"I am supposed to marry him. His parents said I could."
"This isn't the Middle Ages. People's parents can't dictate who they marry."
"You want to marry him?" Hartleigh screeched.
One of the production assistants hurried over. "Stop talking so loudly," she said. "You're messing up the sound quality."
"Sorry," I mumbled and gave Hartleigh a dirty look.
Dessert. Right. I knew I was making eggnog. It needed to sit and let the flavors blend, so I decided to make it first. I stirred together egg yolks, sugar, nutmeg, vanilla, and cloves in a saucepan on low heat. Once I started moving and taste-testing the creamy custardy mixture I’d made for the eggnog, I felt a little more clear-headed. The eggnog thickened to a creamy consistency. I wanted the flavor of the rum but not the bitterness of the alcohol, so I flambéed it in another saucepan. Once a sufficient amount of the alcohol was cooked off, I stirred it into the eggnog as well.
Using a spoon, I took a taste.
"Delicious," I declared. The eggnog was still slightly boozy but not overpowering. I set it aside to cool.
What to cook? Remembering that I had promised Jack bacon, I cooked some and ate a piece. Then I needed some more whisky to wash it down.
"Are you eating or cooking?" Nina asked.
"Cooking!" I said. "Watch me go!" I was just freestyling it at this point. What went well with eggnog and bacon? Booze, obviously. I took another sip of bourbon. Then I made a sponge cake.
Satisfied that it was delicate and light, I set it aside to cool. Then I made a cranberry gelatin. Straining it, I let it set in small, circular molds. Then I made a thick citrusy custard and let it set as well. While the pieces of the trifle I had decided to make set, I candied some whole cranberries. They sparkled with granulated sugar, and I set them aside to harden.
Pleased with how my dessert was progressing, I took another sip of bourbon. I was really on fire now. I carefully cut circles out of the sponge cake and soaked them in a sugary alcohol mixture, then used a torch to caramelize each one.
To bring in the bacon, I made donut balls fried in bacon grease and glazed each with a salted bourbon caramel and sprinkled bacon pieces on top. While I assembled my trifles, I noticed Jack had returned. He was sitting at the long butcher-block judges’ table. His eyes followed my every move. I had another swig of the whisky. It was smooth going down my throat.
Don't think about smooth things, or smooth man chests, I told myself. I needed to win this next round, and I couldn't afford any distractions. But Jack was a distraction I desperately wanted.
Once the trifles were assembled, alternating with the sponge cake, the custard, and the cranberry gelatin, I garnished each with a toothpick holding one of the donut holes and two of the candied cranberries.
As we waited in the holding room, I shared the last of the bourbon with Nina.
"Happy boozy Christmas," Nina said, clinking our glasses together.
26
Jack
As soon as Chloe stepped up to present her dessert, I knew she had been sneaking sips from the container. She was definitely buzzed.
"I made for you," she said a little too loudly, "dessert. You have eggnog, a cranberry sponge cake parfait, and a bacon caramel donut."
The donut was superb. The rest of the dish seemed a little scattered.
"This is like a two a.m. snack after you've been drinking all night," Nick said.
"I agree," Anu replied. "It’s a little all over the place. Each piece by itself is superb, but there's a lot going on with this plate."
The contestants had gone all out on the boozy desserts, and Anu and Nick had a difficult time deciding on a winner.
"Chloe's dish was interesting," Anu said, "but Nina made that cranberry cobbler with eggnog ice cream that was divine."
"It also felt more thought out," Nick said. "Nina's flavors were a little more cohesive. I think she is our winner."
"That was a good donut, though," I added, though they really weren't supposed to take my comments into consideration, since I had no experience cooking, let alone baking.
"Why didn't you make them pick me?" Chloe said when she saw me outside of the studio.
