Codex - Great Cuisines of Foundation - Gugustus Molin

Section 2
"'Chabuti Royal Pudding.” By infusing sweetened, lemon-soured, long neck cream with nut-vittle for several days until yellowed, it is possible then to slide the set pudding over a baked biscuit. From here it can be served hot or cold. Chef Molin always serves hot, with a scatter of fresh seasonal herbs to cut through the richness."

"'Wine Snecket.' A portfolio of fresh creamy cheeses verging on over-ripeness, as is the custom of this region, are 'jacketed' or 'suited' in a small amount of the wine sauce. Wine Snecket needs to be sharp and strong with wine, and as such, it is not a dish for wee tots. The dish is normally served with sweet fresh berries and a crisp-grain tuile."

"'Grapes with white custard.' This time it is not just sweetness, but the comforting blanket of white custard that neutralises the gooey grapes that are in turns dried and dunked in water until they resemble gigantic sultanas. The dish is traditionally served with a tall cylindrical sponge to give it height."

Section 4
"Part Two - Delving into the cuisine of the ancient Pekoe."

"This region's cuisine has many wonderful health benefits, and some even taste ok! I have never found time to visit Pekoe, and nor should you need to, because the very best the; have to offer is right here on my menu! Please note; the Pekoe do not seem to eat puddings."

"'Baked Flies with Fireroot jellies, wild gritgrains and samphor.' Woody and Nutritious, this dish hasn't evolved in centuries.I have therefore changed little but the preparation of the flies, which can either be cured or smoked. Samphor is a stringy bark that must be cooked until tender. The Fireroot jellies are a ferocious accompaniment that must be served in small cubes."

"'Knacker.' A simple dish, comprised of a single sea-goat testicle. It is steamed for a long time in an ear h oven, served with a jus made with the cooking liquid and a secret blend of sharp berries. Not a personal favourite, but distinctive certainly, and authentic."

"'Pekoe Pekoe (with kibbles).' The national dish, and 'ustifiably so. Yellow ratfish hot smoked in greyroot. Kibbles add some fibre and balance. A sweet almost medicinal sauce of yakka leaf is ladled over. This dish is the toughest test for a young Pekoe wife, because cooking the dish is part of a prenuptial agreement. Should the male be unhappy, it is common for the woman to remain unmarried for the rest of her life. Author's note: The prenuptial dish is traditionally served to both the bride and groom's family. As such, fights often break out when some underlying reason for the couple not to wed prevails over the quality of the cookery. In one case, for example, the father of the room declared the bride-to-be's dish unpalatable, allegedly because she had rejected his own advances. Perhaps rightly, the father was dismembered once the young lady's testimony was verified."

Section 6
"'Seal and Whale on a plate.' Not as simple as it sounds. A Tarrery wife may toil for two days in the butchery of both Seal and Whale meat which is then slow-cooked. A stock is fashioned from their entrails, which serves as a thick bisque. Young salt crooks are collected from the tundra, and carefully rinsed and pickled in brine so that they remain fresh and green. Boiled Ogballs bring weight and further soft comfort to the dish. As long as your ingredients are fresh, you will have no complaints from your diners, especially if the weather is bitter, and the night is long and dark."

"'Crab Pie.' This pie simply must be made with blubber pastry. No part of the whale goes unused by the Tarrery, and blubber is held in the greatest regard. Melting blubber down to an oil is common practice. This oil has many non-culinary uses, but here it is combined with the pastry to produce a delightful salty crust. The crab filling must include both white and brown flesh, and sprigs of curly wellow leaf to top it. Comes with Ogballs."

Section 10
"'Dried Fish in long-neck butter, with long-neck cheese, and orange and yellow vegetables.' Strange The Pin enjoy fish so much, when only one or two coastal towns have access to fresh catch. Before Atlas, the wealthy folk of Huacanado, high up in the Pintins, would revel in the rarity and delicacy of dried fish, not realising how good the fresh stuff was. With skyships, it became possible for Huacanado to receive some fish, though due to the long distance from coast to capital, the dried stuff still remains central to the Pinnish diet."

"'Pinnish Goatbear festival pudding.' This is a curious thing, in the main because the Goatbear of Pin is an elusive creature, while its festival pudding could be said to be the least elusive of all puddings. Those that consume it, in fact, achieve a remarkable degree of conspicuousness. It is usually a tiered series of liquor-drenched sponges, through the centre of which is held a royal fruit jelly of seasonal mountain fruits. The whole thing is doused in lashings of creamy splurge. If it sounds like l regret eating twice my weight of it, I assure you I don't regret a thing."

"'Karemel.' A sweet apple puree, beneath a layer of crackable caramel ice. Little rocks of iced llama cream adorn the finished dish. In essence, very simple, but tricky to execute without Chef Molin at your shoulder."

Section 12
"'Imperial bird-board.' Courtly Food is very rich indeed, and lacks the nutrients and fibres that constitute a healthy diet. Nevertheless, the first year I worked the frillship circuit and found myself invited to dine with a Nabob of the Poultry guild, I was assured that dinner would be spectacular in every sense. Sure enough a wooden board appeared before me, a ten-piece entr\u00e9e of stuffed birds. Hawk, owl, heron, duck, chicken, goose, sparrow, turkey, swan, and lastly the centrepiece, the fried breast of a miniature eagle. Birds are iconic to the Ishgiruans, yet this dish shows the contradiction at he heart of Ishgiruan life. The best thing about it was an intense truffle cream dashed between the game. I remember I skipped the rest of the meal, and had thoughts of veganism."

"'Bean flatbread with a sizzle.' Out in the rural country, which is greener, but less fertile than Sabor, you'll find yourself in the little fort towns from the old days when the so-called True Empress reigned. Bean pastes and hot sauce fill flatbreads which are made in clay ovens. Sometimes grains and green leaves are served on top. A healthy dish that feeds the poorest Ishgiruans, but one I would be happy to serve in my restaurant."

"'East coast salad.' The east coast is a place of music and home to people who just want to enjoy life. They grow salad leaves and vegetables in little lass houses, and sometimes serve them with white fish. Simple but tasty fare. My take on the east coast salad uses tomato, ogball, egg cream, mixed leaves, fresh spirrel leaves and a crack of pepper."

Section 14
"Part Seven - The Fire and Ice of Verduba."

"The cooking of Verduba is defined by the harmonies of hot and cold. What better way to enjoy the bitter cold shore of Gautine, than to spice your dishes with the wealth of unusual ingredients that grow in the south Verduban hinterlands. A small apron of temperate soil drapes beneath the volcanoes and the southern highlands, where it is shielded from the icy wind, and it is here that unusual culinary species are cultivated. They range from piquant anise to bright floral rose peppercorn, and permeate almost every dish of the Verduban repertoire."

"Ash berry soup with chicken and beer. This is a very distinctive and warming soup. The base is made with finely diced onion and beer. Once this has simmered suitably, a very thick chicken jelly stock is added, and once separated, a handful of whole ash berries are added. Once the dish has bubbled away slightly, the whole thing is sieved finely, and is served with crusty malted bread."

"Nuggin-cheese tart, with lardons and winter greens. Nuggin is a flowering plant, whose seeds need a very hot summer to grow. Fortunately, the glasshouses of the aforementioned apron of temperate land in south Verduba provides just this. When added to dishes, these little seeds lend an earthy nutty flavour to mild tastes such as cheeses. Though they love stews and soups, the Verdubans also like bitter green vegetables that grow so hardily in the grip of winter."

"Seared Peppered Ox, with babyhead beans and charcoal. This Ox steak is cooked the traditional way - over an open fire. It always comes with babyhead beans, shaped exactly as they sound, and a dabbing line of breadcrumbs and charcoal. The presentation of this one is - like the Verdubans - a bit too precious for my liking, but it does taste good."