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Throwing her arms around his neck, Miranda said, “I guess I’d better accept. You’re at Market all the time; if I don’t work here, too, I’ll never see you!”

He swallowed her smile with a kiss, which prompted a round of catcalls and wolf whistles from his incredibly immature crew, reminding Adam that they were all still there, watching with rapt attention like he and Miranda were their own private soap opera.

Gazing into Miranda’s flushed, lovely face, he said, “If you all aren’t out of here in ten seconds, I’m revoking that round of drinks at Chapel.”

Within eight seconds, Adam and Miranda were alone in the blissful silence of the pantry.

Adam smiled.

“So. I’ve got this great idea for a book.”

“Oh? Tell me more.”

“It’s about this chef who falls madly in love . . .”

* * *

THE “MIRANDA” COCKTAIL

1 ounce rose-petal-infused vodka

3 whole raspberries

Your favorite champagne or sparkling wine

For infused vodka:

2 cups of vodka

2 large red roses

Remove petals from flowers and wash well. Add petals to the vodka and stir around. Let sit, covered, overnight to allow flavors to steep.

Put the berries in the bottom of a champagne flute or saucer, pour in the vodka shot, and top up with your favorite bubbly! For a drier cocktail, choose brut or rosé; if you want it sweeter, the next level would be a crémant, followed by the sugariest of all, a spumante. Makes one cocktail.

* * *

GINGER LEMONADE

2 ounces gin

1½ ounces ginger syrup (see recipe below)

1 ounce fresh-squeezed lemon juice

Club soda

Mix first three ingredients in a glass with ice, then top up with club soda. For a “mocktail,” increase the amounts of ginger syrup and lemon juice to 2 ounces each—very refreshing! Makes one cocktail.

Ginger Syrup

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

1 cup peeled fresh ginger, thinly sliced

Bring all ingredients to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring to dissolve sugar. Simmer until reduced by half. Strain out the ginger slices and bring the syrup to room temperature.

* * *

PORK BELLY WITH CANDIED WALNUTS

AND APPLES

1 pound of pork belly (fresh uncured, unsliced bacon), cut into 4 rectangles

Apple cider

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

6 whole cloves

2 Granny Smith apples, cut into matchsticks

2 cups candied walnuts (see recipe below)

Place the pork belly, fatty side up, in a lidded sauté pan and pour in enough cider to come halfway up the sides of the meat. Add the spices and bring the pan to a boil, then turn the heat to medium low and simmer, covered, for twenty minutes, until meat is cooked through. Remove the meat from the braising liquid and blot dry on paper towels. Season with salt and pepper, then sear on all sides in a hot, dry pan, starting with the layer of fat on top. Each side will take 1–3 minutes, long enough to give it good color and caramelization.

Divide the apple sticks between four small plates. Rest a portion of pork belly on each mound of apples, then top with the candied walnuts. Serves four as an appetizer.

Candied Walnuts

2 cups halved walnuts

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

2 tablespoons ginger syrup (see recipe p. 346)

¼ cup dark brown sugar

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toss the walnuts with the other ingredients, then spread in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet lined with wax paper. Toast in the oven for 10 minutes, tossing when they come out. Don’t worry if they seem sticky or mushy when they first come out! Toss them around on the pan and let them come to room temperature—they’ll crisp up and darken a bit as they cool.

Read on for a preview of the next book

in Louisa Edwards’ Recipe for Love series

ON THE STEAMY SIDE

Available soon from St. Martin’s Paperbacks!

When Devon walked into Market, he didn’t necessarily expect to be greeted with a red carpet and a phalanx of trumpeting heralds.

Sure, he’d become used to a certain level of fawning admiration during