[3rd POV]
After Phil had been thoroughly grilled by Claire for what was probably a full ten minutes, the family had started to move onto other things. With Luke and Manny moving into the living room to play video games, and from what they could tell it was street fighter.
At the same time, Gloria was whipping up the meal for the dinner that day, and Claire was helping with the preparations. Nothing too crazy as Claire was...not the best chef in the world, and Gloria was insistent on doing it herself.
She was doing some Colombian dishes too. Billie had no idea what they were, but it smelled incredible nonetheless.
Gloria was a really good cook, much better than what was shown in "Canon".
She was probably the best chef in the family, with only Billie herself being a rival to her. But even that was kind of unlikely, as Gloria had far more experience than her, and knew a lot more dishes.
The two were currently finishing up the touches on a turkey, as Billie had already explained to them that she was doing a ham, so it was best they did the turkey that way they didn't have the same thing for two days straight.
They also had whipped up some other things, including a pumpkin pie, an apple pie, and some other stuff that looked very tasty. Claire had mostly did the desserts, as that was what she had better skill in.
While watching them cook, Cam couldn't help but comment.
"So, Billie, what are you making tomorrow for dinner?" Cam asked, as he was very curious. He had seen what she had brought for the dinner today, and was not really that impressed with it, even if he did understand why she had only brought that much.
He also wanted to know so he could bring something himself just in case. He and Mitchell had been arguing about it for a little while now, and this would be a great time to figure out what to bring.
"Ham, Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes, Deviled Eggs, Asparagus, and some other stuff. Mostly just the ones that I found in my grandma's cookbook, she has some really good recipes saved" Billie replied after tapping her chin in thought.
She had a few other dishes that she planned on making, but they were mostly foreign ones that she wanted to try to make. Stuff primarily from France, Italy, and Asia. The latter was a lot harder to make than the French and Italian stuff, so she was still trying to decide if she actually wanted to make it or not.
It would be a great thing to try if it worked, but if it did not work it would be ruining quite a lot of ingredients. And if there is one thing that Billie was NOT a fan of, it was wasting food when she could save it otherwise.
She hated wasting anything, food being near the top of that list. Which is why she always finished her meals, or saved them as left overs if possible. If she couldn't realistically saved them, she donated them, or she used them for something else, which was as fertilizer for some of the plants she had.
But that was only for the foods that could be realistically used for that.
"What other stuff?" Mitchell asked, curious.
"That's a surprise. Oh, and I am of course whipping up some desserts too. Cheesecake, Jello Salad, Carrot Cake, and some others" Billie replied, as the man stared at her with confusion showing in his eyes.
"Jello Salad? What is that?" Mitchell asked, causing Billie and Cam to look at him in surprise. The former with a raised eyebrow, expecting him to have had it at least once, while Cam looked horrified that he had never tried it.
"You've never had Jello Salad?" Billie said, having fully been expecting Jay to have made it at least once.
"Nope" Mitchell replied, still confused on what it was.
"Have you had it before Claire?" Billie asked, as the woman looked over from where she was making a pie.
"I've heard of it, but never had it. Dad was never a big fan of Jello, and mom was...well, mom" Claire replied, before looking back to her dessert. While Cam looked increasingly shocked, amusingly so.
"I cannot believe neither of you have ever had Jello Salad, it's a staple of Christmas! And not even just Christmas, but it's also served on Thanksgiving too! A severely underrated dessert that deserves more recognition" Cam said, an almost reverent look on his face as he thought of the jello salad he used to have when he was younger.
He was not wrong though, Billie agreed. The dessert was very underrated, and was really good if it was made right. It was not good for you, not even remotely, but it was a dessert so it wasn't really supposed to be.
As long as it tasted good, it did not matter to her to be honest.
"What's it made of? Just jello? Or is there something else to it?" Mitchell asked, as Cam looked at Billie.
"There's a few things. Usually lime jello, pineapples, mini marshmallows, chopped up pecans, whipped cream or cream cheese, and some other stuff mattering on what type you make. But those are the ingredients I usually use, although I might add in some fruit juice as well as it can add a bit more flavor to it" Billie explained, as the man cringed, while Cam nodded along, as that was very similar to the recipe he knew.
Although he had never thought about adding fruit juice to it. He supposed that it could be a good addition, mattering on what type you add. Maybe pineapple juice or something along those lines?
"Cream cheese and Jello? Not to mention pineapples and pecans too?" Mitchell said, barely hiding his disgust at the idea.
"Hey, don't knock it until you try it!" Cam said to his boyfriend, knowing that Jello salad was very tasty, even if it might sound a little strange thanks to the ingredients.
While they continued to talk about and argue about the jello salad, Haley was watching with an eye roll, while she was eating a cookie. Gloria was also listening, muttering something about strange American desserts.
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After another couple of hours had passed, it was finally time for dinner. Which was a large turkey dinner with potatoes, and some other vegetables. As well as arepas and tamales as sides, adding in some of the foods she usually had during Christmas with her own family.
The dinner had been delicious, and was a big one. In which they all sat around the dinner table and just enjoyed each other's company.
But, after being at Jay's house for around 6 hours and staying there later into the evening, the family had slowly began to head on home. As there was a lot to do for the next morning, and that meant that Billie and Haley had been the first to leave, so that they could have everything ready before then.
They did not want to mess anything up and get grilled by Claire or Gloria over it. Neither had a death wish.
So, once they got here Billie had started up some of the dishes that needed to be sitting for hours beforehand, mostly for marination and stuff like that.
This had taken her into around midnight, where Haley was already asleep in their room, giving Billie the chance to put out the last gifts she had prepped for her girlfriend as well.
But finally, at around one in the morning, Billie laid down next to her girlfriend, and slowly began to close her eyes.
All the while, she had only one thought on her mind.
'Let's hope everything goes well!'
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That's the end of the chapter!
Anyways, have a good day!