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strangetrip2018-08-23 07:08 pm
st_opsummoningme) wrote in strangetrip2018-08-23 07:08 pm
Entry tags:
[Log] Illyana X Liz - Backdated to 8/23
Liz tries to do something nice for her Russian tutors, with mixed results.
Liz had been researching how to make something called Kurnik for a while now. She wanted to make it for Piotr and for Illyana and knew she would have to do it separately since they still seemed not to really be close. Liz desperately wanted to try to fix that, but she had no idea how or if it was possible. Either way, she wanted to thank both of her teachers.
Unfortunately Kurnik, as it turns out, was very hard to make. She had practice the different parts of the steps, but probably should have practice the whole thing together before inviting Illyana to the kitchen under the guise of Russian lessons about food and cooking utensils. The kitchen itself looked a bit like there had been a hurricane and the dish... well, it sort of looked like maybe it was Kurnik. All the right ingredients were in it and Liz hoped it tasted good, or at least passable, but the presentation lacked... a lot.
Kurnik was sometimes compared to a 'pot-pie.' курник, which meant “chicken coop,” was a pirog or filled pastry taken to the highest level of the art form. Chicken, rice, hard-boiled eggs, onions and mushrooms layered between blini in a thick, decorated dome of dough then baked until the fillings were piping hot and wafting appetizing steam. It was a labor-intensive dish fit for very special occasions such as weddings.
The thing that Liz had made was not that.
Illyana stared at it in impassive appraisal, until she finally said without looking away from the thing - "What have I done to deserve this?"
Liz turned red from embarrassment. This was not exactly her best work and she usually spent a really long time trying to hand in things to Illyana that were near perfection as the woman pulled that sort of drive from her. She pressed her lips together. "I really thought I had it all down and I could make you something you might miss from home..."
"I haven't lived in Russia since I was six." And they were farmers. Fussy dishes such as kurnik had hardly been their usual fare.
Illyana looked at Liz for a moment, then around the mess she had made of the kitchen, and at last at the butcher block. She moved to select a knife suited to a thick hide of pastry (and who knew what else), then turned to offer the girl the handle. "Go on then. You went to all of this trouble."
Liz looked surprised and for a brief moment didn't move before she shifted her weight. "Oh, right." She was definitely surprised Illyana was willing to try the dish, but appreciatively so. She took the knife from the woman and practically held her breath as she cut through the dish. She wished she had the confidence to present it to Illyana with flourish, but all Liz could hope for now was that the taste wasn't entirely terrible. Especially since once she plated the food, it somehow managed to look more of a disaster than contained under the pastry.
She placed the plate and a fork for Illyana and offered a sheepish smile.
Illyana, however, did not move to accept the offering. She watched expectantly. "You must have the first taste for yourself, Liz." And in case the girl tried to misconstrue the directive as a frivolously polite invitation: "I insist."
She paused and looked surprised, again, those this time a little more hesitantly. "Um. Okay." The truth was she had no idea what this was supposed to taste like. With a fork, she dug into the mess of food and brought it to her lips, paused, then took a bite. She chewed and didn't think it tasted bad. The question was, did it taste like kurnik? When she swallowed, she looked to Illyana. "It's, um. I think it's okay? I mean, it's nice tasting." Maybe the consistency was a little off for the dish as she got some of the ratios wrong.
The blonde arched a skeptical eyebrow at her, selecting a fork for herself and plating a modest serving. She ate her first bite in silence.
"Edible," she determined after a beat. "I was not entirely convinced that this wasn't an attempt to poison me."
Her eyes widened. "What? Why? I mean... why would I want to poison you?" Though she had to admit, she took the 'edible' as more compliment than most people would have. "I wouldn't want to hurt you. I just... I'm still learning how to cook."
"So I see." It had been a joke. Or somewhat joking. But Liz was so earnest and open that Illyana was hardly surprised that the girl hadn't been able to tell through her own dry cynicism.
Despite her less than enthusiastic approval of the dish, Illyana did go back for another bite. "You're testing the recipe on me with the intention of serving it to Piotr, aren't you?"
"Um, no.. actually." She sheepishly walked over to a pan covered by a cloth and lifted it up to reveal an equally unsuccessful kurnik dish under it. They looked almost identical and yet different at the same time. "I was going to bring him one after. I didn't... I mean, I wasn't sure if you'd both be okay to try it together." While Liz might not be entirely aware of why there was tension between the two, she was aware enough to know they did not have a close relationship.
"Piotr would have wanted to glower morosely at the same time as trying to smile and tell you how much he appreciated the effort," Illyana confirmed after a moment. "It would have been tense. You must have noticed that we don't spend much time together."
She gave a slow nod. "I know... that you're from two different worlds... but Piotr doesn't really talk about it much and I don't want to bring up any bad memories or things like that." Plus she knew prying to someone like Illyana wouldn't necessarily go over well. It would be like prying with Michael - you just didn't do it unless you were someone special who seemed to have a free pass, like Maria did.
"Is it... I mean, are you upset about that?" She paused. "You don't have to answer that... sorry."
Illyana moved to set her plate down on a countertop. "I'm nothing like the baby sister that he remembers. And he is different from the brother I knew." She turned her gaze to impaling a piece of hard-boiled egg in conjunction with the stabbing motion of her fork. "It is cleaner to cut someone out of your life entirely than it is to deal with them as an utter perversion of what you would want them to be."
She thought about that for a moment. She had nothing like that to draw on herself except for maybe when future Max showed up and they had only a few hours together. She thought about what else she could compare to.
"I don't think I'll ever know what that's like. Not really. I don't even have a sibling, for one." She used to hate it, but as she got older, Liz had liked being an only child. "But... " She trailed off. Maybe comparing Peter's situation wasn't really fair and probably wouldn't go over well.
"Suffice it to say that he is acting on the behalf of his own best interests, and I am acting on behalf of mine." It was more diplomatic than calling him a coward outright to his student while he wasn't there to defend himself. When Illyana stopped to consider it, that may even be for Liz's sake more than his.
This was definitely one of those times that Liz couldn't really understand and she knew that it couldn't be easy for either of them. "Well... if there's anything I could ever do. You know.. Um. just ask." And she felt herself flush because she was sure that sounded stupid.
"It is not your place to interfere in the matters of our family," Illyana informed her evenly.
After a long beat, she placed her hand on Liz's shoulder. "Thank you for the kurnik."
She smiled. She wanted to give Illyana a hug, but wondered if even asking for one would get shot down. Maybe next time when she proved herself more to the woman. "I'll, um. I'll try something easier next time." Liz paused. "Do you have something you liked from Russia or, I guess, anywhere?"
Illyana considered it. "Ватрушки." The word sounded like 'vat-roosh-ka.' "Sweet yeast buns with a creamy cheese filling. They are relatively easy to make, with the correct dough recipe. Fruit is optional."
Liz's smile brightened. "I'll try that next." Maybe she could perfect it and give it to Illyana as a Christmas gift. "Thank you, by the way. For indulging me."
"You are welcome." Resigning herself, Illyana returned her attention to the plate of gooey filling and pastry crust that somehow managed to be both slightly underbaked on the bottom and overbaked on top. "Get the knife and tell your little friends you need them to taste this as well. You have a lot of pie to get rid of."
Liz had been researching how to make something called Kurnik for a while now. She wanted to make it for Piotr and for Illyana and knew she would have to do it separately since they still seemed not to really be close. Liz desperately wanted to try to fix that, but she had no idea how or if it was possible. Either way, she wanted to thank both of her teachers.
Unfortunately Kurnik, as it turns out, was very hard to make. She had practice the different parts of the steps, but probably should have practice the whole thing together before inviting Illyana to the kitchen under the guise of Russian lessons about food and cooking utensils. The kitchen itself looked a bit like there had been a hurricane and the dish... well, it sort of looked like maybe it was Kurnik. All the right ingredients were in it and Liz hoped it tasted good, or at least passable, but the presentation lacked... a lot.
Kurnik was sometimes compared to a 'pot-pie.' курник, which meant “chicken coop,” was a pirog or filled pastry taken to the highest level of the art form. Chicken, rice, hard-boiled eggs, onions and mushrooms layered between blini in a thick, decorated dome of dough then baked until the fillings were piping hot and wafting appetizing steam. It was a labor-intensive dish fit for very special occasions such as weddings.
The thing that Liz had made was not that.
Illyana stared at it in impassive appraisal, until she finally said without looking away from the thing - "What have I done to deserve this?"
Liz turned red from embarrassment. This was not exactly her best work and she usually spent a really long time trying to hand in things to Illyana that were near perfection as the woman pulled that sort of drive from her. She pressed her lips together. "I really thought I had it all down and I could make you something you might miss from home..."
"I haven't lived in Russia since I was six." And they were farmers. Fussy dishes such as kurnik had hardly been their usual fare.
Illyana looked at Liz for a moment, then around the mess she had made of the kitchen, and at last at the butcher block. She moved to select a knife suited to a thick hide of pastry (and who knew what else), then turned to offer the girl the handle. "Go on then. You went to all of this trouble."
Liz looked surprised and for a brief moment didn't move before she shifted her weight. "Oh, right." She was definitely surprised Illyana was willing to try the dish, but appreciatively so. She took the knife from the woman and practically held her breath as she cut through the dish. She wished she had the confidence to present it to Illyana with flourish, but all Liz could hope for now was that the taste wasn't entirely terrible. Especially since once she plated the food, it somehow managed to look more of a disaster than contained under the pastry.
She placed the plate and a fork for Illyana and offered a sheepish smile.
Illyana, however, did not move to accept the offering. She watched expectantly. "You must have the first taste for yourself, Liz." And in case the girl tried to misconstrue the directive as a frivolously polite invitation: "I insist."
She paused and looked surprised, again, those this time a little more hesitantly. "Um. Okay." The truth was she had no idea what this was supposed to taste like. With a fork, she dug into the mess of food and brought it to her lips, paused, then took a bite. She chewed and didn't think it tasted bad. The question was, did it taste like kurnik? When she swallowed, she looked to Illyana. "It's, um. I think it's okay? I mean, it's nice tasting." Maybe the consistency was a little off for the dish as she got some of the ratios wrong.
The blonde arched a skeptical eyebrow at her, selecting a fork for herself and plating a modest serving. She ate her first bite in silence.
"Edible," she determined after a beat. "I was not entirely convinced that this wasn't an attempt to poison me."
Her eyes widened. "What? Why? I mean... why would I want to poison you?" Though she had to admit, she took the 'edible' as more compliment than most people would have. "I wouldn't want to hurt you. I just... I'm still learning how to cook."
"So I see." It had been a joke. Or somewhat joking. But Liz was so earnest and open that Illyana was hardly surprised that the girl hadn't been able to tell through her own dry cynicism.
Despite her less than enthusiastic approval of the dish, Illyana did go back for another bite. "You're testing the recipe on me with the intention of serving it to Piotr, aren't you?"
"Um, no.. actually." She sheepishly walked over to a pan covered by a cloth and lifted it up to reveal an equally unsuccessful kurnik dish under it. They looked almost identical and yet different at the same time. "I was going to bring him one after. I didn't... I mean, I wasn't sure if you'd both be okay to try it together." While Liz might not be entirely aware of why there was tension between the two, she was aware enough to know they did not have a close relationship.
"Piotr would have wanted to glower morosely at the same time as trying to smile and tell you how much he appreciated the effort," Illyana confirmed after a moment. "It would have been tense. You must have noticed that we don't spend much time together."
She gave a slow nod. "I know... that you're from two different worlds... but Piotr doesn't really talk about it much and I don't want to bring up any bad memories or things like that." Plus she knew prying to someone like Illyana wouldn't necessarily go over well. It would be like prying with Michael - you just didn't do it unless you were someone special who seemed to have a free pass, like Maria did.
"Is it... I mean, are you upset about that?" She paused. "You don't have to answer that... sorry."
Illyana moved to set her plate down on a countertop. "I'm nothing like the baby sister that he remembers. And he is different from the brother I knew." She turned her gaze to impaling a piece of hard-boiled egg in conjunction with the stabbing motion of her fork. "It is cleaner to cut someone out of your life entirely than it is to deal with them as an utter perversion of what you would want them to be."
She thought about that for a moment. She had nothing like that to draw on herself except for maybe when future Max showed up and they had only a few hours together. She thought about what else she could compare to.
"I don't think I'll ever know what that's like. Not really. I don't even have a sibling, for one." She used to hate it, but as she got older, Liz had liked being an only child. "But... " She trailed off. Maybe comparing Peter's situation wasn't really fair and probably wouldn't go over well.
"Suffice it to say that he is acting on the behalf of his own best interests, and I am acting on behalf of mine." It was more diplomatic than calling him a coward outright to his student while he wasn't there to defend himself. When Illyana stopped to consider it, that may even be for Liz's sake more than his.
This was definitely one of those times that Liz couldn't really understand and she knew that it couldn't be easy for either of them. "Well... if there's anything I could ever do. You know.. Um. just ask." And she felt herself flush because she was sure that sounded stupid.
"It is not your place to interfere in the matters of our family," Illyana informed her evenly.
After a long beat, she placed her hand on Liz's shoulder. "Thank you for the kurnik."
She smiled. She wanted to give Illyana a hug, but wondered if even asking for one would get shot down. Maybe next time when she proved herself more to the woman. "I'll, um. I'll try something easier next time." Liz paused. "Do you have something you liked from Russia or, I guess, anywhere?"
Illyana considered it. "Ватрушки." The word sounded like 'vat-roosh-ka.' "Sweet yeast buns with a creamy cheese filling. They are relatively easy to make, with the correct dough recipe. Fruit is optional."
Liz's smile brightened. "I'll try that next." Maybe she could perfect it and give it to Illyana as a Christmas gift. "Thank you, by the way. For indulging me."
"You are welcome." Resigning herself, Illyana returned her attention to the plate of gooey filling and pastry crust that somehow managed to be both slightly underbaked on the bottom and overbaked on top. "Get the knife and tell your little friends you need them to taste this as well. You have a lot of pie to get rid of."