In chapter 1 my 18 year old Niece Rindi comes to stay with me.
β------------------Tuesday week two
It was about noon.
"Rindi, are you coming with me today?"
I asked her.
"Where are we going? She asked.
"I promised Jack we would go meet him today at two o'clock at the restaurant, I'm going to cook for the three of us." I tell Rindi.
"Oh goody, their food is okay, but yours is far better." Rindi said.
Our first stop was at a grocery store, Coast
Restaurant Supplies.
I need a few things I tell Rindi. I grab one of their flatbed type carts. It sits about four inches off the ground. Rindi decides to act like she is four years old and hops on the cart. "Push me around Uncle Roy."
Fine. She rides the cart while I shop. I need a couple cans of solid core albacore tuna, some pure virgin olive oil, a dozen eggs. Heavy cream, several types of cheese, mushrooms, cucumber chips, spaghetti noodles, lasagne noodles. Ricotta cheese. Basil, and lemons.
I'm sure there are some things at the restaurant but I want to make sure I have what I absolutely need. Two big packages of fresh mixed seafood, each package has, shrimp, scallops, clams, calamari and shelled crab legs.
We pay and get to The Pirate Cove just before two. Jack is there and lets us in.
I carry my big box of ingredients. Jack tries to peak in the box.
"Nope," I tell him. "All I need you to do is show me where the pots and pans are and turn on the oven and stove for me, then you and brat can wait at our table for me to bring it out."
He leads me to the kitchen and turns on the big oven.
I go to work, Use the olive oil and egg whites to quickly make my own mayonnaise. Put four slices of the dill rye bread in the toaster. Opened the tuna, added mayo, juiced a few lemons, added the juice, added in some ketchup. Took the warm bread from the toaster, placed a slice of swiss cheese on each, put a dollop of the tuna spread on each piece of cheese, topped each one with six cucumber chips.
Opened one of the refrigerators. Grabbed three bottles of Aqua Bien water. Found a serving tray. Found four plates. Put the extra piece of bread in a warmer, saving it for Candy.
Brought it all out on a wheeled serving cart, to the table where Jack and Rindi were waiting. "Here we go, I tell them." Uncle Roys famous Tuna Melt open faced sandwich.
Rindi smiles at me. Jack glares at me. "All this fuss for a damned sandwich? He asks obviously upset.
"There's more to come," I tell him. "This is just the appetizer."
"Yummy," says Rindi.
"Thank you," I tell her.
"Not bad." says Jack. "Better than my chef makes them but not what I really need."
"Okay the next one will take a while." Here play some cards while you wait." I say, and hand them the deck, I brought along.
Back in the kitchen, I quickly put the heavy cream and parmesian cheese into a sauce pan. Get some water on to boil in another pan, throw in the angel hair spaghetti. Once I have the alfredo cooked, I add the seafood mix, some mushrooms, basil, and garlic. I taste it. Pretty good, I think. Eight minutes later the spaghetti is done.
I put a mound of spaghetti on each plate, put on a healthy scoop of seafood alfredo on top of each plate of spaghetti. Added some freshly grated parmesian, It smells great, looks good, I take a taste. Needs something, oh yeah the lemon juice. Perfect, I plate four servings, putting one for Candy next to the tuna sandwich in the warmer.
Put the three plates on the cart, wheel it out.
Set a plate in front of Jack, one in front of Rindi, and I sit across from Jack next to Rindi with my plate.
"Holy Shit!" Says Rindy, "Totally scrumptious," after she took the first bite.
"Amazing said Jack, "How long did this take start to finish?"
"It can be done much quicker," I tell him. "At home I keep a gallon pickle jar full of the alfredo in my fridge, then if you put the seafood mix into the alfredo and get it hot while at the same time cooking the angel hair pasta, it takes roughly ten minutes."
Jack just stared at me. Are you shitting me? This dish in just ten minutes. How would you like to take over as chef here?" He asked.
"No Thanks," I tell him, "I really don't like working for anyone else. These two sheets of paper have the exact ingredient list and recipes for the dishes. I'm going to give them to you on one condition. When you add them to the menu, I would like them to say, Uncle Roys Tasty Tuna Melt, and, Uncle Roys savory seafood pasta."
"Deal, says Jack." "How much does it cost to make?"
"Buying in bulk, the seafood blend can be cheaper, I paid 19.99 for each bag. I only used one bag. The spaghetti is like one dollar. The alfredo, is just cream and parmesian, so maybe five bucks and don't forget mushrooms, basil, and garlic, so thats about roughly thirty dollars and you can get about six servings per pan, charge twelve dollars and you make 72, leaving 42 dollars of profit." I reply.
"Genius," Said Jack, Seafood spaghetti, why the hell didn't I think of that?
"Because as my bratty niece pointed out to me the other day, most people cook spaghetti with a tomato sauce. I don't care for it much since it gives me heartburn." I tell him.
"You can even use the same recipe to cook lasagne, You would need to add more cheese, but I think you could charge like 14.99 for that and still make a decent profit." I say, After thinking it over in my head.
"More genius," Says Jack.
"What's genius?" Asks Candy as she had heard that comment as she came over to us sitting at our table.
"Have my seat," I tell Candy, "I'll be right back."
I hurried to the kitchen, checked the time, 3:45 no problem. Checked the food, still warm, brought the two plates and a bottle of Aqua Bien over to Candy. Set them down in front of her. Jack scooted over so I could sit.
Candy tasted the sandwich, "Damn! That's tasty," She said. "It just about melts in my mouth."
Rindi giggled, "Try the pasta," She encouraged Candy.
"Holy Shit! Thats really, just Wow! Incredible but who made it?" She asked.
Rindi told her proudly, "It was my Uncle Roy, everyone says he's a genius, except when he's stupid."
"Uncle Roys Stupid!" Sang out the parrot.
"Jack," I suggest Parrot lasagne for your signature dish," All four of us laughed.