A culinary car for the El Dorado Western Railroad?

The El Dorado Western Railway Foundation purchased this tool car from the Richmond Pacific Railroad in December 2011. It has intrigued me since then. I've often talked about converting it into a culinary car for the El Dorado Western Railroad, which operates on eight miles of the old Southern Pacific Placerville Branch rail line between Shingle Springs and Diamond Springs.

It's a natural desire in my informal role as the the railroad chef. Several times each year, I host a track-side meal for railroad volunteers. My last such meal occurred in November last year, when I prepared pork chili with guajillo chili adobo, cheesy butter milk biscuits and berry cobbler for the bridge crew. My hope is that my winter schedule will allow me to cook for the crew more frequently during my home season.

A dedicated culinary car would improve conditions for cooking on the railroad. I'm not saying that the complete car has to be remodeled into a galley on wheels. There's plenty of room for rail tools and equipment on the starboard side. It would give me a mobile platform to transport the two-burner stove, ice chest, Dutch ovens and utensils.

I could easily work with the port side of the tool car. That's the side with the shallow tool box. The side with the deeper tool cabinet can be used by the maintenance crew. The pictures describe how I intend put this plan into action.

This is the port side of the Richmond Pacific Railroad tool car. Of two tool cabinets, this one reaches about two-thirds of the way across the deck. The open space leaves sufficient room to mount a two-burner Camp Chef propane stove. The ice chest can be set in the center space for transport. The center section would then be used as a Dutch oven table. This would keep burning coals off the ground when at the work site. 

This is the starboard side of the tool car. There is enough space to mount a small generator, air compressor or water tank. The tool cabinet can be used to secure tools and equipment.

The A end of the tool car. This is the forward end. It will normally be the end that is coupled to the gang car, locomotive or trackmobile. 

The B end of the tool car. There is plenty of storage space on top of the tool cabinet, plus room to hang hoses, chains and other large tools.

Pre-camp meal service

The kitchen crew at Oakland Feather River Camp cooks for staff during the pre-camp phase of the summer. In the first four weeks of meal service, the cooks, housekeepers, maintenance staff and camp management eat breakfast and lunch in the Chow Palace. Staff that live on site enjoy leftovers or prepare their own food for dinner.

Weekend groups converge on the Oakland Camp on the third and fourth weekends of May. After a week of training, this is my first opportunity to test the cooks with the full menu. It gives me a chance to test the menu and the their skill. It also introduces the cooks to camp traditions and camp culture, two aspects of camp life that dictate how we serve campers in the Chow Palace. Any kinks are worked out in the next week.

The cooks work long days as they cook and serve the meals for 100 or more campers on these weekends. They also wash dishes and clean the Chow Palace without assistance from the dishwashers. Full staffing with the dishwashers doesn't occur until staff training week.

Staff training week begins on the second Saturday of June. With full staffing in all departments, the kitchen serves around 30 to 35, many first termers at Oakland Feather River Camp. The unique aspect of the week is that the kitchen pulls double duty, cooking and serving meals and attending the training sessions. It's a challenging week, but one that we work through to accomplish both goals.

Full camp begins in earnest on the third Sunday in June.

Pre-camp meals are served from the serving line in May 2013. With 10 to 12 at each meal, it doesn't make sense to wheel the buffet lines into the dining hall yet. The buffet lines are first used during staff training week (second week of June). The kitchen serving line is used to serve vegetarian and vegan meals for the summer camp sessions (third week of June to mid-August).

Raising the ensign

During the 2013 camp session, I was selected to lead the Independence Day ceremonies around the camp flagstaff. I am told that the honor has fallen to the chef for the last several years. As a retired U.S. Navy senior chief petty officer, the ceremony had special meaning to me. The raising of the ensign at 8 o'clock in the morning was always a memorable time of day.

At Oakland Feather River Camp, the emcee gives a brief talk on the historical significance of the 4th of July, raises the flag and leads campers in the Pledge of Allegiance. Afterwards we sing America The Beautiful, then adjourn for a fun afternoon of games and field activities. (Of course, culinary staff return to the kitchen to finish the barbecue!)

Sawdust

Sometimes you do what you have to do!

Crew apron

The 2013 kitchen crew from Oakland Feather River Camp presented me with an apron on our last day. All of the cooks and dishwashers, along with other camp crew, signed the plastic apron. Enjoy ...

Chef Steven's rules for sausage gravy

After four decades of cooking in military, institutional and camp kitchens, I've learned to follow a number of personal cooking rules. As self-imposed culinary guidelines, they help me prepare and serve great food to my diners, whether at home or in camp. These rules provide consistency each time I prepare a dish.

Earlier this summer, the camp director asked my if I could prepare a "mean" biscuits and gravy. Up to the challenge, we set a date where I could premier biscuits and gravy. I took my standard biscuits and gravy recipe, modified it to use a butter and flour roux (previously, I stirred the flour in with the crumbled sausage meat) and presented camp-made biscuits with my chef's sausage gravy to the staff in mid-May.

Beginning in the third week of June, we presented scratch buttermilk biscuits and rich sausage gravy to the campers every other week. By request, I broke my "pork only" rule to prepare turkey sausage gravy for our largest camp (alongside pork sausage gravy) at the end of July. I came away validating my rule. Campers selected pork gravy three times as often as they did turkey gravy! (The same held true for real bacon vs. turkey bacon!)

Here are my rules for great sausage gravy:

• Crumble, finely chop or grind the sausage. Diced sausage may look good on the plate. But it's the fine pieces that carry flavor into the gravy. Throughout the summer, I used pre-cooked patties with success. Grinding partially thawed patties in the food processor gave it the texture I was looking for.
• Don't skip on the milk. The fat in whole milk adds body and richness to the gravy. If you must, drink two percent or skim milk in a glass, not in the gravy. Whole milk works best. And a little cream makes even richer gravy! Unfortunately to some, good gravy isn't low in fat!
• A butter roux is the best thickening agent for gravy. Leave the cornstarch to pudding cookery, where its magic sheen works best. And don't forget to cook out the flour taste in the roux.
• Traditional American breakfast sausage works best for traditional American biscuits and gravy. Use pork sausage, not beef. SOS is made with beef, not pork. Though related, they're not the same.
• Think long and hard before adding a new ingredient or two the gravy. I've successfully worked a modest amount of roasted diced red peppers into my gravy. Leave the mushrooms for a great mushroom sauce or pasta dish. They don't belong in sausage gravy.
• The best biscuits are made from scratch. Develop a good recipe and stick to it.

Oh yes, there's one final rule: Good sausage gravy must leave a mild case of heartburn, especially when cased with several mugs of coffee. Sorry; it's a rule!

Baked frittata for 300 campers

At Oakland Feather River Camp, we prepared potato-pepper frittata five times this summer. The baked omelet, which was on the menu every other week, was prepared two ways -- as frittata 'muffins' for kids camp in June and baked in full-sized hotel pans for the family camps.

We first served baked frittata in early May. Since we were only feeding a dozen staff members at that point, I used the meal to show the cooks how to bake a baked omelet. I also used the opportunity to test a small number of frittata muffins. I'll share more about the muffin recipe later.

The classic recipe for frittata is time consuming when feeding 150 to 300 campers. To prepare in the traditional method, sauté the vegetables in an oven-proof skillet. Add any meat and cook. Then pour whipped eggs (roughly 12 eggs for a 12-inch skillet) in the pan. Over medium heat, stir with a heat resistant spatula, running it along the sides, for two to three minutes. Once the eggs are partially set, top with cheese (if desired) and place in a pre-heated 375-degree oven.

Its versatility is the best thing about a frittata, whether baked for camp or prepared with the classic method. Asparagus, spinach, kale or mushrooms easily work in place of the potatoes. Even though we chose to leave meat out of our frittata, sausage, bacon, prosciutto or ham are ideal meats. Any cheese, especially when pared with the vegetables and meat, top off any frittata. The options are endless once you have the basics down.

On August 1, each pan fed 40 to 45 campers. A week later each pan fed 35 campers. While I usually figure 25 servings per 2-inch hotel pan, the expanded menu helped 'stretch' the frittata. Hot cereal, cold cereal, fresh whole fruit, sliced melons, toast, bagels and cream cheese, peanut butter and jelly, and assorted yogurt (flavored and plain) gave the campers a lot of options for breakfast. Plus the 25 vegans on August 1 were offered an alternative entrée. We didn't have any vegans the next week.

The following images demonstrate how the cooks prepared potato-pepper frittata for 300 campers:

To prepare the frittata, Jesse poured a splash of olive oil in each 12 by 20 by 2-inch hotel pan. A handful of diced onions and red and green bell peppers were tossed into each pan. Jesse then placed around 2 pounds of par-cooked red potatoes in each pan. He lightly tossed the contents of each pans before placing then in the oven.

 After seasoning with kosher salt, coarse ground black pepper and Italian seasoning, Jesse placed the 10 pans in a 325-degree convection oven. The vegetables and potatoes cooked for 10 to 15 minutes. The pans were lined on the table after Jesse removed them from the oven.

Next I poured the contents of 3 cartons of liquid eggs into each pan. Jesse returned each pan in the oven as it was ready. Each carton weighs 2 pounds. Use 5-1/3 dozen medium or 4-1/2 dozen large eggs if liquid eggs aren't available. The mixture was stirred before returning to the oven.

It took 35 to 40 minutes to bake the frittata. Pull it from the oven when the top was just set.

You need to test the frittata in your oven to see how long it will take. Our ovens run hot on top and cooler on the bottom (despite the circulating fan). Potato-pepper frittata was one of our better breakfasts, only rivaled by biscuits and gravy morning and the cinnamon roll breakfast.

Fruit on the barbie

Tyrone posted a fruit carving how-to at Tyronebecookin last week. Here's a carved watermelon from Oakland Feather River Camp:

We had a guest chef in camp three weeks ago. She carved several watermelons as the centerpiece for arriving campers. Of all her carvings, the Webber kettle grill is my favorite.

Camp chef for hire in Northern California

It's been a while since I've  posted on 'Round the Chuckbox. I've been busy working as the chef at Oakland Feather River Camp, outside of Quincy, Calif. The summer has been fun and long at the same time! Now it's time to return home.

The summer ends in a week. After nearly 27,000 meals, Debbie and I will soon head to our Diamond Springs, Calif., home for the winter. We gave
the camp its best summer of meals in recent memory.
Since I love to cook for crowds in the great outdoors, I'm letting everyone know that I'm available to cook for your next outdoor event.

Many meals are cooked in cast iron Dutch ovens, fired by charcoal briquettes. Grilled and barbecued items are cooked over a hot mesquite fire. Then there’s Chef Steven’s one-of-a-kind surplus military field stove.

Don't want to cook at your next outdoor event? I will cook a special meal for you from a menu of your choosing. I can set my chuckbox up at your Northern California location. Backyard, hunting camp or family reunion -- any venue  will work. I'll even work from a commercial kitchen if you can rent one.

Contact me today at steve@seabeecook.com to arrange a Western-style feast! Menus are available upon request.

Camp mixed bery cobbler

I adopted this recipe from in Sunset Magazine in May 2009. The recipe was developed for use in a 12-inch camp-style Dutch oven by Chef Guy Fiere of Diners, Drive Ins and Dives fame. He "loves to make this treat on a camping adventure."

After reading the article, I figured it would make a great dessert for camp. It was a hit at the Christian Chefs International 2012 Annual Conference in Canby, Oregon, where it was showcased alongside a Dutch oven meal. Since then I've discovered campers enjoy the "rich, sweet treat."

When you prepare camp berry cobbler, a nice crunch in each bite impresses campers. The juicy berry goodness is topped with a crunchy cake-like crust. As the cobbler bakes, juices from the berries are released and absorbed by crust. Telltale pools of thickened berry juice seep through the crust. Each bite contains an impressive mix of fruit and crust.

Serve camp berry cobbler with vanilla bean ice cream and fresh whipped cream. An almond or coffee-flavored ice cream will complement the cobbler as well.

CAMP MIXED BERRY COBBLER

2 pounds all-purpose flour
1/2 ounce (1 tablespoon) baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 ounce cinnamon
1/2 ounce cloves
1/4 ounce nutmeg
1/4 ounce ground ginger
1 pound unsalted butter
2 pounds 7 ounces granulated sugar (divided use)
5 pounds frozen mixed berries

In a food processor, pulse together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and ginger. Add butter; pulse until mixture is very fine. Add 2 pounds of the sugar and pulse to combine. If preparing topping ahead, transfer to a storage container and chill until ready to use, up to 2 days.

Place partially thawed berries in a large bowl. Stir in 7 ounces of the sugar. Pour berry mixture into greased a 12 by 20 by 2-inch hotel pan. Spoon half the cake mixture evenly over berries.

Bake cobbler in 425^o oven for about 20 minutes. Spoon on remaining flour mixture. Continue baking until topping is golden brown and berry juices are bubbling to the surface, 15 to 25 minutes more; let cool at least 20 minutes before serving.

'The Road Not Taken'

This reminds me of Robert Frost's poem, "The Road Not Taken," 1920. The picture was taken at the Camp 5 Boat Launching Facility on the west shore of Lake Davis, California, near Portola.

What happed to AM salads?

Campers and staff at Oakland Feather River Camp have a longtime tradition of inscribing their names on the lumber walls in the Chow Palace. Thousands of inscriptions -- many newer signatures written on top of older ones -- adorn  the walls and ceiling. The tradition dates back 40 years or more. I've seen signatures that date from the 1970s.

While most recorded their name somewhere below the six-foot line, those written above the "ladder line" intrigue me the most. Written in 18-inch block letters on the ceiling near the main entrance are the letters "ARMY EOD 1986." The only way to manage the inscription would've been to bring a tall scaffolding into the Chow Palace, a difficult task when camp is in session.

The headstone in the photograph caught my eye when I first walked into the Chow Palace last May. Nailed onto the rafters high above the wall in the northeast corner of the dining room, the grave marker apparently commemorates the burial of the morning salad shift in the kitchen in 1985. One wonders what happened during the long summer of cutting and filling tubs with romaine and iceberg lettuce. Maybe it as a summer of torture for a less than enthusiastic salad maker.

I may never know the circumstances that led to such a morbid inscription. My prep cook assigned to the salad shift seems to enjoy her job. Maintaining the salad bar for lunch and dinner is a key position in the 2013 Oakland Camp kitchen. I doubt you'll find "RIP A.M. Salad 2013" next month when the kitchen crew departs.

Taking a day off

The downside of working six twelve-hour days each week is you get little time to yourself. We try to get away for dinner one or two evenings each week. Since our Sunday is day off, we assemble with the local saints for worship, then drive off to the former logging town of Greyeagle for lunch and time on the Internet.

Yesterday's drive was unique. We work along the former Western Pacific Railroad Feather River Route. The line's current owner, the massive Union Pacific Railroad, has been running a lot of freight traffic over the rail line. The railroaders among the staff at Oakland Camp (the housekeeping supervisor and myself) have enjoyed watching (and listening when we're busy) to trains each hour.

Catching three trains on our day off was an exciting opportunity. I'll let the photographs tell the story.

As we drove east toward Blairsden and Greyeagle, an eastbound UP high-railer caught my attention at the Spring Garden siding. Thinking I could snap a photo as it crossed the bridge at Blairsden, we sped east on Highway 70. Instead of the track inspection vehicle, this local freight train appeared. My guess is that the high-railer took the siding.

The local took the hole (or siding) once he crossed the bridge. The waiting westbound intermodal freight was the superior train. As soon as the local cleared the main, the westbound gave two long blasts on the horn and proceeded west toward Keddie and the Feather River.

 

I took this photo as the westbound freight passed over the bridge at Blairsden.

 

Later in the day, Debbie and I saw this westbound coal drag as we returned to Quincy and the camp. With sufficient time to drive to the Williams Loop, we drove west. At the Loop, I photographed the train as it wound around under itself. Here the lead locomotive is ready to exit the loop and continue its westbound journey toward the canyon.

Egg scramble with mushrooms, tomatoes and spinach

Last Monday, we served scrambled eggs with mushrooms, tomatoes and spinach for breakfast. The campers, a group of 60-plus artists, enjoyed the refreshing change from normal camp food. For around 140 campers, we used 24 pounds of liquid eggs, 5 pounds of slice mushrooms, 20 large tomatoes and 7-1/2 pounds of spinach leaves.

The vegetarians ate the breakfast entrée. A tofu scramble with mushrooms, tomatoes and spinach was prepared for 10 vegans. See my last post for a description of prep for the meal on Sunday.

To prepare sufficient eggs for a 12 by 20 by 2-inch hotel pan, Jesse first placed 4 to 5 spoonsful of mushrooms, 3 to 4 spoonsful of diced tomatoes and 2 to 3 tongs of spinach on the oiled griddle. After several quick turns, the vegetables were ready for the eggs.

Jesse next poured two cartons of liquid eggs over the sautéed vegetables. He had to work fast to keep eggs from running down into the grease pit. Once scrambled, the eggs were placed in the waiting hotel pan. That morning, 140 campers ate the contents of six 2-inch hotel pans of egg scramble. We always cook eggs to the soft stage as they continue to cook for several minutes in the pan.

 Jesse also scrambled 2 cartons of plain eggs for those who don't like vegetables. The vegans ate 3 pounds of tofu.

Speed racks

I love speed racks. They help my team at Oakland Feather River Camp organize ingredients for the next meal. You'll often hear a cook yell "Coming through" as he moves the rack from the reefer to the hot line for meal production.

Although I don't know where the term comes from, Oakland Camp's two sheet pan racks are in constant use. One is loaded with baked goods. It's stored close to the convection ovens. The second unit is often loaded with prep for the next day. It spends much of the day in the walk-in cooler.

Last Sunday I guided Jesse, a young prep cook at the camp, as he prepared the ingredients for scrambled eggs with mushrooms, tomatoes and spinach for breakfast on Monday. With a short two-hour window to get ready for breakfast, there's no time to prep for the scramble in the morning. Jesse used most of an hour to wash and slice five pounds of mushrooms, dice 20 large tomatoes and open a case of pre-washed spinach.

After the vegetables were cut, he placed a case of eggs (15 cartons each with two pounds of liquid eggs in each carton) on the bottom shelf in the speed rack. Once the potatoes were panned and set on the middle shelves of the rack, Jesse wheeled it into the walk-in.

As Jesse learned last week, speed racks save time in the kitchen. They help the cook move product, cooked and uncooked, from one point to another. And when properly organized, the speed rack allows the cook to perform his job with efficiency and ease.

A lot goin' on ...

Like many camps, the pace picks up at Oakland Camp kitchen as the meal approaches. The food processor was used to prepare chimichurri (in the wood bowl) and cilantro lime vinaigrette (the mess). The strawberry shortcake was ready for assembly. And the beef stew with meat and vegetarian versions on the range was ready for panning.



Pulled pork party

We were running a bit late the other day with barbecued pulled pork. I had placed two pork butts, rubbed with the appropriate spices, in the bottom convection oven at 7 a.m. By 11 a.m., the pork should've emerged ready to shred. Sometime around 9 a.m., I discovered that the oven had cut off. The pork lost an hour or more of precious roasting time. Giving the two roasts and additional hour, my sous chef (in the Phillies ballcap) pulled the pork at noon. After cooling it for 15 minutes, he called a couple dishwashers over. They quickly shredded the meat and tossed in barbecue sauce for our 12:30 p.m. mealtime.



Has the information super-highway bypassed your camp?

The Fish Tacos at Pangaea Cafe

Camping may not be the best career for the Internet junkie. Service at many camps, especially those in rural areas across the country, is non-existent. While camp administration may subscribe to a local on-line provider for the office and key staff, recreational use of precious bandwidth is out.

Service at my office is based on a wireless hotspot that's paired with a signal booster. It works most days. By that I mean that I can send and receive email and place orders with my vendors. Heavy research on websites the rely on intense add-ons is out.

Today was one of those days. I waisted two hours trying to access the website of one of my major suppliers. That's two hours of searching, rebooting, logging on and being kicked off.

All I wanted to do was show the vegetarian cook what the vendor offered for the vegetarian and vegan menu. I'd call her into the office, start the search, only to send her back to the kitchen because our super-highway was behaving more like a bottle of ketchup.

To resolve the problem, my wife and I drove into Quincy. Many Oakland Camp employees head to Pangaea Cafe and Pub for a bite and quality time with the laptop. If you must sacrifice your evening to Internet research, Monday nights at Pangaea are best. The Internet flows like coffee and the "Fish Tacos" provide superb entertainment.

Seasoned with a side of Bluegrass and hit of Zydeco, the ensemble band makes for wonderful eatin' -- and surfin' -- at Pangaea. You'll catch yourself joining in the chorus to "I'll Fly Away" while you tap away on the keyboard. Research is hard work, especially when toe-tappin' music carries your mind elsewhere.

Camp isn't a hotbed of Internet activity. It's a place where campfire chats, great chow and relationships rule. Program directors -- and, yes, chefs -- want staff to leave smart phones and laptops in their cabins. If you must partake of the information super-highway, head to town on your offtime. The food's good, musicians entertain and the Internet (usually) flows freely.

Camp cook job listing for Bear Valley Y Camp

This job listing for camp cook posted yesterday afternoon on Sacramento Craig's List. Review the camp website for additional details about the camp. The camp is located about 4-1/2 miles west of the junction  between State Route 20 and Interstate 80. Please direct any questions regarding the position and camp to the email address below.

Resident Camp Cook (Bear Valley Camp)

GENERAL SUMMARY:

The Camp Cook provides meal preparation (breakfast, lunch and dinner) for 60-90 hungry camp participants. The job requires excellent organizational and people skills. The Cook is a camp leader role that influences the morale, culture and success of camp.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Places food and supply orders.
• Supervise kitchen crew-volunteers
• Supervises the food and supply deliveries.
• Maintains current inventory.
• Responsible for cleanliness of the kitchen, appliances,
• Prepares and serves meals as scheduled.
• Ultimately responsible for cleaning the ovens, stoves, grill, and meal preparation area for assigned meals.
• Ultimately responsible for the kitchen cleanup process for assigned meals.
• Ensures that the kitchen is in tip-top shape, meeting Health Department requirements, at all times.
• Reports maintenance needs to the Property Manager.

SKILLS / REQUIREMENTS:

1. 18 years of age.
2. High School Diploma or GED. Culinary training preferred.
3. Current food handler's certification
4. One to two years experience cooking for large dining enterprises, eighty (80) people or more.
5. Ability to manage multiple tasks and meet time schedules.
6. Good personal hygiene habits.
7. Ability to traverse camp properties and other outdoor sites.
8. Ability to stand, sit, or walk for an extended period of time. Reach overhead and below the knees, including bending, twisting, pulling, and stooping. Move, lift, carry, push, pull, and place objects weighing less than or equal to 40-50 pounds without assistance.
9. Ability to operate kitchen equipment.

Additional Information:

Position Type: Full Time/Temporary Seasonal
Filing date by: June 21, 2013
Submit Resume to: resumes@ymcasuperiorcal.org

Grilled cheese extravaganza

Grilled cheese three ways was on the menu Saturday at noon. Can you guess which sandwich was the most popular?


Top to bottom: (1) provolone cheese, cilantro sauce and grilled onions; (2) provolone and cheddar; (3) cheddar, bacon and tomato; and (4) cheddar and tomato for the vegetarians.

For 75 camper and staff, we prepared 18 cilantro sauce and onion sandwiches, 18 plain grilled cheese, 36 bacon and tomato and 6 cheese and tomato. The bacon and tomato was so popular that we quickly assembled a second sheet pan (as expected!). The sandwiches were cut in half to service. That let each diner mix-n-match one, two or three halves as desired.