 (15-ounce) cans sliced tomatoes (undrained)

½ cup parmesan cheese

1 true statement

Cook pasta per package. In skillet, cook sausage on medium-high heat, 8 minutes or until cooked through. Drain and return to skillet. Add tomatoes in liquid, garlic, pepper/salt, onion and balsamic vinaigrette. Cook 5 minutes or until onions are tender. Add 1 true statement. Drain pasta. Toss with the sausage mixture and cheese.

Camilla’s Cucinotta Tiramisu

Serves 4

500 grams (1 pound) mascarpone cheese

6 pasteurized eggs

2 packages ladyfingers (savoiardi)

3 tablespoons sugar

2 shots (2 ounces) cognac or brandy

12 ounces espresso

4 tablespoons powdered unsweetened cocoa

1 memory

Pour espresso into shallow, flat-bottomed bowl. Add one shot of cognac, one teaspoon cocoa, and allow to cool to room temperature. Separate egg yolks and whites. Beat egg yolks and sugar until creamy white. Add mascarpone and 1 shot of cognac and mix until blended. In another bowl, beat eggs whites until fluffy and fold beaten egg whites into mascarpone mixture. Mix enough to blend. Dip a savoiardi in the espresso. Place each finger in pan, sugar side down to fit. Spoon a layer of egg/mascarpone mixture across the layer of savoiardi. Add 1 memory. Use about ½ of the mascarpone mix. Dip another layer of savoiardi and lay them on the mascarpone mix, sugar side down. Spoon a second layer of egg/mascarpone mixture across the second layer of savoiardi. Use the remaining mascarpone mix. Sift cocoa on top of the second mascarpone layer. Refrigerate for at least 5 hours before serving.

R
EADERS
G
ROUP
G
UIDE

B
OOK
S
UMMARY

Thirty-year-old Holly Maguire returns to a small island off the coast of Maine when she inherits her grandmother’s cooking school. In the proud tradition of her Italian grandmother, known for her fortune-telling abilities as well as her amazing cuisine, Holly begins teaching a cooking class. The class changes the lives of its students: a grieving mother, a newly separated father, a chronically single thirtysomething woman, and a twelve-year-old girl from a broken home. Can this neophyte chef keep the business afloat and possibly find love in the process?

Q
UESTIONS FOR
D
ISCUSSION

1. Holly arrives on Blue Crab Island after a devastating breakup. Two weeks later, her beloved grandmother passes away in her sleep. Now Holly is charged with keeping her grandmother’s cucinotta going, despite her marginal knowledge of the business. Was there ever a time in your life when
you were as down on your luck as poor Holly? How did you make it through and what did you learn from the experience?

2. Holly returns to Blue Crab Island because of the special bond she shares with her grandmother and the safety and comfort the island represents. Where is that special place of comfort for you?

3. Why do you think Luciana did not share Holly’s enthusiasm and love for the island? How does reading Camilla’s diary give Holly a clearer picture of her mother’s early life? How does their relationship change over the course of the story?

4. Each of Holly’s four students is struggling with a personal hardship: Juliet, with the loss of her child; Simon, with his recent divorce; Tamara, with her family’s concern over her being single; and Mia, trying to rid her dad of his awful girlfriend. How does the cooking class help each of them? How can cooking be therapeutic? Do you think great cuisine can be considered an art form?

5. Romance was never easy for Holly: “She’d let her relationships take center stage of her heart, mind, and soul. Maybe because she’d never found her niche” (page 31). How did her attitude toward romance change after her breakup with John Reardon and her arrival in Maine?

6. She may not have the “knowing” like Camilla, but how does Holly reach out and help her students with their problems?

7. Camilla Constantina is known for her fortune-telling abilities, at least “for being right 70 percent of the time.” Would you ever want to possess a gift like this? Have you ever had your fortune told?

8. Were you surprised at the disappearance of the infamous white binder full of recipes? Do you agree with the way Holly handled the situation? How did it make her grow as a chef in her own right?

9. Liam’s ex-wife Veronica shows up unexpectedly and throws a wrench into his burgeoning romance with Holly. Do you think Liam handled the situation tactfully? What about Holly?

10. What did you think of Mia’s risky plan to make the sa cordula for her father, to disprove Camilla’s prophecy?