[center][h2][color=f49ac2]Vivian[/color] [color=a2d39c]&[/color] [color=bc8dbf]Sylvia[/color] [color=a2d39c]Altissima[/color][/h2][/center]
[quote=@PaulHaynek]
Neil dutifully wheeled the [u]Altissima sisters[/u] towards his surprise gift for them. "Hmm, I wouldn't say 'long' but they were with the Guild for several days before they had to leave for their personal matters." He answered immediately. "I... guess you could say we're close. Good friends and all." It seemed Neil decided not to reveal anything specific.

Soon, Riñas lead them into an empty space. The darkness of the night made it hard to see anything but with a snap of the Dark Priest's fingers and the place was lit up by several pyres. The area had two cooking stations, tables filled with kitchenware from pans to spatulas and various food ingredients from vegetables and herbs to condiments like salt and spices. The sight... looked very much like the cooking competition from earlier. Albeit smaller.

"You two, err... I guess Vivian, really wanted to join the cooking contest earlier but instead, you got stuck working with me." Neil said as he took his place on one of the cooking stations and putting on an apron. "So to show my gratitude, I asked Riñas to prepare another one of these. Thanks again, Sister Riñas."

"[color=mediumpurple]No problem, Neil. Sorry it's not as extravagant as the one from earlier but it was all last-minute, you know?[/color]" The Dark Priest replied. "[color=mediumpurple]You also mentioned that you wanted to ask me something regarding the Fallen God? Well, we can talk about later after you're done with this threesome. Farewell and have fun![/color]" And with that, Riñas took off to handle the festival.

Neil sighed at the parting remarks. "Well then, you two. You may be professional chefs, but I'll have you know that I'm no slouch at this. En garde, Sylvia and Vivian!"
[/quote]

Vivian's face lit up at seeing the cooking contest layout remade. [color=f49ac2]"Thank you Neil! Thank you Sister Riñas!"[/color] Vivian exclaimed exuberantly. Even though cooking was more Vivian's thing, Sylvia also smiled at how happy her sister was.

[color=bc8dbf]"So, are we even?"[/color] Sylvia asked.

[color=f49ac2]"Even? You bet!"[/color] Vivian replied as the sisters high-fived each other. [color=f49ac2]"Alright Neil, prepare your taste buds!"[/color] Vivian challenged.

The sisters then fell into a hushed and hurried discussion; even though Vivian's strength lay in pastries, they still wanted to impress Neil, and came to the stereotype that, on the whole, boys preferred meat. They could make some sort of meat pie, but felt they had prepared something similar for previous guild dinners. Soon, they both nodded, having decided what they were going to make. They went around the kitchen, looking for flour, eggs, milk, butter, salt, pepper, mushrooms, thinly-sliced cured ham, olive oil, mustard, and a cylindrical beef fillet.

Vivian set to mixing the flour, salt, and slices of butter, adding the occasional cold water to keep the butter from melting completely, while Sylvia thinly diced the mushrooms and sautéed them dry with salt and pepper in a frying pan until it became an almost dry paste. After removing the mushrooms and putting them in a bowl to the side, Sylvia then added olive oil to the pan and seared the beef fillet on all sides, but didn't cook the beef completely. Vivian, meanwhile, had taken the flour out of the mixing bowl and began to laminate it; flattening it, folding it, and repeating this process several times. Sylvia then took one of her leaves and laid it out on the table, layering the cured ham slices on the leaf, and thinly slathering the sautéed mushroom paste over the ham. She then basted the beef fillet with mustard and placed it on the ham. Using the leaf, Sylvia tightly wrapped the fillet in the ham and mushroom. They both put their respective projects into a magical ice box for about twenty minutes. Vivian then cracked some eggs and isolated the yolk, creating an egg wash glaze. The sisters discussed a bit before deciding to add just a hint of their nectar, not strong enough to elicit an aphrodisiac response, but enough to get the blood circulating and adding a slight, fragrant sweetness. After taking out the ham and mushroom-wrapped beef and the puff pastry, they wrapped the meet in the puff pastry, glazing it with the nectar-infused egg wash to help the puff pastry stick. Then they palced the whole thing back into the ice box to firm up for a few minutes before taking it back out, glazing the top with more egg wash, scoring it for the added artisanal effect, and finishing it off with a light sprinkling of salt on top. Then they placed it in the oven until the pastry was golden brown and sizzling slightly from the butter. Taking it out, the sisters allowed it to cool, before cutting it into inch-thick slices. The beef was medium rare and juicy, but the layer of mushroom and ham prevented the juice from making the puff pastry soggy, leaving it crispy and flaky. Dividing the slices evenly, the sisters prepared two plates, one for Neil and one for Sister Riñas.

[color=f49ac2]"Try to beat that, Neil!"[/color] Vivian challenged triumphantly.

[hider=Beef Wellington][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TE2omM_NoXU[/youtube][/hider]