Chapter 13: In the kitchen and the dinner
Soon, the kitchen was buzzed with food-making activity as Shaggy, Scooby and Daphne, all wearing aprons and chef hats, started making cookies.
Mixing the flour, eggs, butter, milk and the chocolate chips, the trio soon produced plenty of the cookie dough for at least 30 cookies.
"Wow, you guys sure are fast in making cookies." Daphne commented as Shaggy and Scooby finished producing the last of the spherical cookie dough shapes with chocolate chips.
"Yeah." Shaggy nodded. "Like, why have a large appetite if you can't make food? After all, if you love to eat, it's important that you know how to cook."
"Reah." Scooby agreed.
"That sure is good philosophy to live by, guys." Daphne smiled as they placed the baking pan with the cookie dough into the preheated oven.
Watching the trio enjoying themselves as they made cookies, George and Elizabeth smiled.
"You kids sure had plenty of fun making food together." George commented.
"Yeah, we indeed had a lot of fun, Dad." Daphne agreed.
"Norville and Scooby sure love helping you out, dear." Elizabeth remarked.
"Yeah, Mrs. Blake." Shaggy smiled. "We didn't want Daph to get tired from making a lot of cookies, so Scoob and I decided to help out, and besides, it speeds things up and allows us to avoid getting too hungry."
"I see." George nodded and smiled. "Good to know. In fact, I just thought of inviting your family over for dinner tonight, Norville."
"Like, groovy idea, Mr. Blake!" Shaggy smiled. "Mom and Dad sure are going to be happy to hear this."
"And since you three seemed to be enjoying cooking, how about helping out in preparing dinner?" Elizabeth asked.
"Works with me, Mom." Daphne nodded. "I only hope that the boys doesn't eat all of the food in the kitchen by the time their family arrives."
There were some laughs as Daphne made the last remark.
"Like, don't worry Daph." Shaggy replied with his usual goofy smile. "Scoob and I don't want to starve everybody else."
Soon, the kitchen was filled with food-preparation activity as Shaggy, Scooby and Daphne, all donning chef outfits, prepares the dinner.
Back in the Rogers household, the police chief had returned home from work and noticed that Shaggy and Scooby were absent.
"Say, where are Norville and Scooby?" Sam asked after greeting his wife and daughter.
"Well, Daphne had invited them over to her place across the street to make some cookies." Wendy replied. "Speaking of which, they should be finished by now."
"I wonder what's taking them so long." Maggie remarked.
Just then, the doorbell rang.
"Now I wonder who could that be." Sam remarked as he, Wendy and Maggie walked over to answer the door.
Opening, the police chief was surprised to see George Blake and the butler Jenkins at the door.
"Oh, Mr. Blake!" Sam smiled as he shook hands with George.
"Chief Rogers, Mrs. Rogers and Maggie." George nodded as he shook Sam's hand. "How are you?"
"We're good, Mr. Blake." Wendy smiled. "And you?"
"I'm doing alright." George smiled. "In the meantime, I suppose it's safe to assume you three were wondering about Norville and Scooby, are you?"
"Yes, we sure are." Wendy nodded. "I hope they didn't encounter any trouble while making cookies with Daphne at your kitchen."
"Ah, don't worry Wendy." George smiled. "They're doing alright. In fact, they and Daphne are enjoying themselves in the kitchen and that made me think of inviting you three over for dinner tonight."
"Dinner at your place?" Sam asked. "Sounds okay with me. What do you say, Wendy, Maggie?"
"I agree." Wendy nodded and smiled. "It's a good thing I haven't started cooking supper yet."
"Yeah." Maggie agreed. "And besides, since Norville and Scooby are enjoying themselves with Daphne, we should go over."
Back in the Blake mansion, Shaggy, Scooby and Daphne were occupied with preparing various foods in the kitchen.
"So Daph, what will you like us to make for dinner?" Shaggy asked.
"Well, Sugie told me that your mother bakes great lasagna and I've always wanted to make one, but I not sure how." Daphne replied.
"Hmmm..." Shaggy remarked as he and Scooby turned to each other before turning back to face her. "Like, Mom had taught us on baking lasagna before, Daph, so Scoob and I are happy to show you how."
"Oh, groovy." Daphne smiled. "So where do we start?"
(Background music: D. Dale's surf-rock version of Misirlou)
"Like, first, we're going to need Mozzarella cheese, some eggs, tomato sauce, plenty of pasta, ground beef, peppers, mushrooms and some spinach." Shaggy began as he and Scooby started to gather up the ingredients as the surf rock music started playing in the background.
"And I'll get the pans, knives and cutting board." Daphne offered as she went to get the supplies.
Once the kitchen supplies were gathered, Shaggy and Scooby got down to work as they demonstrated.
"So first, we're going to chop the peppers, mushrooms, spinach and cooked ground beef into pieces for the pasta sauce." Shaggy began.
"No problem, I can do that." Daphne nodded as she took a knife and started chopping the peppers, mushrooms and spinach in a joyful fashion that appeared as if she was chopping the food with the beat of the music.
"In the meantime, Scoob and I will prepare the Mozzarella cheese." Shaggy said as he and Scooby started preparing the cheese with eggs on another pan.
With the eggs mixed with the cheese, the duo proceeded to mix the two ingredients together.
During the mixing, Shaggy looked up and smiled at Daphne, who looked up and smiled back at him.
After Daphne finished with the chopping, Scooby loaded the tomato sauce in another pan, where Daphne and Shaggy got the chopped beef, peppers, mushrooms and spinach into the sauce to boil.
As they wait for the pasta sauce to be prepared, the trio worked on the appetizers and desserts.
Eventually, the pasta sauce was ready, and the trio got down to work on another pan with the pasta and mixed cheese and eggs.
"So now, we're going to lay the pasta into one single layer in the pan first." Shaggy said to Daphne.
"Sure." Daphne nodded as they got started with the first layer.
Eventually, Shaggy took the mixed cheese and eggs and started spreading the mix on the first pasta layer before Scooby and Daphne got the pasta sauce on the layer.
After that, they lay a second layer of pasta before repeating the whole process again.
Eventually, they finished with a large and tall lasagna that is capable of feeding a whole platoon of soldiers.
(Note: The idea of inserting Misirlou as the background music in the scene where Shaggy, Scooby and Daphne prepared the lasagna is inspired by a similar scene from Garfield: A Tail of 2 Kitties, where Garfield teaches the animals how to make lasagna)
"Wow, you guys sure know how to cook." Daphne remarked after they placed the pan into the oven.
"Yep." Shaggy nodded as they proceeded to do the dishes. "I sure can't wait to dig in."
"Neither ran ri." Scooby agreed.
After a while, the lasagna was freshly baked and taken out from the oven.
"Oh groovy!" Daphne smiled as they looked at the lasagna. "It looks really delicious!"
"Yeah!" Shaggy smiled back. "We sure did good, eh Daph?"
"We sure did, Shaggy." Daphne nodded and smiled. "Now to set up the dining table."
It didn't take long for the trio to set up all of the utensils, napkins and plates, while Jenkins gets the food prepared on serving dishes.
Eventually, the rest of the Rogers arrived in time for the dinner.
"My, you and Scooby looked like you've enjoyed yourselves, Norville." Sugie remarked as they settled at the dining table.
"Yeah." Shaggy nodded. "Like, we and Daph helped prepare dinner in the kitchen."
"And the food sure looks really good." George added as Jenkins places the serving dishes. "Great work, kids."
"Thanks, Dad." Daphne smiled. "But much of the credit goes to Shag and Scooby, who guided me on the cooking and preparations."
"I see." Elizabeth nodded. Seeing Shaggy smiling with Daphne, she added, "You guys will sure make a great husband-and-wife team, especially when it comes to cooking and kitchen activities."
Shaggy and Daphne both simply smiled as they served themselves.
During the dinner, the parents chatted about what they're going to do for the Christmas break, with George and Elizabeth mentioning their upcoming trip back to Beverly Hills for Christmas while Sam and Wendy mentioned that their parents are visiting from Plymouth and Brooklyn for Christmas.
"Perhaps you guys will like to join us for a short vacation later after Christmas, Sam?" George offered.
"I can arrange that, George." Sam replied. "What have you got in mind?"
"I was thinking about going to a ski resort in the west Rocky's." George replied. "Does that sound alright with you and Wendy?"
Wendy turned to her husband and their children and Scooby before nodding.
"Like, Scoob really likes skiing, Mr. Blake." Shaggy said. "That sounds like a groovy idea."
"It will be good to be out of town for a vacation for some change." Sam agreed. "What day are you planning on going to the ski resort, George?"
"Around the 27th, I'll say." George replied. "We'll then return in time for New Years Day on the 30th."
"Ah, that works with my schedule." Sam smiled.
"Same here." Wendy nodded. "We'll be happy to be with you and Elizabeth and I'm sure the kids and Scooby will be happy to be with Daphne during the trip."
Shaggy, Scooby and Sugie all turned to Daphne, who smiled at them.
After dinner, the kids went out for a walk in the neighbourhood.
"I sure look forward to the ski trip, guys." Daphne commented as they walked down the sidewalk.
"Same here." Sugie replied. "I can't wait to go skiing again."
"Scoob sure can't wait, either." Shaggy agreed. "Right Scoob?"
"Reah! Reah!" Scooby replied excitedly.
Daphne smiled. "And maybe you guys can teach me how to skate. I rarely travel to cold places during my vacations, so I don't know how to do that."
"Like, don't worry, Daph." Shaggy smiled back. "Scoob and I are happy to teach you to do anything. It's almost similar to teaching you how to roller skate."
"Ah, that will be groovy." Daphne said as she placed her arm on his back.
Shaggy simply nodded as his sister smiled upon seeing Daphne placing her arm on her brothers back.
That night after the farewells and thank yous, the Rogers retired home for the night.
As he slept on his bed, Shaggy kept thinking about the comment Mrs. Blake made regarding the cooking he, Scooby and Daphne did.
She commented that he and Daphne will make a great husband-and-wife team, particularly when it comes to cooking.
In spite of the fact that many of Daphne's friends at school are suggesting that she and Fred go out on a date, there are still people that felt that he's a better choice for Daphne if they were to start dating, including his sister Sugie.
Those thoughts continued to crowd his mind as he dozed off to sleep.
Meanwhile in her bedroom, Daphne was sleeping on her bed, but she kept thinking about the comment her mother had made about the cooking she, Scooby and Shaggy did, about them making a great husband-and-wife team when it comes to cooking.
Even though many of her friends at school were suggesting that she go out with Fred, she knew some others that are suggesting that she and Shaggy will make a great team if they were to start dating.
Maybe Sugie was right on her observation of her back when they first met in the park three months back.
Those thoughts continued to crowd her mind as she dozed off to sleep.
Please read and review!