Gantor's Recipe Book
Every recipe here is something that I have made myself multiple times. I can not guarantee that everything here will be to your taste but I am promising that it is all well tested and includes my personal notes, guidelines, and modifications. Enjoy.
Table of Contents:
Information:
Cinnamon
Fat
Ripeness
Recipes:
Lard
Mac and Cheese
Mayonnaise
Mulsum
Pasketti
Spaghetti Sauce
Summer Tea
Information:
Cinnamon
Most cinnamon being sold in the US is not actual cinnamon but cassia which has a very very similar flavor but lacks the nuance of real cinnamon and also contains over 1000 times as much coumarin which is toxic. Here's how to tell the difference. Cassia bark is thick, dark reddish brown, and dries into a hollow tube. Real Cinnamon is thin, light brown, and dries into a more or less filled cylinder. Sometimes cassia is labeled as "Ceylon Cinnamon" but is just as often called "Cinnamon". True cinnamon should be used in place of cassia whenever possible.
Fat
Fat is easier to chop when cold or partially frozen.
Grade A fat is the best. It is the hard white fat around the organs.
Grade B fat is the soft white fat around the muscles, it is still good but not as good as Grade A.
Grade C fat is very soft or slimy and sometimes yellow. Most of it is under the skin. It is not good fat.
Ripeness
If fruit isn't ripe enough do not refrigerate it, leave it on the counter in a paper bag (plastic will make it rot). Berries, Cherries, Citrus, and Grapes will not ripen further after they are picked.
Apples, Bananas, Citrus, Mangos, Pears, Pineapples, etc.: Many fruits such as these are green before they ripen. Look for bright vibrant colors.
Apricots, Kiwi, Peaches, Plums, etc.: Should be yielding to pressure without being mushy. Smell the fruit where the stem attaches, it will smell sweet when ripe.
Avocado: It is ripe if you can easily dimple it with your thumb. Color is not a clear indicator but ripe avocados tend to be blacker.
Melon: Press your ear to the side of the melon and tap it with your finger. If it sounds like hollow wood then it is ripe. The hollower the sound, the riper the fruit.
Recipes:
Mulsum
Ingredients:
1 Bottle Dry White Wine
1/4 Cup Honey
1 Cinnamon Stick
Directions:
Warm honey and stir into room temperature wine until completely dissolved.
Toss in cinnamon and chill.
Notes:
It is nice to serve with a cinnamon stick in the glass.
Some people like it sweeter so you can use 1/2 cup of honey but it can get way too sweet real fast.
Lard
Ingredients:
Good Fat
Water
Directions:
Chop the fat into small pieces.
Cover the fat with water in a sauce pan.
Bring to a low boil.
Reduce heat and allow to simmer until the fat has turned brown and rubbery or hard.
Strain out the fat.
Separate the grease from the water either by boiling it down or chilling it until it becomes hard.
Notes:
Read up on fat.
If you opt to boil down the grease be aware that it can burn.
Mac and Cheese
Ingredients:
American Cheese
Boxed Macaroni and Cheese
Butter
Cheddar Cheese
Ground Beef
Milk
Salt
Sweet Corn
White Pepper
Optional:
Celery Seed
Garlic
Onions
Directions:
Pan fry ground beef with celery seed, salt, garlic, and onion.
Boil corn and cut from cob.
Make macs as per box instructions except add cheese and butter and melt before adding milk and powdered cheese.
Drain meat and mix meat, pepper, and corn with mac & cheese.
Notes:
Can substitute sausage, fried spam, butter friend hotdogs, or tuna fish for beef.
Mayonnaise
Ingredients:
2 eggs
1 cup oil
1 tbs white vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
small pinch of ground mustard seed
Directions:
Separate and beat yolks.
Add oil a few drops at a time while beating constantly.
Stop when the emulsion clumps instead of stringing.
Add salt, mustard, and vinegar and mix thoroughly.
Notes:
The oil should be room temperature, not cold.
Do not add oil faster than a few drops at a time.
Not all of the oil will be used.
You can mix in a blender to save time but about halfway it will thicken to the point where it needs to be done manually.
Pasketti
Ingredients:
Bacon
Black Olives
Butter or Lard
Cheddar Cheese
Mozzarella Cheese
Parmesan
Pepperoni
Sausage
Spaghetti Noodles
Spaghetti Sauce
Directions:
Toss pasta with melted butter, parmesan, and grated cheddar.
Pack pasta in bottom of baking pan.
Pour sauce over pasta.
Sprinkle thick layer of mozzarella cheese over sauce.
Top with pepperoni, olives, crumbled bacon, and sausage.
Bake on low heat until cheese is well melted.
Notes:
Spaghetti Sauce
Ingredients:
Basil
Bell Pepper
Black Pepper
Garlic
Mushrooms
Oregano
Rosemary
Sausage
Sweet Onion
Thyme
Tomatoes
Directions:
Cover tomatoes with water in a cast iron pot and bring to a low boil until skins split.
Mash tomatoes, uncover, and cook until very soft.
Add diced bell pepper, garlic, and mushrooms.
Allow to cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until all vegetables are very soft.
Fry sausage with onions and drain.
Add sausage, minced basil, black pepper, oregano, rosemary, and thyme to sauce.
Cover and cook on low heat, stirring occasionally, until it smells done.
Notes:
Summer Tea
Ingredients:
Black Tea
Chamomile
Mint
Lemon Grass
Optional:
Clover
Dandelion
Raspberry Leaves
Directions:
Place tea and herbs in tea ball or cheese cloth in water in the sun on a hot summer day. Or boil gently for an hour.
Sweeten to taste.
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Gantopian by Ryan W. Rooks