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Grandpappy's Gourmet Cookbook

Copyright © March 1, 2018 by Robert Wayne Atkins, P.E.
All Rights Reserved.

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I have written two cookbooks. My other cookbook is called Grandpappy's Recipes for Hard Times.

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Click here and you will be taken to the Amazon web page that features this book.

Click here to read some of the recipes in this book.

ISBN: 978-0985035884
Type of Book: Paperback
Book Size: 6 inches by 9 inches (Note: My other books are 8.5 inches by 11 inches.)
Number of Pages: 290
Normal Retail Price: $14.95

Note 1: This book is eligible for Free Shipping if your total Amazon order is $25.00 or more. However, you must choose the Free Shipping option that will appear on your final checkout screen before you transmit your order. If you do not click on Free Shipping then Amazon will charge you a shipping fee for this book.

Note 2: A few of the recipes that are included in my Gourmet Cookbook can be examined by clicking on the "Gourmet Recipes" button at the top of this page.

Note 3: This cookbook does not contain any pictures. Most of my other books contain full color pictures and some people have complained about the cost of those books without taking into consideration the cost of printing hundreds of full color pictures throughout the book. There are no pictures in this cookbook so that the publisher's recommended retail price of this 290 page cookbook could be kept low.

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Book Description on Amazon.com

At least one of your ancestors was probably a fantastic cook.

This cookbook can help you learn the cooking secrets your ancestors had memorized. And as you practice the cooking skills they took for granted then you will gradually become a gourmet cook.

This cookbook assumes you know very little, or maybe nothing, about how to prepare delicious food using basic ingredients, such as flour, baking soda, meat, vegetables, fruit, butter, eggs, herbs, and spices.

The first 6 chapters contain the really important information you need to know so you can begin your gourmet cooking adventure.

The next 26 chapters contain an impressive collection of more than 250 gourmet recipes that have very detailed instructions for each step in the food preparation process. The recipes do not assume that you already know how to cook, or that you know why some things should be done, or why other things should not be done. The recipes in this cookbook clearly explain the reasons why the instructions should be followed in order to produce a culinary miracle.

In a very short time you can become a master chef. And after your family and friends taste some of your culinary miracles then they will beg you to share your recipes with them and to please, please, please teach them how to cook the way you do.

The reason a gourmet cook is so successful is because he or she normally prepares meals that accomplish all of the following objectives at the same time:
1. The food has an enticing aroma.
2. The food has a very desirable appearance.
3. The food has a delightful pleasant taste.
4. The food satisfies the person’s hunger for at least a few hours.
5. The food can be easily and quickly digested.
6. The vitamins and nutrients in the food have been preserved and they can be easily absorbed into the body.
7. The food facilitates the long-term health of the person who eats it.

All gourmet cooks gradually modify their recipes as they gain more experience and as they learn new things. The best way to become a great gourmet cook is to start with a great recipe. If you start with an average recipe, or with a good recipe, then it will take more of your time, and more of your money invested in ingredients, in order to gradually convert that recipe into something you can take pride in. There is nothing wrong with this approach if you have the patience, and the time, and the money to invest in gradually and slowing enhancing your cooking skills and your favorite recipes. On the other hand, if you start with a superior recipe then you may discover that you like the recipe exactly the way it is. Or you may decide to gradually make small changes to the recipe to see if those changes impact the results in a favorable or unfavorable manner. By starting very close to your personal finish line, you will be able to arrive there quicker while spending less money.

The recipes in this gourmet cookbook are superior recipes. However, no recipe anywhere in this cookbook will please everyone because different people have different taste preferences, and there is nothing unusual about that.

Some of the recipes in this cookbook only require two or three ingredients. However, this cookbook also includes recipes that require ten or more ingredients. Some of the recipes are very simple and they can be completed in 5 minute or less. However, some of the recipes require several hours to complete.

This cookbook includes recipes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. There are chapters on appetizers, soups, salads, sandwiches, main dishes, vegetables, desserts, and international cuisine. Each recipe chapter contains between 3 to 29 different recipes, with an average of approximately 9 recipes per chapter.

In conclusion, this cookbook begins by carefully explaining "How to Become a Gourmet Cook," and then this cookbook provides more than 250 gourmet recipes for you to pick from so you can begin your gourmet cooking adventure.

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Preface to
Grandpappy's Gourmet Cookbook

My parents raised all of us the same way without regard to whether we were male or female. At age six each of us had to start learning how to cook simple meals, how to wash and dry dishes by hand, how to use hand tools correctly, and how to safely shoot a firearm.

In 1965 I was a Junior in High School and I got my first part-time job as a waiter. Because I knew how to cook simple meals, it was not long before I was doing the cook’s job when he took a break or ate a meal. Near the end of my Senior year I was promoted to cook. When I graduated I enrolled in a major Engineering University. I worked a part-time job on weekdays in the university dining room kitchen and occasionally I was able to observe the cooks prepare food. In my Senior year I took on a second part-time job working weekends at a Hardee’s fast food restaurant as a cook. When I graduated from college in 1972 I began working as an Engineer.

In June of 1975 I moved my wife and our 3 preschool age children onto 12 acres of land we purchased in the backwoods of Maine. We lived in a tent for about 6 months while I was building a rustic log cabin using pine trees that grew on our land. My wife and I shared the job of cooking meals over the campfire. However, it was not long before I realized I could only cook a few different tasty meals over a campfire. And I began to appreciate the significant impact that good food can have on a person’s happiness, energy level, and mental attitude.

In late November of 1975 I accepted an Engineering job in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. For one year I worked two weeks each month in Puerto Rico near the 3 best restaurants on the south side of the island. I ate dinner at one of those restaurants every evening and I became infatuated with the quality and taste of a wide variety of international foods that were prepared by internationally acclaimed chefs. Since I had just recently been humbled by my own shortcomings as a campfire cook, I began to truly appreciate every meal I ate. This motivated me to acquire a better understanding of how high quality food is prepared.

For the next 40 plus years I diligently studied the art and science of cooking. My scientific engineering background helped me to clearly understand the chemical and scientific reasons why some things should be done, and why other things should not be done. This cookbook is the result of my lifetime adventure of learning how to cook.

The recipes in this cookbook are also enhanced by my 30 plus years of teaching at a major state university where I learned how to clearly explain concepts without including unnecessary information, but also without omitting any of the critical facts that are absolutely necessary.

Respectfully,
Robert Wayne Atkins, P.E. (Grandpappy)
March 1, 2018

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The Major Differences Between
"Grandpappy's Recipes for Hard Times"
and "Grandpappy's Gourmet Cookbook"
My Hard Times Recipes book contains more than 200 recipes, and those recipes require the mininum number of ingredients, and those recipes will create a meal that tastes really good. My Hard Times Recipes book assumes that a family is experiencing hard times and that money is limited, and the family can only spend a very small amount of money on each meal. However, the family still wants to enjoy a tasty meal and my Hard Times Recipes will yield tasty dishes that require a minimum investment in ingredients. My Hard Times Recipes also include an assortment of recipes for a variety of edible wild plants and a variety of edible wild game animals, such as squirrels.

My Gourmet Cookbook contains more than 250 recipes and those recipes assume a family can afford to spend a reasonable amount of money on each meal, and that the family can easily acquire all the different ingredients required to produce one gourmet meal.

Nine of the recipes in my Hard Times Recipes book are also repeated in my Gourmet Cookbook without any changes. The reason is because those nine recipes are truly gourmet recipes even though they are simple recipes and they only require a minimum number of ingredients.

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Table of Contents
of Grandpappy's Gourmet Cookbook

Chapter		Page
	Introduction to Gourmet Cooking:
1	Secrets of Gourmet Cooking	1
2	Definition of Cooking Words	15
3	Herbs, Seasonings, and Spices	21
4	Common Recipe Ingredients	27
5	Cooking Objectives, Methods, and Cooking Times	41
6	Abbreviations, Substitutions, and Homemade Items	47
	Gourmet Recipes:
7	Appetizers	51
8	Asian-American Recipes	57
9	Beef	67
10	Beverages	77
11	Bread (flour and cornmeal)	79
12	Breakfast	89
13	Cakes, Cupcakes, and Frostings	103
14	Candy and Fudge	111
15	Chicken	115
16	Cookies and Icing	127
17	Desserts	135
18	European Recipes	145
19	Fish and Seafood	149
20	Ham, Pork, and Sausage	159
21	Italian-American Recipes	163
22	Mexican-American (Hispanic) Recipes	175
23	Other Meats and Fowl	185
24	Pies	197
25	Potatoes	209
26	Rice	215
27	Salads, Salad Dressings, and Dips	219
28	Sandwiches	225
29	Seasonings, Sauces, and Gravies	247
30	Side Dishes	263
31	Soups	269
32	Vegetables	273
	Index	279
	About the Author	286

Click here and you will be taken to the Amazon web page that features this book.

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Grandpappy's e-mail address is: RobertWayneAtkins@hotmail.com