Editor's Note: I'm super-new to fanfic in general, especially the format of this website. Not sure if I'm gonna make this a one-shot or multi-chapter. Let me know what you think! Enjoy!
Danny Castellano is My Personal Chef
Mindy stormed into Danny's office, flushed and spouting nonsense about how it's the "21st century" and that "the female role has changed". Danny smirked, looked up from his file, and took in the sight before him.
"What's wrong, Min?" he asked. He knew it was another one of her throwaway guys, probable named Jake or Sam or something equally simple.
"It's Josh."
Not too far off.
"What happened?"
"Josh," she stated, "asked me to cook dinner for him and his clients tomorrow night. When I told him I am single-handedly keeping the chinese delivery food service alive, he laughed at me. Can you believe that?"
Danny could, only too well. He knew Mindy barely knew a whisk from a spatula.
"But I have to cook dinner, to show him that I am not only a gorgeous, intelligent doctor, but a well-rounded homemaker as well." She continued. Danny scoffed, Mindy narrowing her eyes at him.
"Well, what are you gonna do?" He asked. He knew she had some scheme. "It's not like you can whip up some big, fancy meal out of thin air."
That's when Mindy's eyes started to gleam.
"No, I can't…but you can!" She said, looking at him with calculating eyes. She towered over him, demanding.
"Oh no," Danny countered, "the Castellano cooking secrets are not to be exploited for any Average Joe."
"But Danny!" Mindy cried, "It's Josh! And the Lakers! If I – by which of course, I mean you – cook a fabulous meal, I'll knock their Air Jordans right off. Josh will feel so bad that he doubted my – your – skills in the kitchen, that I will have earned the right to delivery for the forseeable future. He'll see how great I am, and whisk me away to the Empire State Building to put a ring on it before any other eligible bachelors win my heart."
Danny rolled his eyes. Mindy's cleverness also meant that she had a way of working her rom com endings into any scenario. But she was crazy if she thought he would help her impress some dope. No, he had better things to do, like learn the rest of "Movin Out" by the great Billy Joel.
"Sorry, Min, but this is your battle," he said, getting up to put a file at the nurse's station.
"Wait!" she cried, grabbing his – admittedly well-toned - arm. "What if I pay you in tickets?"
Danny stopped. With Mindy, who knew what kind of tickets he would be getting. He could end up at some Nicki Spears concert or something like that.
"Tickets to what?" he asked, turning around.
"Any game or sporting event you like," Mindy said. "Josh has contacts. I'll just tell him we need tickets to raffle off at an office party."
Danny stopped to think for a second. On the one hand, he hadn't gotten a chance to see the Yanks yet this season. It would be great to go to a game. On the other hand, he didn't want to be Mindy's minion.
"Okay," he said, "but on one condition."
"Name it," she replied. She was desperate at this point.
"I won't be doing the cooking." Mindy looked confused, starting to protest. He stopped her, adding, "I will teach you how to cook. That way, I won't be responsible for how it ends up. Not that you wouldn't be begging me for more, I mean, I am Danny Castellano."
Mindy rolled her eyes.
"Fine, Danny. If you teach me your magical Italian ways of cooking, I will get you tickets to a game. Deal?" She offered him her hand. "Deal," he agreed, firmly shaking it.
As he turned to walk out of the office, he smirked. This was going to be an interesting night.
"And don't forget your apron," he added. He was sure they'd need it.
Danny was just getting out his biggest pot when he heard the doorbell. He glanced at the clock. 7:27, he thought. Fashionably late as always. He opened the door to see Mindy carrying three big bags of who-knows what.
She sauntered in past him, appraising his apartment. He'd tried to clear some counter space for the prep work, but Mindy apparently took that as a sign to make it her own station.
"I didn't know you have cookware. What'd you bring?" He asked, motioning to the bags.
"Oh, these aren't pots and pans. I just couldn't decide on an outfit." He rolled his eyes as she pulled out several dresses and aprons.
"I was gonna go with the black chevron dress, but then the pattern on my red apron clashed," she pondered aloud.
Danny shook his head. "They're fine, no one but me is gonna see you outside of this kitchen."
Mindy conceded. "I guess that's true. And we all know I don't have to worry about your perceptions of style. I mean, let's be honest." Danny grunted. She put the dress back in the bag and settled for the first apron.
"Whatever, let's just get started." Danny was ready to get this over with. "I figured you wouldn't have any ideas prepared" - he glanced at Mindy, and she shook her head – "so I took the liberty of coming up with a few of my own. Let me know which ones sound good."
Walking over his kitchen island, he pulled out a worn cookbook, flipping through the pages.
"Whose is that?" Mindy asked. It looked like it'd seen quite a few dinners.
"My grandmother's," he answered. "My ma already has her own copies of the recipes, and well, Richie isn't one for cooking. So I got it. Alright, here we go." He'd settled on one page. "Lasagna. Classic, hearty, and hard to mess up." He looked at Mindy, smirking. "Not that I have any doubt you'll somehow manage to."
"How dare you!" Mindy took a step back. "I'm an intelligent, attractive doctor. I'm sure it's easy. Throw some cheese, noodles, and meat together, put it in the oven for a couple of hours, and we're good."
Danny scoffed. "Alright, Martha Stewart, let's see you do it then."
"Fine." Mindy retorted, ready for the challenge. She could take Danny down from his high horse. She would show him that she was perfectly capable.
"Okay," she started. "First ingredient: Ricotta." Danny laughed. She pronounced it so rigidly, like Rick-otta. She shot him a look out of the corner of her eye, looking around the kitchen. "Ricotta, ricotta, ricotta."
"Need some help?" Danny offered.
"No, just…assessing my materials." No way she was letting him see how confused she was. What the hell was Ricotta?
"Here." Danny slammed a container of what looked like refrigerated cottage cheese on the counter. "Ricotta."
"Thanks," Mindy yielded. There had to be at least a dozen other ingredients on the list. She would never finish at this rate, but she was determined to prove Danny wrong.
"Where's the tomato paste?" she asked, glad she could at least identify one thing on the list. Danny went into the pantry, bringing back several tiny cans. He smirked, knowing she was struggling and enjoying every second of it.
Mindy floundered for a few minutes, looking through Danny's many pots and pans before finally giving in.
"Alright, Castellano, stop looking at me so self-satisfied. I need your help. Teach me, sensei."
Danny laughed. "Time to learn from the master". Then he flew into action.
He put the big pot on the stove, showing Mindy how to combine the various tomato pastes and sauces. He grabbed a container from the cupboard, which looked like it had dead old plants in it. Noticing her skeptical look, he clarified: "Basil," Danny stated. "It's a spice. I just grow my own." He took a handful and crumbled it between his fingers, sprinkling it into the red concoction. Mindy nodded, impressed. Who knew Danny Castellano, pronounced opponent of nature, had a green thumb?
"Stop looking at me like that, I just make sure the thing sits in the sun and gets some water," he said. Danny was starting to sweat. Was he nervous or embarrassed? She thought it was cute that he could cook. Either way, it was time to focus. This meal was for Josh. He was the real guy she had to impress.
While Danny cooked the ground beef in a saucepan, Mindy continued to stir the tomato sauce. "Taste it," Danny suggested. He took a spoonful and brought it to her lips. He stared at them as she licked the sauce. It was delicious. Their eyes made contact for a brief moment before he looked away, embarrassed. What had just happened?
"It's really good, Danny" she said. She didn't know if she meant the sauce or whatever had just passed between them.
"Of course it is," he stated. "It's a Castellano recipe". And just like that, the big head was back. But, Mindy could tell, with less fervor.
"Alright, come over here," Danny directed. He held up a white, bulb-like thing. "This is garlic. We're gonna use a grater so that it's flavor is really brought out in the sauce." He handed her the holey thing and a clove. "Hold it over the pot and scrape away. But be careful, it's sharp."
Mindy began to rub the garlic back and forth slowly, scared of catching her fingertips on the edges of the device. Big chunks of garlic were plopping into the sauce.
"No, you're gonna hurt yourself. Do it like this," Danny said, grabbing her hands and quickly bringing the clove up and down the grater. She gazed up at him, admiring his skill and noticing little beads of sweat at his hairline. She was no stranger to this move. It always happened like this in her rom coms. The guy just had to touch the girl to show her how to do something, and then they would have a Moment. Mindy stared up at Danny, wondering when he would make his move.
"What're you doing, pay attention!" Danny startled her out of her thoughts. She was almost down to her fingers with the grater. "You have to be careful," he warned, bringing the dangerous offender over to the sink. "Now stir."
Potential moment over, Mindy turned back to the sauce. She liked how homey she felt. Making dinner, listening to some light music – probably Danny's beloved Bruce – and just generally having a good time. She was reminded of her own disastrous dinner with Josh when his seven Panini presses short-circuited. This was much better.
Over the course of the next hour, they finished assembling the lasagna. They alternated layers of cheese mixture (so that's what Ricotta was!), sauce, and noodles, smothering the whole thing in sauce before putting it in the oven. It smelled divine already, and it was pretty much raw. Mindy couldn't wait until it was done.
The oven dinged, halting Mindy and Danny's discussion of IVF. It really was nice, having someone to discuss work with. Someone who understood what she was saying. Danny got off the couch, leaving his now-empty wine glass behind. Maybe it was the Merlot talking, but Mindy was starting to feel pretty good about the cooking – and her teacher.
"Come here, Min, I want you to see it," Danny called over the island. She walked over, smelling it from the living room. She could tell it was going to taste delicious. It almost looked too good to eat. The top was perfectly browned, and she could just see the cheese oozing between the layers.
"Wow Danny," she said. "I have to say, I am impressed. We – okay, you – did a really good job. Thank you for helping me."
"Sure," he replied. "I figured, Josh doesn't deserve to die, so I might as well save him from the poison I'm sure you'd have cooked up on your own." He smirked.
She smacked him on the arm. "Thanks, jerk. Really, though." Danny smiled, proud of his work.
"Well, do you wanna taste it? We have to do quality control, of course." Mindy hesitated, not wanting to ruin the perfect dinner. But it smelled So good –
"Okay. Just a teensy, tiny bite. I'm so little you know, I don't want to fill up before I even get there". Danny rolled his eyes, using a fork to get a bite from the very corner of the pan. He brought it up to her lips again, waiting a second for the steaming concoction to cool before putting it in her mouth.
It took a second before taste hit her.
"Ohmigod! Danny, this is incredible!" She could taste the garlic, he basil, and – was that what Ricotta tasted like? She needed to start adding that to her daily meals. "This is like heaven."
"That's what I thought you'd say," Danny smiled, adorably humble for once. "It may not be pasta Bolognese, but it's still pretty good."
"It's more than good," Mindy reassured him. "Josh is going to be so impressed!"
At the mention of him, Danny took a step back. "Yeah, so what's this guy all about? You guys serious yet?"
Mindy, noticing Danny's missing warmth, hesitated before answering. "I guess? I don't know, he's kind of a jerk but can also be really sweet. I'm hoping this dinner will bring out the latter more."
"Well, I hope it all works out for you." Danny sighed. "You better get going, I'm sure Jake - " "It's Josh," "-Josh, is starving."
"Yeah," Mindy agreed. "I better head out." She gathered her things, balancing the lasagna on one hand and carrying her outfits in the other. "Thanks again."
"Maybe we can do this again sometime," Danny offered. "I mean, you still have a ways to go as a cook. Rome wasn't built in a day."
"That sounds really nice, Danny." Mindy opened the door. "I'd like that." She kissed him on the cheek, closing the door behind her. He stood there for a minute after she left, feeling the warmth where her lips had touched his face.
Oh yes. There would be more lessons.