Hannibal's house in Baltimore, Monday afternoon

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal unlocked the door with his free hand, still holding the cooler of fresh fish in the other, and waved Zhari in.

"Please. You may set your things down here, if you like." He set the cooler on the foyer floor and began pulling off his jacket.

Comments

[sharp_as_knives]

After watching for a moment, Hannibal retrieved a few things from the inside kitchen and brought them out. "This works on a similar principle to the clay, but paper is perhaps a bit more versatile. Cooking like this is called en papillote." He leaned toward Zhari. "Which is a fancy way of saying, 'in paper'."

[3girls-1core.livejournal.com]

"Why would you waste paper on cooking?"

Zhahar was merely curious, as opposed to Sholeh's outright horror.

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal raised an eyebrow, but then, she did come from someplace where resources were scarce.

"This is not the same type of paper you'd write on or use for books." He held out the roll to her. "This is specially made for cooking. It's resistant to heat and the food won't stick to it. It holds in the moisture, much as the clay does."

[3girls-1core.livejournal.com]

"But you have to make it that way, right?" Zhari asked, examining the parchment paper with her fingers. "This comes from the same place as regular paper, right?"

She held it up to the light, seeing how thin it was. "I'm not sure this would work in an open fire, the way the clay does."

[sharp_as_knives]

"It's more often used in coals, or in an oven. And yes, made similar to regular paper." He finished the last fold and held out the parcel. "It will be interesting to compare it to the clay, I think. How the flavors differ."

[3girls-1core.livejournal.com]

"I don't mind trying it," Zhahar said cheerfully. She wasn't sure she could ever get herself to cook with paper (or that Sholeh would ever allow her to, either), but that didn't mean she wasn't interested in the result. "Are we ready too cook, then?"

She didn't mind admitting that she was eager to try her new flavor experiments--and hopefully impress Dr. Lecter as she did so.

[sharp_as_knives]

"I think so." He waved at the grill. "Charcoal, wood, or gas fire?"

[3girls-1core.livejournal.com]

"Wood, please," Zhahar said. "It's the one that I know. We'll cook them right inside the coals. Usually, we also roast potatoes while we're at it, but I think the fire will be full enough with all the fish we've got instead."

[sharp_as_knives]

"Wood it is." Hannibal opened the cabinet and pulled out enough to fill the grill, along with kindling.