For You, Chef Van Rouge! Part 4~ [SOLO]

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Now, Ame had finished her Snowdonia Sorbet, the Lunar Sushi, her Chef's Choice Entree, and the Grain Isle Lobster. Without hesitation, she began preparing her next dish, the second last one in fact. This time, it would be the Windsor Forest Boar Ham! For her last two dishes, she had previous bought what she needed. She had bought enough boar ham to make ten dishes. She had chosen to purchase them instead of making the meat herself because, well, she was no butcher. The whole carving of a poor animal was just not her thing. Sure, she had caught and prepared the fish, but for some reason, to her, it was different than the larger animals. Her heart just couldn't allow her to chop up the large beasts, too much blood and way too much mess. So, she purchased it instead. She had gotten her pot ready and was already cooking the boar meat in it. She didn't really have time to waste and the meat took a long time to cook because she would have to cook it twice. She wished she had a large enough smoker, but she didn't, so she had to boil the meat first and then cut it and prepare it in pieces for the smoker. While the meat cooked, she got her station ready. She got down all of the items she would need. She got a carving knife, a glazer, a cutting board, a medium sized bowl and the ingredients she would need. It was a honey baked ham, so the number one ingredient, aside from the boar itself, was honey.

Words: 268
Progress: 71%
Note: 1/20

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She got down the ten plates she would need and another ten of the small serving bowls she had used for the seafood sauce on the lobster dish plate. She took a medium sized pot and put a bit of white cooking wine in. She crushed a clove of garlic and diced up an onion and added it into the pot. She turned the heat on low and allowed the mixture to simmer for a small bit. When it was simmered nicely, she turned off the heat and removed the pot, pouring the mixture into the medium sized bowl she had gotten down earlier. Once it was cooled off enough, in a second bowl, she put dried mustard and strained in the wine mixture, making sure the onion and garlic were removed from the new mixture. Once the wine was in the bowl, she whisked the dry mustard into the wine mix and made sure it was a smooth consistency throughout. Once she was happy with her results, she added a dash of salt and pepper and a small bit of Tabasco sauce, just for that extra bit of tang, and some honey. She stirred all of the ingredients together and watched as she mixture began to thicken. Once she was happy with the texture, she tasted a small bit on a separate spoon. She smiled wide as the taste filled her senses. She had made a delicious honey Dijon mustard to pair with the honeyed boar ham. There was nothing like honey Dijon and ham, to her anyways.

Words: 259
Progress: 72%
Note: 2/20

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Now that the Dijon mustard was complete, she set the bowl aside, in the fridge. She didn't want to take any chance of it melting, or separating before it was time to plate it. With that part of the dish complete, she checked on the ham. It seemed to be cooking nicely. She hadn't added much to it, just some salt and pepper. The seasonings would be put on after it was cooked and ready for the smoker. Before that, though, she would have to prepare it. She had prepared some cloves to put in the ham once it was finished boiling, but she still have to make the glaze. She washed out the medium sized pot she had used before and set it on low. She put some butter in the pan and waited for it to melt. Then she added a little bit of minced garlic, brown sugar, honey and just a dash of cinnamon. She whisked the ingredients together as it began to simmer and join together and a glaze. The ham would be boiled soon enough, so she had to make sure that everything was ready for her glaze so that she could get the pieces into the smoker as soon as possible. The would have to cut the ham in two but it was alright. Once the glaze was simmered to the right temperature, she turned off the heat and set the pot aside, covering it with a lid. Just a little more time and she would be ready to glaze!

Words: 256
Progress: 73%
Note: 3/20

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She checked the ham again. It was ready to take out of the heat, so she turned the heat off, took the pot to her cutting board and, using tongs, took the large ham out. She set it on the cutting board and took the pot to the sink, pouring out all of the water and setting it aside to wash later on. She took the smaller pot, holding the glaze and her glazing utensil and carried it to the ham. She brushed on the first coat of the glaze. She looked down at the pot and seriously hoped she had enough glaze to continue to glaze it when it was needed. Really, if she didn't, she could just make more. She continued to brush it on until the whole ham had been covered. With the smoker hot and ready to go, she cut the glazed ham in half and put the first half into the smoker. Now that the first part of the ham was being smoked, she set the cutting board with the other half in the fridge. She took down a smaller cutting board and took out a pineapple and some small cherry tomatoes and some romaine lettuce leafs. She washed each of the things and then began to skin and core the pineapple. These ingredients would be used to garnish the plate for the ham. Seriously, what was better than ham with pineapple and honey Dijon mustard? Well, she could think of a few things she liked better, but it was hard to top it either way. She loved the taste of ham and baked pineapple. It wasn't traditional Japanese style, but more American. Her family had cultured her on foods of the world, so she knew a great deal.

Words: 294
Progress: 74%
Note: 4/20

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Once the pineapples were sliced and ready, she turned on the oven and let it heat up. She would bake them, though she preferred to do it with the ham itself, the smoker wasn't big enough for everything, so she had to improvise a little. She glazed the pineapples with the honey glaze and set them on a baking tray lined with waxed paper. Once the oven was ready, she popped them into it. She wanted to give them enough time to cool after they were cooked, and with the ham smoking, she knew it would be enough time. If she left them hot, the romaine lettuce would become bad very quickly and she just wouldn't have it. She knew her way around a dish and she knew that she wouldn't let heat ruin the look of the plate. While she waited for everything to cook, she dried the washed lettuce leaves and placed them neatly on the plate. The leaves were set to the side with the small bowl sitting atop the bottom of the leaf. The ham would go beside it and the pineapple and cherry tomatoes would go on top. She loved making a plate beautiful. Nothing in the world compared to it, to her. She loved all forms of art, but because she really wasn't good at painting or such things, this allowed her to express her creativity the way she liked to do it. Food, in itself, was art and she loved to decorate a plate, making the dish pop!

Words: 255
Progress: 75%
Note: 5/20

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Now it was time to wait. The pineapples would have only a small amount of time in the oven, where as the ham in the smoker would take much longer. She wished she had two smokers so that she could finish the plate faster, but she didn't so she knew she must be patient. She sat on the stool around the island counter and kicked her foot lightly. She put her elbow to the counter and her hand to her cheek, tapping her finger tips against it. She didn't have much she could clean right now so she just wanted to wait, but the boredom was killing her. Why did she have to wait? She sighed lightly and put her head to the counter. She felt her eye lids close over them as she sat patiently. She knew why she had to wait, she just wished that it didn't take so long. She had so little time that it almost scared her and she still had a lot to do. Sure, she was pretty much done each dish, but including this one, she still had two left. She could barely handle the waiting period now as she had done so for the dishes previous to this one, but there wasn't much of anything that she could do other than wait. She took a deep breath in and propped her head back up. She looked at the timer for the smoker, then the timer for the pineapples. As she stared at it, time seemed to move slowly, so she looked away and focused on the green on the white plate.

Words: 269
Progress: 76%
Note: 6/20

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The small timer for the pineapples began to sing and Ame rushed off of her chair. She clicked the timer to stop it and put on her oven mitts, taking out the tray of pineapples. She set the on the stove top and set down a plate beside it. She layered the pineapples over the plate. She didn't want to keep them on the heat and risk burning them or over cooking them, so she had to set them aside. Once each of the rounds were on the plate and cooling, she checked the timer for the smoker. There was only a bit of time before it was finished so she went to the fridge and pulled out the honey Dijon mustard she had made as a dip. She took a spoonful of the mustard after stirring it and placed it in the small bowl. She did this five times, as the half of the ham in the smoker would cover five of the plates. Once all five bowls had a dabble of the mustard, she put it back in the fridge to wait for the next half. Once again, she sat at the counter and waited patiently for the ham to cook. She crossed her legs and set her hands in her lap and took to staring out the window and the sun, which was slowly making it's way down. She was hoping to get the dishes finished before the sun went down but at this rate, she would be working through the night.

Words: 255
Progress: 77%
Note: 7/20

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Finally, the timer on the ham sounded and Ame jumped up again. She clicked the timer off and set to take the smoked honey ham from it's smoker. She set it on her chopping board and took the other half from the fridge. She put it in the smoker and set the timer. She would have to use a bit more time on this ham as it had been sitting in the fridge. It would take a little longer, but it would be worth it as the ham would have stayed fresher than just leaving it sitting out. Once it was ready, she turned to the already smoked ham and took her carving knife in her hand. She carved a small amount off of the open edge. She couldn't use that part as it would look different than the other plates. She couldn't risk this Chef Van Rouge seeing a simple mistake in her food, so she set it aside after taking a small bite to taste. "Delicious!" She would save the rest for her two animals so that they could try some as well because even if she were invited, she doubted that animals would be allowed at a banquet. She giggled at the thought of them, sitting at a table and eating in front of so many people. They would make a mess and Spoticus would try to fight every man and hit on every girl. He was such a little playboy bunny! Mamori would be welcomed as she would sit pretty, but even still, she doubted animals were allowed.

Words: 262
Progress: 78%
Note: 8/20

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Shaking the thoughts of her two babies out of her mind, she set to carving the ham. She would cut the slices thin so the she could fold them on the plate. She had already planned the look of the dish in her head so she knew the width of the slices and what they should look like. She carved it gently, letting the knife slice down the ham nearly on it's own and when she had cut five slices off of the ham, she folded first under, then the excess over. The ham slice was long and looked just as she had imagined it. She set it on the plate and went onto folding the next piece. Once folded, she set that on the plate as well. She repeated the process until all five slices were folded and set down on an angle, just slightly overlapping each other. She checked the pineapple, making sure they had cooled, and took one of the slices. She placed it on the lettuce leaf and then put three of the cherry tomatoes in the middle. She smiled down at the completed plate, knowing that she was happy with it. She nodded her satisfaction to it and left it to the side so that she could match the next plate with it. She continued carving the ham, counting the pieces as she did so. She needed twenty more slices to complete each of the five dishes, and by the size of the ham, she would have more than enough. She would use it as a treat for later.

Words: 264
Progress: 79%
Note: 9/20 -- 1 of 10 complete

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She continued to carve, glancing over at the timer. She definitely had enough time to finish the five plates and then a little more waiting time before the second half of the ham was finished. She hummed a small tune as she carved, still keeping count of the slices she cut, making sure that each slice matched the last in size. She was quite the perfectionist when it came to making food and preparing dishes for others. Even when the dish was for herself, she still made it look nice, but when it was for others, she took an extra step and created something beautiful. She could never leave a plate looking bare and dry, she needed color and flare for it. It was a pet peeve to go to a restaurant and pay for food that just looked out right dull. That was the biggest reason that when she created, she was creative with it. Once she had carved out the twenty slices, she began to roll. She rolled the first slice into the shape of an 's' as she had done with the last plate and set it on an angle. She laid down the next piece the same and continued on until all five were laid out. She took her pineapple and placed it to the side on the leaf and then tossed the three cherry tomatoes in the middle. This time, instead of leaving it out, she placed both of the finished dishes in her inventory as she now had the look of the dish implanted in her mind.

Words: 263
Progress: 80%
Note: 10/20 -- 2 of 10 complete

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She continued folding one way and then folding the next. She laid down the slice on an angle and overlapped the others just slightly. She was making great progress with it, and wouldn't stop until every last piece of ham was laid and every last pineapple was accenting and every last cherry tomato added that splash of color she ever so loved. She was almost there. She was so close to the finish line she could taste the world beyond it. She felt bad though, because it was taking much longer than anticipated, she would have to wait until tomorrow to take her two pets to get a treat. She would give them some of the left over ham tonight and then take them out tomorrow. Hopefully they would forgive her for not being able to take her out tonight, but with the sun going down and her needing to complete one more dish, she just couldn't take them out. All of the vendors would be closed by the time she finished and she had to rest at some point, but not now. She shook the thoughts from her head again and laid down the pineapple. She placed the cherry tomatoes in the middle of it as she had done before and then placed the dish in her inventory. She was making progress. Each and every plate brought her closer to her over all goal and she wouldn't stop until she reached it! She was far too close for that.

Words: 250
Progress: 81%
Note: 11/20 -- 3 of 10 complete

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Ame found herself running out of things to think about as she continued on with plating her dishes. Her thoughts over the day and evening were swirling together and becoming one. She kept going back to previous thoughts, friends here, family back home, her life in Elder Tale versus her life in Kyoto. She just couldn't stop thinking about how everyone was doing. Perhaps it had been because she hadn't thought about them in a while and had chosen to live the life that she had been given here that they seemed to come to mind now that her mind was rested and concentrating. She clearly worked better when she was thinking about something than just focusing on the task at hand, though she tried her best to whisk any thoughts away. She could maintain her structure and her perfection even while she was completely lost in thought. The lobster dish had proven to her that she could. While she thought, she folded and plated the pieces of ham, angling and overlapping them. She placed down a pineapple piece and centered the cherry tomatoes in the middle of it. She put it in her inventory along with all of the others and looked down at the rest of the ham. Just one more plate to go and then she was back to waiting. Once that ham was cooked and plated, she only had one more dish. That was it, just one! Her parents had always called her a hard worker.

Words: 250
Progress: 82%
Note: 12/20 -- 4 of 10 complete

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She was, in fact, a very hard worker. Once she had set herself on her goals, she reached out and caught them with her own two hands. She had always loved her computer class in high school, so she had chosen to make a career out of it. University had proven to be rather difficult for her, but she pushed and pushed. She wasn't the top in her class, but she wasn't the bottom either. Her grades had always been a bit above average and since she didn't have any friends or a boyfriend to occupy her time, not after the one time, she always remained focused on her homework and the class itself. The only thing she really didn't like was group projects, but she had pushed through them. It was all worthless now though, as being here led her to want to be something completely different than a computer programmer. No, as she had thought before, she wanted to be a chef! Her skills were clearly quite amazing and she hadn't realized it until this world that she had such skills. She let out a soft giggle and shook her head. "You never really did have any faith in yourself up until coming to this place.." She smiled as she said it, knowing that with each day she was here, she became more and more of a woman, the one she wanted to be. She folded the rest of the ham, put the pineapple to the side and topped it with the cherry tomatoes and put it in her inventory, still smiling wide.

Words: 265
Progress: 83%
Note: 13/20 -- 5 of 10 complete

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Now it was the waiting time again. She sat back at her stool and folded her hands in her lap. She still had a little while to wait before she could take the ham out so she stared out of the window at the scene before her. She could see the house beside her, though she wasn't sure who lived there. It was pretty strange that she hadn't gone over to meet her neighbors yet, but she made a mental note to bake some cookies and bring them over when she got a chance. She had been here quite a while now, but had been busy with getting everything set up that she had forgotten that she even had neighbors. She let out a soft sigh and looked above their rooftop to the sky. It was becoming darker and darker by the minute, but she was nearly finished. Just five more of these dishes and the last ten after wards. She was really doing it, completing what she had set to do. She found nothing more satisfying that reaching a goal that you set for yourself, no matter how big, or small the task at hand was. This was by far her biggest task yet, even bigger than the phantom train conductor. It was probably that way because of the amount of work she had chosen to do by herself, where as when she fought the conductor, she had had a group to help her. There was no way she could have done it on her own as he was extremely powerful.

Words: 262
Progress: 84%
Note: 14/20

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With the thought of the conductor in her mind, she shivered slightly, remembering the cold hands of the beasts that had been on each of the train cars. They were ghouls, and they were super creepy! She nearly jumped out of her own skin as the timer for the second half of the ham sounded, scaring her. She let out a laugh at herself and shook her head. She hadn't been so jumpy then as she was now, just remembering the faces of the creatures. She stepped off of the stool and went to the timer, clicking the stop button. She took the ham from the smoker and placed it on the cutting board as she had done with the half before. Instead of only cutting out five of the pieces, this time she would just carve off all twenty five pieces. She started with the open end and carved it away as she had done with the other. She tasted it to compare the flavors and nodded as she approved of it. They tasted the same. Then she set out and started carving. The slices were thin as the ones before as she continued to cut, letting the blade nearly guide itself through the juicy, moist ham. The consistency was perfect and she smiled, feeling quite proud of herself for creating such a divine ham. Once the slices were all cut, she would start the plating. "Almost there." There were only a few more slices to carve and then she could complete the dishes!

Words: 255
Progress: 85%
Note: 15/20

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With the ham all sliced up and the left overs set to the side, she placed the cutting board in the sink. She took the remaining mustard from the fridge and dabbled a spoonful into each of the small bowls. Then she took the remaining five romaine lettuce leaves and laid one on each place, exactly where she had the last five. She took the sliced ham and folded it like before, angling it on the plate. She overlapped that one with the second piece and followed suit until each of the five sliced were laid. Then she took the pineapple and laid it to the side and put the cherry tomatoes on as well. Now she had completed six out of the ten dishes and the last four would run just as smoothly as this one, and the ones before it had. She was definitely becoming a natural at cooking and plating, thanks to this quest. As soon as she had heard about it she jumped right at the chance. She was surprised that with so little time, she was able to create so many delicious and beautiful things. She still had one more to go after this, but with only one, she knew she could do it with ease. It had taken a lot to take up such a large task alone, but she would fight through it as she had the battles that she had won. She was a fighter, and wouldn't stop until she was satisfied with her work!

Words: 253
Progress: 86%
Note: 16/20 -- 6 of 10 complete

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She placed the completed dish in her inventory and hopped right into the next one. folding over, then under, then placing it on an angle. Under and over, then overlapping. It was repetitive work, but someone had to do it. She had come this far, she wouldn't let her mind waver. Keep focused on your goals and you can do anything you set your mind too. She truly believed in both of those sayings and did everything in her power to focus her energy into the dishes. With each of the five ham slices laid out, she set the pineapple in the same position as the others and laid down the tomatoes. At this rate, she would be finished in no time. The next dish wouldn't be very hard to complete because, by her standards, she had saved the easiest for last. Like she had done with the ham, she had bought the meat for the next dish at the butcher she often went to see. The animal was too large, like the boar, to take home and would cause far more of a mess and a hassle than anything she could have cooked. She just couldn't kill and carve up the animals like that. Sea creatures were one thing, but large animals, they were a whole different story to deal with. It just wasn't in her nature to deal with such creatures on this sort of level. Plus, she would feel guilty. She placed the dish in her inventory and set off to the next.

Words: 256
Progress: 87%
Note: 17/20 -- 7 of 10 complete

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She couldn't deal with having to carve up poor creatures, but she loved to cook them. It was a contradiction in itself, but one that she was proud of. Perhaps it wasn't really something she should have been proud of, but she was. It took a lot of courage to be able to catch, kill and butcher an animal, and though she was brave and strong, that kind of courage didn't exist in her. The sort of courage needed for actually taking the time to cook and find methods of doing a dish differently from the next, that was the sort of courage she had. Perhaps it was more creativity, or imagination than courage, but it still took a lot to try and fail and try again. That's the sort of person she was. She would try anything once and if she failed, she would try it until she got it right. She loved challenges and liked to take on big ones. She thought of the different challenges in life as she folded the ham and placed it on the plate. Her life had truly been somewhat of a challenge, though she was grateful for it. She probably wouldn't be the person she was if it weren't for how she had grown up. She placed the last slice of ham down on the plate and grabbed the pineapple. The challenges you face in life, those were what made someone who they were. She nodded and put down the cherry tomatoes. She smiled and stuffed the dish in her inventory.

Words: 259
Progress: 88%
Note: 18/20 -- 8 of 10 complete

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She only had two more dishes to go. Her goal was so close to being completed that she almost could cry because of how happy she was. It had taken a while to come to this point and she thought that she would be happy to be over and done with the whole thing, but as she reached closer and closer to the end, she found herself feeling sad. She had done so much that she was sure the Chef would be delighted by her, but for some reason, she didn't want to face that it was almost over. She shook her head and blinked away any forming tears. "No. There will be other quests to do, and you can make food when ever you want Ame, so snap out of it.." It took a few minutes, but she giggled softly at herself. She did it often, talked to herself. She didn't know if it was normal or not, but she didn't really care either. She was sure that lots of people talked to themselves. It was some what calming, to her at least. She knew she was smart, and so what if she talked to herself, she had to cheer herself up somehow when she was alone, right? Either way, she stopped her nonsense and retained her focus. She folded and placed each slice of the ham. She placed the pineapple down and topped it with the cherry tomatoes. She placed the plate in her inventory and automatically went straight to folding the next pieces.

Words: 256
Progress: 89%
Note: 19/20 -- 9 of 10 complete

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She folded and laid down each piece for the last plate of the Windsor Forest Boar Ham. Once all five were laid, she placed the pineapple and then the tomatoes. Once she placed it in her inventory, she looked around at the mess she had created. She had a lot of cleaning up to do, but it wouldn't take to long. She started off by washing the mountain of dishes. She had the pot, the baking try, the cutting boards and knives, the smoker, a few bowls and a mass amount of utensils to wash. She filled the sink up half way with water and a little soap and filled the other sink up with just water, also about half way. She washed the dishes one by one and dipped each into the clean water to remove the soap. Once that was finished, she set them on the drying rack. Once all of the dishes were washed, she set to drying them, putting them away as she did so. She emptied the sinks once all the dishes were put away and washed each of the counter tops. She hummed and wiggled her bum as she did so, dancing to pass the time. She so loved to dance and sing while she cleaned, it helped her clean her soul too. Once everything was finished, she began to prepare her station for the next and last dish. She could help but think of how amazing she was, though she wasn't narcissistic. She couldn't say for sure, but she could bet that anyone else would have stopped long ago.

Words: 266
Progress: 90%
Note: 20/20 -- 10 of 10 complete!