Although Mrs. Andor had passed away, her two distant nephews and apprentices had clearly inherited her culinary skills to perfection.
The beef pot pie and the fried-and-roasted platter tasted almost exactly as Arthur remembered.
Arthur believed that, with time, they would certainly make up for the slight imperfections in flavor.
The dish the two apprentices had created themselves, however, surprised him.
Braised chicken!
That was their original dish.
They called it braised chicken, but first they pan-fried large chicken legs over low heat until golden on both sides, then added white mushrooms and garlic, stir-fried them, and set everything aside.
Next, they heated oil and stir-fried diced onions and carrots, adding diced tomatoes last. Only once the tomatoes had broken down into a sauce did they return the seared chicken legs to the pan along with large prawns. They then braised the prawns until fully cooked in chicken stock mixed with just the right amount of brandy. The result was wonderfully savory.
Although the faint taste of alcohol bothered Arthur a little, he still ate the entire chicken leg.
As for the broth?
He took a small sip.
A rich, savory flavor filled the faint aroma of alcohol.
It was the taste of chicken and prawns mingled with black pepper, basil leaves, garlic, cumin, and tomatoes.
It tasted good, but to keep even that tiny trace of alcohol from affecting him, Arthur picked up the lemonade beside him and began gulping it down.
People always had a lazy streak.
Or, to put it another way...
Boundaries were always there to be crossed.
If you wanted to keep a boundary intact, you had to hold firm and never abandon it for anything.
Because once you gave in the first time, there would be a second, followed by a third.
And after