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Clare put the dash of salt in and the water.
“Now use your fork and whisk it. Once it is mixed, you start bringing in the flour like so with your fingers.”
Clare and I looked at each other. “If you don’t want to do it, I can.”
“No, I want to do it,” I said as I pushed my sleeves up and got to work. It was strangely calming for me to work the dough.
“Are you sure you’ve never done this before?” Clare asked as she watched me.
“Positive. However, I have made pizza dough with my mother.”
She pointed to me. “See, that probably helped. You’re mixing that like a pro!”
“Ron, you’re doing it wrong!” Mandy said rather loudly, all eyes moving to them both.
“Then why don’t you do it?” he replied.
Mandy folded her arms over her chest. “I’ll get it under my nails.”
The woman next to Mandy and Ron rolled her eyes as Chef Kat got everyone’s attention again.
“This is when you pause and let your partner who doesn’t have dough on their hands give you a drink of wine.”
We all had wine glasses on our stations, each filled with red wine. Clare picked up one glass and turned to face me. An evil little smile crossed her face. I raised my brows. “Don’t even think about it.”
“I would never,” she replied and held the cup up to mouth. I took a small sip, and she pulled the glass back then laughed. “You have wine on the corner of your mouth.”
Reaching up, she wiped it away and froze for a moment, her eyes locked on mine. My heart started to race in my chest, and I had to fight the urge to grab her hand and suck the wine off her thumb. So when she did that very same thing, sucked the wine off her thumb, I had to focus on keeping my legs from going out from under me.
“Um, I got it.”
“Thanks,” I said, barely recognizing my own voice.
We both jumped when Chef Kat said, “Okay keep kneading your dough.”
“Do we not use a mixer for this?” Mandy asked.
Chef Kat grinned. “We could, but what fun is that?”
“For starters, it would be less messy,” Mandy stated.
“I’m thinking this class isn’t for you, dear,” an older woman said as she kneaded the dough like a pro.
“Cooks are supposed to make a mess. It puts more love in the food,” the same one who had rolled her eyes earlier said.
“Don’t worry about over-kneading your dough. This is a good workout, and the rewards will be amazing homemade pasta!”
I kept working on the dough as Clare watched intently.
“Let’s keep working it until it is smooth and then we will let it rest. Now put it in a ball and smooth it. If you press down on it and the dough springs back, it’s ready to rest. Let’s cover it and let it rest for an hour.”
As we all worked, small conversations started at each table. When I glanced over to Mandy and Ron, she smiled at him as she took a drink of wine. She was now sitting on the stool while Ron finished up the dough. I waited for that familiar feeling to appear anytime I saw Mandy. The one where I missed her, wanted her, desired her. But it never came. I shook my head and focused back on the dough.
“Let’s make our cheese filling now!” Chef Kat said.
Clare bounced on her toes with excitement as she followed along with Chef Kat. She added ricotta cheese, grated parmesan, shredded mozzarella, and the provolone.
“That is a lot of cheese,” I said as I watched Clare put it all in the bowl.
