He got home, made sure his bag was packed for their trip to the Poconos, and put on his tux. At three o’clock, Jerry, his best man, similarly attired, rapped on the door to pick him up.
Johnny had been thinking about it all day, and he could hardly wait until he and Tina were married.
And so they were.
When the pictures were taken after the service, Tina arranged for a special photo to be taken of Don Eddie, Mr. Pettibone, Basil, Johnny, Phil, Jerry, and Guy, the four tallest in the back, three down in the front, all beaming like proud uncles in their best suits and biggest smiles. She later had the picture framed with a simple brass plate affixed to the front that read THE BACHELORS’ CLUB, as a thank-you to Angelina, who hung it up in her kitchen at home next to Old Reliable.
The reception was held at the big room next door to the restaurant, a nice open space that the landlord rented out for parties and catered affairs. With easy access to the kitchen through Il Primo’s dining room, service went on like clockwork. Angelina had hired a couple of extra waitresses and busboys for the evening, since a little over sixty people were expected. They began to filter in around six thirty, helped themselves to drinks and champagne, and nibbled at the crudités and antipasto, the platters of imported cheeses and warming trays of hot hors d’oeuvres that Angelina had strategically laid out around the room. A friend of Tina’s who had graduated from the University of the Arts carved an ice sculpture of two doves, which Angelina surrounded with mounds and mounds of chilled shrimp, at Jerry’s request.
He’d given Angelina an amazingly detailed account of seeing a “mountain of shrimp” for the first time at a family wedding when he was a little kid. His father had told him that it meant good luck for the bride and groom, and Jerry spoke so fondly of the memory that Angelina decided that she’d have to try to re-create it especially for him.
Tina and Johnny had hired a DJ instead of a live band, although they had paid for a violinist to wander during dinner. It wasn’t a big crowd, but everyone who had been invited was either a good friend or family to the bride and groom, so the crowd all wished them the very best, which is how a wedding reception should be.
The sit-down meal had started at seven, with Winepoached Bay Scallop Tartlets, delicate tiny scallops bound with a light cheese sauce in pastry, the perfect opening bite to go with the champagne toast.
Pepino and Tomas were plating the salad course, a traditional Spinach and Bacon Salad with a Warm Honey and Balsamic Dressing, when Angelina stopped for a quick look over Pepino’s shoulder.
“How’s our new pastry chef doing, Pepino?”
“Looking good, Chef. The cream puffs look beautiful, like nothing I’ve ever seen before. Magnifico!”
Just then, Basil stuck his head in the kitchen. “Angelina,” he called, “you have to come out for a minute. They’re doing the toast.”
“Coming!” she cried, untying her long, blue apron and hurrying to the dining room.
The party was in full swing. Johnny and Tina sat blissfully aglow at the head table, flanked by Tina’s maid of honor, Alicia; her parents, Joe and Maria; Mrs. Cappuccio; Father DiTucci; and Sister Bartholomew, who reminded Angelina more than anyone else of Harry Truman in a nun’s habit, with a campaigning politician’s charm to boot.
At the table closest to the front, Mamma Gia sat beside Guy, who was holding Francis on his lap. Angelina blew them all a kiss as she hurried by. Don Eddie rose to his feet and came around the table to Angelina with two glasses of champagne in his hands.
“Don Eddie, happy wedding day!” she said as she kissed him and took a glass.
Eddie clearly had a little glow on himself. “Happy, happy, Angelina,” he said loudly. “It’s a beautiful place and a beautiful bride. What a day, huh?”
“That was so nice of you to spring for the champagne.”
He waved off her thanks modestly. “It’s nothing, they’re good kids. Sometimes I get lucky and get a good deal. Was four crates enough?”
Angelina laughed. “Twenty-four cases of champagne for sixty people? That’s about four bottles per person. Yeah, I think four crates was enough.”
Basil caught Jerry’s attention and pointed to Angelina, giving him the high sign and letting him know that Basil had succeeded in prying her out of the kitchen. Jerry took his fork and started tapping the side of his water glass, then everybody started clinking and shouts rang out for Johnny to kiss his bride, which he cheerfully did.
Jerry called for quiet. “Okay, everybody, listen up. First off, let’s give thanks. Thanks to God for the beautiful weather, and thanks for the chance to be here together with Johnny and Tina on their big day. Father DiTucci?”
Father DiTucci got up and led them in the Lord’s Prayer, then blessed those gathered, as well as the newlyweds, before turning the floor back over to the best man.
“Thanks, Father,” said Jerry. “My dad, rest in peace, used to tell me that the secret to a good marriage is a sense of humor and a short memory. He didn’t have either one, but that’s another story.”
That got a nice laugh.
“I had a bunch of thoughts I wrote down about marriage, but I don’t think I’m going to share them, because I think I figured something out looking at Johnny and Tina today at the church. One thing that even I can tell, just by the way they look at each other, is that they’ll always take care of one another. And that’s all that counts. Good times come and hard times eventually go away, but as long as you take care of each other, nothing can stop you. And nothing ever will.” Jerry raised his glass. “And if you ever need backup, we’ll all be here for you. To Johnny and Tina! Salute!”
Cheers and applause, glassware chimed, Tina blushed and squeezed Johnny’s hand, and the first wave of Don Eddie’s ocean of champagne disappeared in a tide of good wishes.
Angelina ran to the table, kissed the bride and groom, hugged the best man, and ran back toward the kitchen. The DJ played “Cherish” by the Association, and Johnny and Tina got up for their first dance.
Guy had handed the baby off to Gia, and he and Basil got up at the same time to congratulate Jerry on a job well done.
“Very nice, young man,” said Basil, “Very nice.”
Guy patted Jerry on the back and they shook hands. “I think you got it just right,” said Guy.
“Thanks,” said Jerry. “I did have a bunch of stuff written down—jokes mostly. But that just kind of came to me and it felt right, so I went with it.”
“They’ll remember that one,” said Basil. “Came from the heart.”
Jerry drank from his champagne flute and watched Angelina cross the room and reenter the kitchen. “Angelina looks great, doesn’t she?” he said, then added quickly, “I guess I haven’t seen her in a while. You guys either, for that matter.”
“They kind of busted up that old gang of ours, didn’t they?” said Guy.
“How’s she doing with the baby?” asked Jerry.
“Very well,” said Basil. “He’s growing like a weed.”
“Does she mention me at all?” said Jerry.
Guy took a sip from his glass. Basil looked at them both. Guy looked as if he wanted to be someplace else, and Jerry looked like a school kid waiting to get a bad test paper handed back to him.
“Um, sure,” said Basil. “Just the other day, she asked me if I knew what you’ve been up to.”
“I’ve been busy,” Jerry said a touch too casually. “But it must be nice for you two, being right across the street and all.”
Basil rolled his finger around the rim of his glass. It made a little ringing sound.
“I guess you’re over there all the time,” Jerry said to Guy. Guy looked at Basil and shifted on his feet. “Not so much. I mean, not really.”
“Jerry, you should drop by more often,” offered Basil. “She’s doing a wonderful job with the restaurant. And I’m sure she’d like to see more of you.”
“I should go and see her,” said Jerry, as if thinking aloud. “I mean, what am
I waiting for, an engraved invitation? It’s just that she’s so busy with this place and with Francis, I’d hate to intrude.”
“You definitely wouldn’t be intruding,” Basil reassured him, then discreetly nudged his nephew.
“Definitely not,” Guy added, as he finished off his drink.
Jerry laughed. “Listen to me, I sound like a teenager. I’m going to go and see if Gia wants to dance. Catch you later.”
As Jerry walked off, Basil gave Guy a sphinx-like look.
“What?” asked Guy.
Basil just shook his head and went in search of a dance partner of his own.
As Lisa and Peggy were efficiently picking up salad plates and disappearing, then reappearing, through the swinging kitchen doors, Angelina was sweating the count, which had split almost evenly among the three entrées: Gorgonzola Beef Tenderloin in a Barolo Reduction, Toasted-Nut Chicken Breasts with Dried-Fruit Wild Rice and Amaretto Sauce, and Pistachio-Crusted Salmon with a Cointreau Glaze and Cranberries. Everybody was getting Vegetables Julienne, and the steak and the fish were accompanied by a Gnocchi Soufflé.
“The gnocchi dough is perfect, Pepino,” Angelina said. “How’re we doing on the salmon?”
“Searing off the last of it, Chef,” called Pepino. “Steaks are done, chicken’s done. We’re right on time, miss.”
They cranked for the next forty minutes and knocked out sixty-plus plates that were each as pretty as a picture on a cookbook cover. Angelina turned her head when the music suddenly got louder. Basil stood in the open doorway calling her name. She could see by the look on his face that he had his dancing shoes on.
“Angelina, my darling, may I have this dance?”
She laughed. “Can’t, I’m busy!”
Pepino gave her a nudge toward the door. “Go on, miss. Everything’s nearly done here. You can come back when we plate dessert. Go out and have a dance.”
“You sure?” asked Angelina.
“Positive, Chef,” Pepino said with a grin. “Go!”
“Okay. Thanks, Pepino.”
Angelina wiped her hands, took off her apron, and followed Basil through the door. She felt self-conscious for all of two seconds out among the guests in her chef’s jacket, but relaxed as soon as the music played and Basil took her for a turn around the floor. He really was a good dancer.
“One dance,” she said, smiling. “Then I have to get back into my kitchen.”
“How does it feel to say ‘my kitchen’ as a professional chef?” he asked as they swayed together in time.
“Feels great. You know, I don’t think I ever would have made it this far without you all. You guys have been so great, especially when it came to buying everything for the baby. That day Jerry took me to pick out the crib and clothes and everything else, and told me that you all chipped in, I could have cried … I still might.”
Basil raised an eyebrow, but when Angelina rested her head on his shoulder, he couldn’t seem to say a word.
Dottie chose that moment to stumble by, with her fourth glass of champagne in hand, and grabbed Angelina by the shoulder. “Angelina! Why are you dancing with this old man? You should be dancing with somebody young and handsome!”
Basil pretended outrage and Angelina pulled him closer. “Dottie, who could be more handsome than your brother? Basil, take me in your arms!”
Dottie laughed, having already set her sights on another target, and went reeling happily away. Basil and Angelina continued dancing.
“That is the first time you have ever called me Basil.”
“Well, we’re business partners now,” said Angelina, “so if it’s okay with you …”
“It most certainly is. I wouldn’t have it any other way. Listen, by the way, Dottie and I were wondering, what are your plans for the Christmas holidays?”
Angelina looked out at the other couples on the floor. “I’m hoping we’ll be busy right up till Christmas week. We’re taking a lot of reservations. Then I plan to spend as much time as possible with Francis.”
“Why don’t you come to us on Christmas Day? Dottie and I would love to host you and Francis,” said Basil.
“And Guy?”
“He may be there, too.”
“Thanks,” she said. “But I don’t know. I might just stay home with the baby, on my own—be by ourselves, peace and quiet.”
Basil frowned. “Angelina, that doesn’t sound like you at all.”
“I’ll let you know, okay? I need to think about it.”
The song came to an end and Basil dipped her gracefully. As she was thanking him for the dance, she saw Pepino’s face in the window of the kitchen door trying to catch her eye.
“Wait,” she said suddenly, signaling back with a thumbs-up sign. “I have to make an announcement.”
Angelina grabbed the microphone from the DJ and moved to the middle of the dance floor and waved Johnny and Tina over to her side.
“If I could have everyone’s attention, please! I know we still have a lot of eating to do—”
“And drinking!” said Jerry.
“And I hope you liked the food … ,” said Angelina.
The big round of applause confirmed it.
“Now I’d like to bring out my gift to the bride and groom for you all of you to see. And I also have a little surprise to share with you all.”
It got quieter at the mention of a surprise. Angelina had their attention.
“I didn’t want to let anyone know until today, but Il Primo Amore has taken on our first-ever pastry chef. He was never able to pursue his first love because he had to take care of his mother when he finished school, but he studied baking in France at Le Cordon Bleu school in Paris. He is a maître pâtissier, a master at his craft, and he’s amazing. He’s the one who made tonight’s cake, which I think you’ll agree is spectacular, and we give it with all our love to Johnny and Tina!”
A fanfare played, followed by a grand march, and the waitresses swung open the doors.
Douglas Pettibone, dressed in whites and wearing a pastry chef’s toque at a rakish angle, wheeled out the most elaborate, astonishing monument of pastry that anyone in the room had ever seen. It was a monumental croquembouche, a classically French, intricately crafted tower of individual profiteroles, each thinly crusted with hard-crack sugar, filled with pastry cream, bound together with luscious, glistening strands of caramel and chocolate into a conical, colorful Christmas-tree shape that rose proudly high over the heads of the delighted newlyweds. Chef de Pâtisserie Pettibone had covered his pièce montée with a lustrous white-chocolate coating decorated with delicate, individually constructed marzipan roses and dusted ever so lightly in twenty-four-karat gold.
Johnny strode to the center of the room and heartily shook Mr. Pettibone’s hand. When Tina recovered from the shock, she rushed over and hugged him tightly. Pettibone bowed and discreetly presented them both with a tiny, single-layered fruitcake with white frosting and a bride and groom on top, to stash away until their first anniversary. “For tradition’s sake and for luck,” he whispered.
Douglas Pettibone received the first standing ovation of his life, and as the music came up, everybody clapped and danced and sang along to a rousing chorus of “Finiculì, Finiculà!”
Angelina had to practically yell in Pettibone’s ear, “Well, your secret’s out.”
“I know, and thank you, Angelina. It’s a dream come true.”
“I thought we might see Leslie here tonight …”
Pettibone took Angelina by the shoulders, turned her, and pointed through the raucous crowd in the direction of a slim, dashing, undeniably handsome, middle-aged gentleman in a tasteful black Savile Row tux with a bold, green plaid cummerbund.
“I’ll introduce you formally later,” he said. “I promise. He’s desperate to meet you.”
Angelina threw her arms Pettibone’s neck and kissed him on both cheeks. “Douglas, I’m so happy for you. Hey, you never told me, how did you two make out with the big dinner?”
> Pettibone smiled a smile that was angelic and devilish at the same time.
“It was the meal that sealed the deal!”
Gorgonzola Beef Tenderloin
in a Barolo Reduction
* * *
Serves 6
INGREDIENTS FOR THE BAROLO REDUCTION (SAUCE)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter (2 tablespoons to sauté and 2 tablespoons cubed and kept cold, to finish the sauce)
2 shallot cloves, minced
2 large garlic cloves, lightly crushed and minced
1 large sprig fresh oregano, leaves stripped off and chopped
1½ cups Barolo wine (such as Sordo 2007, Pio Cesare 2004, or Renato Ratti 2004)
2 bay leaves
1½ cups beef stock
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
INGREDIENTS FOR THE MEAT
Six 4-to-6-ounce beef filet mignon steaks
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons (about 1 ounce) Gorgonzola cheese (such as Mountain Piccante, Galbani, Klin, Lodigiani, or Mauri) cut into 6 sections
METHOD FOR THE SAUCE
In a large sauté pan, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat. Add the shallots, garlic cloves, and oregano and cook until the shallots turn translucent, about 2 to 3 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent burning. Deglaze the pan with the Barolo, add the bay leaves, and let reduce by two-thirds, about 8 minutes. Add the bay leaves and beef stock and let reduce again by two-thirds. Remove from the heat, cover, and keep warm while you grill the steaks.
Just before service, reheat the sauce and strain. Remove from the heat and whisk in the remaining 2 tablespoons of cold cubed butter, a little at a time, letting each addition melt before adding the next. Adjust the seasoning to taste with salt and pepper.
Angelina's Bachelors Page 26