Defeated, I purchase a Peach Galette and leave the store, but not before I put in a product request at the customer service desk. I make it extra cute and girly with special swirly’s and stars around the ‘chefsnet purée’. I may have to give up on Jacques cake for the birthday party, but I do want to make it some day, and to that point, I’m going to leave my number so they can call me when they finally order it. A little redemption sets in, knowing that I gave it my best effort.
The night before the party rolls around and knowing that I have a big day of cooking ahead of me, my boyfriend and I choose an easy on the body Friday night activity. Instead of going out to our neighborhood bar, we head to our favorite used book store. Although in comparison, Green Apple Books, one of the more popular book stores in San Francisco, is just as hopping on a Friday night as any of the city’s popular bars. Greg heads upstairs to used non-fiction and I beeline to the back, to the cooking section. I couldn’t let it go, why wouldn’t Whole Foods carry chefsnet purée?
I find the Pepin section, pick up his most recent book, locate the desert chapter and there is it, a no-bake chocolate cake in the table of contents. I quickly flipped to the page.
The recipe, in print, for zee best off ass:
1 teaspoon rum
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup bittersweet chocolate
1 cup sugar
1 stick of butter and of course, in big You Idiot font:
Chestnut Purée.
