Ponderings on Atral Cuisine

Ponderings on Atral Cuisine is a book gifted to Fonteyne Howell upon his visit to Chalimar Palace.

## Description

Penned by the legendary Atral chef Abelard-Claude Vasseur, known for his dishes and banquets enjoyed by Kings, Dukes, Earls and Emperors alike, this book details some of the culinary features of the Realm of Atralran, as well as exploring the history of a few significant items amongst them.

## Research

### Completed by Fonteyne Howell

*Few can deny that the Realm of Atralran is a place of valiant knights fighting against devious and fiendish foes to win the hearts of fair maidens. Fewer still can deny that it is a Realm of stunning natural beauty, from the awe-inspiring vistas created by the wild waves around the Eboncliffs or Storm's Break to the blissful tranquility of the groves at the heart of the Greensong and the towering heights of Chalimar Palace. None can deny the cultural significance of cuisine to the Atral people, from the humble stew to the most elegantly decorated pastries - and everything in between. In traditional Atral dining, four courses are featured - an introductory entrée, a main course, a course of cheese and wine and then a final sweet course. Just as the people of Atralran are diverse, the nature of these courses varies widely, so we will instead for now focus on a few of the more salient dishes.*

*Firepot Stew is a quintessential Atral main dish, being enjoyed by both the wealthy and common of the Realm on a routine basis. In its simplest sense, it is comprised of root vegetables such as carrots, celery, onions and parsnips, although white cabbage and leeks are often also utilised. To this cuts of beef, goat or aurochs are added, most commonly inexpensive cuts that are further supplemented with cartilaginous meats such as marrowbone or oxtail which give the resulting broth a fatty jelly-like flavour. For the wealthy, spices of black pepper and cloves are often included, but as a standard a bouquet of garden thyme, bay laurel and root parsley is used to instill further flavour.*

*Another popular main course is that of Braised Rooster, a preparation of poultry (which, in conjunction with the name is often a tough-fleshed bird such as a rooster but not always as some variations utilising the flesh of flying snakes are known to exist) that is first flame-seared before being finished in a sealed clay urn with red wine, offcuts of smoked ham, mushrooms onions and garlic, as well as the conventional tied bouquet of traditional Atral herbs. When cooked, a roux of oil and flour is added to thicken the remaining juices ready for consumption.*

*As previously mentioned, it is traditional for a course of cheese and wine to be served before the final dessert course, and no finer examples of these can surely be found that those produced at the Pride of Goldlor Cheesery and Stalrose Vineyard respectively. For sake of brevity, I will simply list the most popular products of both, starting with Atral cheeses - Bluecrown, Crescre, Fesson & Vireyote, all of which serve different culinary purposes.*

*Bluecrown is made from whole milk with a firm and edible coating that protects the creamy mushroom-scented interior flecked with blue mold. Crescre is a traditional farmhouse semi-hard cheese made with high-fat mare's milk with a rich and nutty flavour layered with scents of lanolin. Fesson is a moist and soft surface-ripened cow's milk cheese most commonly enjoyed heated through with a sprig of rosemary or penny cress. Vireyote is a yellow mild cheese populated with small round holes known as eyes created during the production process. The fewer eyes, the greater the skill of the producer - and the higher the value of the cheese.*

*Of wines, numerous types are produced at Stalrose Vineyard from the three varieties of grapes cultivated - Allizeaux, Nimante & Thestogeac. Allizeaux is a dark blue-red grape that ripens quickly to produce soft but flavourful red wines that pair well with oily fish, mushrooms, smoked meats and bitter leaves like chard and chicory. Nimante is a green-skinned variety of grape used in the production of white wines which when cultivated carefully display notes of green plum, apple and pear - and thus pair well with poultry, sweet dishes and courses flavoured heavily with garlic. Thestogeac is the least forgiving of the three, with thin skins and a long ripening time. If viticultural hazards such as rot and insects are avoided, these purple-black grapes produce deep and heavy-bodied red wines rich in tannins and are best enjoyed with dishes rich in fats and proteins - Firepot Stew being a prime example.*