Mercy Chefs prepare Thanksgiving meal for Middletown, California

Mercy One, Mercy Chefs' first
mobile kitchen, is ready to
serve 500 Thanksgiving dinners
in Middletown.

Mercy Chefs returned to Middletown, California, to serve Thanksgiving dinner Saturday afternoon. A team of chefs from California, North and South Carolina, Oklahoma and Virginia converged on the town to prepare the holiday meal for over 500 townspeople. Middletown was devastated by the 76,000-acre Valley Fire in late September.

Dozens of volunteer chefs stand ready to deploy at a moment's notice to the scene of wildland fires, floods, tornado and hurricanes throughout the United States. They deploy with a mobile kitchen, ready to deliver quality meals to the victims of a natural or man-made disaster. The meals are offered free of charge to anyone who asks.

"In a disaster area to share that meal with somebody is an incredibly powerful tool just to encourage them," said Gary LeBlanc in a 2013 video. Chef LeBlanc is the president and founder of Mercy Chefs

Chef Lisa presented a wonderful
buffet centerpiece.

Mercy Chefs has a tradition of sharing a chef-prepared holiday meal with those who have lost so much in recent disasters. The chefs provide a hot meal, complete with turkey, ham, stuffing and all the fixin's, along with an encouraging word and prayer, to those as they rebuild their lives. This is Mercy Chefs' way of reminding the victims of such devastation that they are not forgotten.

Thanksgiving dinner for Middletown was served from a colorful buffet table under a large white tent. Unlike disaster feeding, where the meal is served out of the mobile kitchen in to-go containers, this meal gave the chefs to present the same meal as they would have done at a catered holiday event. Diners enjoyed linen tablecloths and a pleasant fall day in the mid-70s.

Chef Peter of South Carolina was the lead chef for the meal. He led a team of four chefs over two days of preparation and panning to prepare the Thanksgiving meal, which was served from the buffet over a period of three hours. The team included chef Lisa from Oklahoma, chef Buddy from North Carolina and chef Steven from California.

The menu is presented as it was planned by chef Peter. Some 480 pounds of whole turkeys and over 60 pounds of ham were used for the meal.

MERCY CHEFS' THANKSGIVING CELEBRATION FOR
THE TOWN OF MIDDLETOWN, CALIFORNIA

SALAD

Mixed baby greens with roasted baby tomatoes, mandarin oranges
& slivered almonds tossed in a  citrus vinaigrette

MAIN COURSE

Roast whole turkey with gravy

Ham with an orange honey glaze

Andouille sausage & apple cornbread stuffing

Sweet & spicy cranberry compote

Roasted acorn squash with raisins & brown sugar

Mashed potatoes with pureed cauliflower & skin-on bliss potatoes with Parmesan

Green beans with mushrooms in a soy sauce balsamic reduction

Whole wheat dinner rolls

DESSERTS

Pumpkin tart with caramel

Apple cobbler with pecans

BEVERAGES

Apple juice

Bottled water

German red cabbage for a (large) crowd

I realize not many readers of 'Round the Chuckbox have need for six-plus gallon batch of German red cabbage. Faced with a 50-pound of cabbage last September on my mission to Middletown, California, with Mercy Chefs, the natural thing to do was to prepare a large batch of German red cabbage. The cabbage was served with barbecues beef strips, roasted red potatoes, tossed green salad with vinaigrette and peach cobbler.

Two volunteers cut the core out of 24 large heads of red cabbage. They then shredded it by hand after discarding the outer leaves.

I prepared this dish in the 15-gallon tilt skillet on the Mercy Chefs' 32-foot mobile kitchen trailer, known as Mercy One. The red cabbage can also be prepared in one or more large stockpots or in a steam jacketed kettle. See my recipe for a family-sized batch.

GERMAN RED CABBAGE FOR A (LARGE) CROWD

This is a vegetarian recipe. Add 4 or 5 pounds of diced cooked bacon to the cabbage if desired.

50 pounds (1 case) red cabbage, cored, outer leaves discarded and shredded
2 cups vegetable oil
3 pounds yellow onions, diced small
1/4-cup kosher salt
2 tablespoons ground black pepper
3 quarts apple juice
2 quarts red wine vinegar
2 pounds brown sugar
2 tablespoons ground cloves

Heat oil over medium heat. Add onions. Cover; sweat for about 10 minutes, being careful not to brown. Add shredded cabbage. Season with salt and pepper. Stir to coat with oil and onions.

Add juice, vinegar and cloves. Stir to combine. Cover; simmer for 45 to 60 minutes, or until cabbage is tender. Check seasoning. Adjust flavor with additional vinegar and salt, if needed. Makes 200 (1/2-cup) servings.

Baked French toast for Valley Fire victims

In late September I deployed to Middletown, California, to serve with the Mercy Chefs, where chefs cooked breakfast, lunch and dinner for victims of the Valley Fire. Many of those served had lost everything when the fire storm raged through the community on September 13. Nearly 2,000 structures -- including 1,280 homes -- were destroyed by the fast moving wildland fire.

The chefs served over 2,500 meals during the 10-day deployment from Mercy One, a 32-foot kitchen trailer. The kitchen is based near Dallas, Texas. Chefs and support staff converged on Middletown from homes in California, Colorado, North Carolina, Virginia and Texas toward the end of September.

Once the managing chef posted the menu each day, we set about preparing the different dishes for the next day. Several days into the mission, I saw an excessive amount of biscuits, cinnamon rolls and apple crumb cake in the refrigerator trailer. Quick calculations showed that the leftovers would give us five two-inch hotel pans, enough to feed a filling breakfast to 150 persons.

This recipe for baked French toast is offered as I prepared it for our fourth breakfast. (I posted a recipe for Dutch oven baked orange French toast last year.) I quickly put the formula together after briefly confirming custard ratios on the internet. Note that I didn't add any sugar or syrup to the recipe. I felt the orange juice and berries added sufficient sweetness to the dish.

BAKED FRENCH TOAST WITH MIXED BERRIES

The important thing here is to fill each pan with diced or crumbled biscuits and pastry. I understand that you won't duplicate my mix of leftovers breads. You'll need about three and one-half to four pounds bread for each hotel pan. (Remember the apples in the crumb cake added additional weight to the formula.)

6-1/2 pounds buttermilk biscuits, cut into medium dice
4-1/2 pounds iced cinnamon rolls, cut into medium dice
8-1/4 pounds apple crumb cake, crumbled
10 pounds frozen mixed berries, thawed
2 flats whole eggs (30 eggs per flat)
1 gallon whole milk
6 cups orange juice
1/4 cup ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground nutmeg
1/4 cup vanilla extract
1 tablespoon kosher salt

Lightly grease or spray each 12 by 20 by2-inch hotel pan. Equally divide crumbled/diced biscuits and pastry among five hotel pan. Spread 2 pounds berries over each pan.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and salt together. Evenly pour 6 to 7 cups of the custard over the bread in each pan. Cover and place in the refrigerator overnight.

In the morning, bake in a 350-degree F oven for 45 to 60 minutes, until set and puffed up. Serves 25 to 30. Serve with fresh berries if available and maple syrup.

Spicy Dutch oven breakfast strata

Classic breakfast strata consists of cubed or torn bread, layered with shredded cheeses and bound together with whisked eggs. Meat and vegetables are optional. The mountain man breakfast is a common Dutch oven strata in camp. 

My first thought was to replicate a breakfast strata that we prepared for Mercy Chefs last week in Middletown, California. (I deployed with Mercy Chefs to Middletown to provide quality meals for victims of the Valley Fire.) I was going to layer scratch buttermilk biscuits, sausage, cheese and eggs into the 10-inch Dutch oven and bake for dinner.

Then I though why not use the beef taquitos from the freezer as the base? So, a layer of taquitos fit in the bottom of the Dutch oven. After spooning my salsa rachera over the taquitos, a mixture of crumbled chorizo with green chiles and onion went over the top. Ten eggs with cheddar and jack cheeses made up the final layer. After baking with charcoal for 35 minutes, we are ready to eat.

Cut the taquitos to fit into the Dutch oven. I began by arranging them in the fashion of a wheel spoke, but quickly realized the taquitos would blend into the final dish. Settle on complete coverage, not presentation in this case.

Mixing the eggs and cheese together gives you the best distribution of the cheese. Don't worry when the chorizo mixture rises to the surface. It's all good!

Let the cooked strata rest for about 10 minutes. Resting allows the proteins and starches to set, making the strata more stable before you cut into it. 

SPICY DUTCH OVEN BREAKFAST STRATA

You will need to cut the taquitos to fit in the Dutch oven. Arrange them as desired as they will blend into finished dish.

10-12 frozen beef taquitos
1/2 cup salsa
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 cup diced onion
1 (4-ounce) can diced green chiles
6 ounces pork chorizo, casing removed
10 large eggs
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup shredded Monterrey jack cheese
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Lightly oil (or coat with pan spray) a 10-inch Dutch oven. Arrange beef taquitos in the shape of a wheel spoke. Evenly spoon salsa over the taquitos.

Heat oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté onions and chilies until soft, 2 to 3 minutes. Add chorizo and cook, crumbling with a spoon, until browned. Drain off excess fat.

Meanwhile, crack eggs into a bowl. Add cheddar and jack cheeses and season with salt and pepper. Whisk eggs and cheeses until blended. Evenly pour egg and cheese mixture over taquitos. Place lid on oven.

Bake with coals for 350 degrees until puffed and golden, about 30 to 35 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. To serve, cut into 8 pieces. If desired, serve with your favorite hot pepper sauce or salsa and sour cream on the side.