milliways_bar | (no subject)

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Sinric comes in from the garden in early evening, carrying a basket of cherries fresh from the orchard and still warm from the sun.

He sits at the bar and requests a cloth bag. He carefully sorts through the basket, setting the cherries in two equal piles.

Infinitely botherable, he's more than happy to share.

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"Hello, Sinric!"

That's Hannibal, coming out of the kitchen, wearing a striped apron and smelling faintly of garlic and seafood.

"Such wonderful cherries! What are you sorting them by?"

"Hannibal, hello." He rises to press a kiss to Hannibal's cheek. "I thought to put some aside for Miss Seddon to bake into something. Unless you would like them for some recipes."

Hannibal returns the kiss, and says, "Oh no, whatever Rae can bake is far superior to what I could do with them. I will try and get some of the end result instead."

"Then I shall ask her to put some aside for us." He smiles, breathing in the scent of cooking carried in Hannibal's wake. "May I ask what you're cooking?"

"It's called Paella," Hannibal says, "a Spanish dish -- you might say the Spanish dish. I do like very traditional recipes in a modern presentation, sometimes."

"It sounds, and smells, wonderful. Are you cooking it for someone special?"

"I am now," Hannibal says, smiling at Sinric.

That smile always makes him flash and he can't help but smile back. "You honour me, Doctor Lecter."

"No more than you deserve, Sinric," Hannibal says.

And steals a cherry.

Sinric can't help but follow the path of that cherry to Hannibal's lips. "You're very kind. Will you tell me about this Spanish dish you're cooking?"

"It's rice with vegetables, seafood and meat," Hannibal says, "seasoned with saffron and fried together in a large pan. That is the basic description; from that point on, there is an infinite amount of variations. I am making a small portion, with squid, red bell peppers, tiny mange-tout peas, and just a few slices of snapper fillet."

"Saffron? Such an expensive spice. I saw great fields of it growing in the Kashmiri provenance. So much work for such a tiny strand of spice."

"Oh yes," Hannibal says. "It's still that complex to grow and that minimal in yield in my time, and hence that costly. But a dash of good saffron makes the paella. No cheating with cheap kurkuma, for me!"

"Ah, but kurkuma makes such a wonderful dye. Such a vibrant colour, even if the taste is not so rich."

"Once you learn to keep it off your hands and implements, it does," Hannibal agrees. "If I just want a pilaw to be yellow, that is what I use. But for a paella, I do want the subtle scent of saffron, and none of the bitterness kurkuma can develop."

"You truly are an artist with food." Sinric smiles warmly, "I confess I've still yet to master anything more than the very basics of cooking."

"As you are truly an artist with so many other things," Hannibal says, "I will gladly keep food as my unique selling point."

"I would hardly think it's your only unique gift." He beams, brushing his fingers over Hannibal's arm.

"How have things been with you?"

"Interesting, you might say," Hannibal says. "Some nice new culinary experiences lately, too. So many worlds, so many new tastes to discover."

"Have you been travelling to other worlds?"

"Oh yes, Yrael took me and our friend Jim to his adopted home city New Orleans," Hannibal says. "One of the homes of good cuisine and excelent music in many worlds."

"Ah. Emcee and I went there briefly with Yrael. The music was vibrant and wonderful but I didn't get much chance to sample the local cuisine."

"It is a paradise for fish," Hannibal says, "and for creative variations on traditional dishes."

"Sounds like you had a wonderful experience there. Is that what inspired this evening's dish?"

"The wish for fish?" Hannibal says, smiling. "Yes, probably. I don't feel qualified to try for a decent jambalaya yet, hence the paella, as I'm rather more familiar with Spanish cuisine."