The Joy of Cooking

Hutch expounds on cookware maintenance. Starsky takes notes.

Originally an LJ flashslash scribble, dusted off for the me_and_thee1000 comm.

“Lubrication is very important.”

“Really.” I plumped the pillows thoroughly and leaned back against them. I crossed my arms behind my head and waited.

“Absolutely,” Hutch went on. “If you don’t take care of it properly, right from the start, it won’t perform at its best.”

“Mmm,” I nodded, as he unbuttoned his shirt. “Can’t have that.”

“You don’t want it to rust, do you?” He stripped off the rest of his clothes, turned, and headed for the bathroom.

“No-o-o-o,” I murmured, watching him walk away. “That would be bad.” I could see him through the doorway as he stood in front of the sink.

“So, you can’t wash cast iron pans the same way you do regular ones. You have to season them.” He went on like that for a couple of minutes around a mouthful of toothpaste, but I was a little distracted by the view and didn’t quite get it all. I did manage to catch the tail end of it, though; when he rinsed and said, “I know it’s more work, but you really can’t skip the oil. You don’t want things to stick.”

“I don’t?”

“Starsky, are you paying attention?” He stood in front of me and yeah, I was all at attention. “I’m warning you, if you ruin my brand-new skillet—”

“C’mon, enough with the pots and pans already, Julia Child.” I grabbed his hand and pulled him down. “Bring that gorgeous bod over here.”

He got into bed, but as he kissed me he said, “You weren’t listening to a thing I said, were you?”

“Sure I was, Hutch. You said cast iron needs special care, that it needs to be lubed so it performs at its best.” I began a hands-on demonstration of how I’d been paying very close attention, and he groaned.

“Starsk—”

“Oh, I can definitely see the benefits of proper seasoning. But thing is, I do want this piece of iron to stick. Let’s get cooking, babe.”

Chapter End Notes:

First published: 2010