Trimming the budget

At my place of employment, the kitchen is allotted a set budget each month. With just over $5 per resident per day, the money must cover food purchases, along with paperware and smallware purchases.

When I overspend in one area, I must adjust the budget in other areas in order to stay within must allotted funds for the month. It doesn't matter if the excessive spending is due to my mismanagement or for a special function. I still have to keep my spending under control.

As of last Friday, I was about $250 in deficit after purchasing food for a special Easter event. That means that I would spend about $250 oven my anticipated expenditures for April if I didn't compensate elsewhere.

Although I may be able to justify the extra expense, I instead elected to adjust the budget for each of the four remaining weeks in April, as follows:

• Cut $60 from a planned purchase at a local big box store
• Reduce the weekly Smart and Final shopping trip by $25, for a total of $100
• Reduce the second semi-monthly Sysco drop by $100

I may have to forgo my planned shopping trip to the local restaurant supply store this month. Either way, I'll wait until the end of the month. I'll have a better view of the fiscal picture by then.

Dead mule sourdough biscuits, part 2

Continued from yesterday ...

I'll let Stella continue the story in her own words:

"Rowdy was directly behind Preacher John, a cantankerous jack who brayed loud and often, when a rock squirrel skittered onto the trail, saw the mules, became confused and foolishly darted between Rowdy's feet.

"That did it! The little mule climbed right on top of Preacher John's back. The Preacher humped up and let fly with both hind feet, catching Rowdy under the chin with one shod hoof.

"That hurt! Rowdy spun half around, collided with Little Orphan Annie behind him, and in the melee fell off the trail and tumbled end over end a hundred yards down the mountain. The pack came loose, and pots and pans, knives and forks fell like metallic rain among the chollas and rocks."

It was immediately evident to Jeff and Herman that Rowdy was dead, laying at the bottom of the canyon with "his head ... twisted sharply under his shoulder ..." The pair set about that task of salvaging what they could from the wreck and moving the pack train up to the camp.

Each reacted differently to the accident. Jeff seems to have had a soft spot in his heart for the cantankerous mule. "Jess felt bad about loosing the spunky old mule," wrote Stella.

Herman seems to have channeled his grief toward his precious starter, now plastered all over the canyon. Stella continued, "Old Herman was beside himself with grief over loosing his sourdough starter."

Not one to mourn the loss of Rowdy, Herman jumped into action while Jeff tended to the surviving animals. His immediate concern turned to recovering as much of the starter as he could.

No cook, regardless of his reputation, wanted to serve flat biscuits, those devoid of any life. Even rough and tumble cowboys had a hart time devouring biscuits that have more value as a weapon than sustenance.

Next comes my favorite paragraph in Chuck Wagon Cookin'. It's not a favorite because I relish eating contaminated biscuits.

I enjoy the story because it embodies the character of the Old West. Some cooks did what was necessary to get the job done, even when it meant scooping a working sourdough started from the carcass of a dead mule.

Like Jeff, who watched Herman's sourdough started rescue operation, I would've skipped his biscuits the next morning. Jeff knew from experience that Herman's biscuits were suspect.

What Jeff observed next was enough to sure him of eating Herman's biscuits forever. Let's join Stella as she finishes the story:

"Old Herman was still working around Rowdy's body, busy with a pan and a large ladle he'd managed to salvage. Jeff then relates in wonder the scene he witnessed. For old Herman was scraping sourdough that had spilled onto Rowdy's face, covering the little mule's head with a messy shroud.

"Herman managed to get several spoonfuls of the stuff into his pan and climbed back over the cactus and boulders to his horse, with a triumphant smile on his bearded face.

"Next morning, in camp, old Herman served sourdough biscuits to the crew as usual. All except Jeff, who passed."

This is one of many stories in Chuck Wagon Cookin', a book that celebrates the lore from a bye-gone era, often learned in the "College of Dutch Oven Cookery."

Biscuits anyone?

Dead mule sourdough biscuits

I've always held a special place in my heart for those with whom I share a birthday. Among those is camp cook and celebrated horsewoman Stella Hughes.

Unfortunately, I didn't learn of our association until 15 months after her death. Stella died at 92 in her adapted state of Arizona on December 16, 2008.

"Stella could feed 100 hungry people as easily as she could a small dinner party," wrote writer Suzie Cox in the Eastern Arizona Courier.

"She worked hard right alongside [husband and stockman] Mack [Hughes], many times helping to drive the cattle on long drives down the Nantac Rim to Calva, always packing a camera along to document the day."

I first learned of Stella over 10 years ago when I found a copy of Chuck Wagon Cookin’ in a Placerville used book store. The University of Arizona Press first published the book in 1974.

More than a collection of 112 recipes, many of which come from an era of down-home cooking, are the stories of chuckwagon cooking on the range. Like Ramon F. Adams' Come and Get It: The Story of the Old Cowboy Cook, Chuck Wagon Cookin’ is a must-read for anyone interested in the lore of Old West wagon cooking.

Belated news of Stella’s passing gave me a chance to take a fresh look at her story of the range cook that "rescued" a few drops of sourdough starter from the carcass of a mule named Rowdy. The story "points out most vividly to what great lengths a cook would go in order to perpetrate his precious starter," said Stella.

Sometime in the late-1920s, the JF Ranch, located in the Superstition Mountains east of the Phoenix metropolitan area, moved the roundup kitchen throughout the rugged range via pack train. The train packed the "cook’s kitchen, cowboy’s bedrolls, horse feed, the whole works."

Like all cowboy cooks of the day, JF's cook, a less than clean character only identified as "Herman, an old Dutchman," kept his sourdough starter in a large earthen crock, "tucked carefully in a corner of one pack box" on Rowdy’s back. The lid to Herman’s crock was tied on with a "less than clean towel."

As the primary leavening agent for biscuits, pancakes and bread, the cook guarded his precious keg of sourdough. "The loss of a starter was classified as a major calamity."

Rowdy was one of a number of "'characters,' mostly bad," from among the mules owned by the JF. For months, Rowdy would act the part of a perfect pack mule. Once the mule-skinner relaxed, said Stella, "Rowdy would pull his caper."

On this day, Herman accompanied cowboy Jeff Lauderdale, one of the hired hands of the JF. Jeff told the story to Stella sometime in the intervening years.

Several hours out of the ranch, the pack string approached an "extremely narrow and steep" section of the trail. One slip of the hoof would send the pack animals hurling down to the rocky canyon below, a fall of several hundred feet.

To be continued ...

Fire control

No, CS1 Sugai isn't on fire!

U.S. Navy Culinary Specialist 1st Class Jason Sugai controls a fire at Fort Lee Va., on March 6, 2010. CS1 Sugai represents Team U.S. Navy in the Contemporary and Practical category in the 35th Culinary Arts Competition.

U.S. Army photo by Spec. Phil Kernisan.

Coast Guard breaks Army hold on culinary competition

By Petty Officer 3rd Class Mark Jones

The Coast Guard has, for the last four years, hand-picked and sent eight food service specialists to represent the entire Coast Guard against the greatest gastronomical talents of the U.S. military at the Annual Culinary Arts Competition at Fort Lee, Va.

Teams that attend the competition travel from all over the world, and most come from single units or installations. Many of them train together consistently for months at a time and have been competing year after year.

The Coast Guard team met each other for the first time at this year's competition, but that didn't stop them from becoming the first non-Army team in 35 years to place in the top three in the event's most prestigious Installation of The Year competition. The team earned third place.

According to Petty Officer 2nd Class Ed Fuchs, the teams captain, all interested and qualified food service specialists were solicited to apply for the team by submitting command-endorsed packages including detailed information about how good they are at what they do.

Senior Chief Petty Officer Justin Reed, an administrator of the competition and also a competitor in previous years, personally selected the members based on criteria such as what they have done in the Coast Guard, what they have done before joining and outside the Coast Guard, what schools and training they have attended and what their strong points are.

"We got more involved," said Reed. "We put our heads together and we wanted to show other services that we can do it – that we've got the skill level. We entered last year and placed fifth, so we knew we had a chance to get it this year."

The week-long event comprised several individual and team competitions in skills such as hot and cold food preparation; a field kitchen exercise in which five-person teams were required to cook a four-course meal for 80 using an army burner, a water truck, and a tent; "mystery basket" competitions which required the chef to prepare an artful and nutritious meal out of randomly selected food items placed in a covered basket; an ice-carving competition; and others.

Participants competed against a standard, and how they did against that standard determined whether they earned a medal for the event. Each gold, silver, or bronze medal earned added a set number of points to the overall team score in the Installation of The Year competition. The Coast Guard's team earned a total of 17 gold, 12 silver, and three bronze medals.

"We medaled in every event that we competed in," said Petty Officer 1st Class Stephen Bishop, a member of Team Coast Guard.

"Third place in four years – some of these teams have been doing it for 35 years," Reed said. "For us to reach third place in four years is unbelievable, but we did it. To me, it's incredible what we've accomplished."

"Last year we were fifth, this year we're third," Reed said. "First place is almost within reach."

Photo caption: The U.S. Coast Guard's FSC2 Edward Fuchs separates mussels during the second day of the Field Competition held March 6. The field competition was of several cooking events that took place during the 34th Army Culinary Arts Competition held at Fort Lee March 2-13. (U.S. Army photograph by T. Anthony Bell).

Eatin' on the range ...

Here's an interesting tidbit from The Outing Magazine in 1911:

The difficult-to-please Easterner who drops in at Delmonico's or the Cafe Martin and glowers through the list of dishes in search of a fresh delicacy to tempt his appetite would receive something of a jolt if he should be confronted suddenly with the menu of an Arizona cowboy. It runs about like this:

BREAKFAST
(at 5 a. m.)
Fried Veal Steak
Potatoes, fried raw
Sour-dough Biscuit
Coffee

DINNER
(at 11 or 12)
Fried Veal Steak
Fried Potatoes
Cold Sour-dough Biscuit
Coffee

SUPPER
(anywhere from 4 o'clock on)
Fried Veal Steak
Fried Potatoes

Source: The Outing Magazine, October 1911 (Volume 58, No. 1), page 714.

"Outing was a late-nineteenth- and early twentieth-century American magazine covering a variety of sporting activities. It began publication in 1882 as the Wheelman and had four title changes before ceasing publication in 1923," according to Wikipedia.

You needs no teef to eat my beef ... part 2

Leonard "Wagon Cook" Sanders posted this photo of his 400-pound smoker on Camp-Cook.com Saturday. It reminded me of an article that I wrote for Suite101.com in 2001.

Sanders is the chef/owner of the Chuckwagon BBQ Company in Oroville, California.

Click to read part 1 of the story.

The camp kitchen

Sanders is a master of his decade-old trade and camp kitchen, which includes a 300-pound Bushrods smoker (that's pounds of meat, not steel) that's full of pork butt with a spicy barbecue rub. A few feet away, stands a line of 12- and 14-inch Dutch ovens with cornbread and scalloped potatoes. And hanging from a 14-foot set of irons is no. 8 Lodge Dutch ovens with sweet rice pudding.

Sanders' signature dish for the evening -- pinto beans with ham hocks -- hang over red-hot coals in two no. 10 Lodge Dutch ovens (the kind with rounded lids and flat bottom). The beans were the hit of the evening, because in Sanders' words, "People just don't take time to cook them anymore."

They've the "best beans we ever made," says Sanders. At the last minute he dumped leftover breakfast sausage, ham and bacon into the beans.

But be warned Sanders' beans don't favor those with tender noses. He's aptly named them Gossiping Beans, so-called, "'Cuz the beans are pleasant to your face, but then they talk behind your back."

Sanders became a cowboy in the early 1990s to fulfill a life-long dream. By the time the new millennium dawned, he said, "I don't want to be a cowboy any more." He had worked "until I got it out of my system."

A cowboy does more than punch cows, Sanders learned along the trail. As his decade-long quest subsided, he says that he farmed hay, irrigated fields, mended fences and repaired ranch machinery. And he cooked over the open fire at roundup time.

So you might say that being a camp cook is the realization of Sanders' cowboy dream. After all, old cowboys don't die. They become camp cooks.

You needs no teef to eat my beef ...

Leonard "Wagon Cook" Sanders posted this photo of his 400-pound smoker on Camp-Cook.com Saturday. It reminded me of an article that I wrote for Suite101.com in 2001.

Sanders is the chef/owner of the Chuckwagon BBQ Company in Oroville, California.

You might wonder how a man who tended boilers on a Navy destroyer during the Vietnam War, changed tires in his father's Oroville tire shop and wrangled cattle at a Sierra Nevada cattle ranch became a professional camp cook.

You'd expect him to be driving the lead wagon in a living history event instead. When you ponder Leonard Sanders' adult life, he's the quintessential camp cook.

Leonard has followed the in the foot steps of hundreds of trail drive and roundup cooks -- men (and a few women) who had taken up cooking after their cow punching days reached the end of the trail.

Like the Nineteenth Century chuckwagon cook, Sanders has no formal training in the culinary arts. That's unless you reckon the endless hours reading Ramon F. Adam's Come An' Get It: The Story of the Old Cowboy Cook as "formal training."

Dozens of Dutch oven and cowboy cookbooks -- like those by Stella Hughes (Chuck Wagon Cookin' and Bacon and Beans) and sisters Sue Cunningham and Jean Cates (Chuckwagon Recipes and Others) -- have shaped his style and chuckwagon fare.

Evolution of a wagon cook

I caught up with Sanders at the encampment of the 2001 Historic Sonora Pass Wagon Train at Kennedy Meadows.

Located on a 15-foot bluff overlooking the Middle Fork of the Stanislaus River, Sanders' large frame donned a black and white plaid flannel shirt tucked neatly inside a pair of bib coveralls.

With a black broad, flat-brimmed cowboy hat squarely fitted on his head, the camp cook's straightforward approach to camp cooking keeps some 60 living historians filled meal after meal.

Sanders started barbecuing in Santa Maria some 20 years ago. For this cowboy-turned-camp-cook, Santa Maria, located just inland from the Central California coast, was ideal. The Santa Maria Valley is home to some of California's oldest cattle ranches and tri-tip barbecue and deep-pit cookery.

Like Sanders' cooking, Santa Maria style barbecue is known for its simplicity. It's prime cuts of beef roasted over the coals of red oak wood and seasoned with salt, pepper and garlic.

Then about 1985, Sanders purchased his first Dutch oven. Today, this oven has grown into a collection of "about 50." When asked what prompted him to start cooking in the black cast iron pots, Sanders only says that it's "historic research" into cowboy life.

It was a book like Adam's Come An' Get It that probably inspired Sanders. Sometime after reading about the camp cook of Western lore, he was asked to cook for a cattle roundup and branding in the foothills above Oroville, Calif. Cowhands ate his food, and to his surprise, "Nobody died."

Next word of his camp cooking spread throughout Butte County. The food must've been good. First it was a wedding of a cowboy to a cowgirl.

Today, Sanders caters several large events throughout the year. They all have one thing in common: Each event celebrates the Western lifestyle.

To be continued ...

I know times are tough ...

I found this note on the bulletin board at the Missouri Flat Road parking lot for the El Dorado Trail. The address has been removed to protect the innocent.

Flank steak

Flank is one of my favorite beef cuts ...

SEOUL, Republic of Korea (Feb. 28, 2010) -- Chef Trevor Hamilton prepares grilled flank steaks at the Navy Club for single Sailors stationed in Seoul, Republic of Korea. Since 1999, Hamilton has been a part of the Adopt-a-Ship program, a partnership between Naval Supply Systems Command and the American Culinary Federation.

U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Bobbie G. Attaway.

This old pot

This old pot
Originally uploaded by SeabeeCook

I love these old stockpots. Unlike a new out-of-the-box pot, this one at last week's 1st Annual Hangtown Winter Fest '10 matches the character of many of the competitors.

Rough and unkept on the outside, many are sweet people who have hearts full of kindness on the inside.

The pot's rough exterior -- tarnished from boiling over on top of an untamed propane flame -- shed light on its contents.

Full of simmering water when I shot the picture, I suspect the pot has been used to dissolve salt and sugar for a brine in the past. Or it may be from a lively pot of chili, one that boiled over when the cook's attention turned toward something else.

I didn't get a chance to talk to the owner of the stockpot. I suspect that the team was presenting its entry for beef brisket to the judges when I took the picture.

My only advise to the pot's owner: Please don't clean it exterior. It has too much character to srub it away!

Hangtown Winter Fest '10

Louis and Stephanie Hudson of North Highlands, California pause for the camera moments before turning their beef brisket entry in to the judges.

Lou and Stephanie smoked a 13-pound brisket throughout the early morning hours of Sunday, February 14 for the 1st Annual Hangtown Winter Fest '10 in Placerville.

I first met the couple at Oinktoberfest in Oroville, California last October. Lou is currently a culinary arts student at Le Cordon Blue College of Culinary Arts in Sacramento.

"The only reason I'm going to school is to learn the restaurant and catering business," said Hudson.

A "stage lighting designer" by day, Hudson looks forward to the day that he can open a barbecue restaurant in his native Redding, California.

Broccoli spear cooker

I buy a 24-pound case of broccoli spears from Sysco ever week or two at work. With 12 (2-pound) packages, the case gives me four meals for the residents.

Over my career I've learned that you don't want to dump three packages into a stockpot of boiling water. Half the broccoli will be overcooked. The other half will be underdone

In the fully equipped kitchen, the cook steams the broccoli inside a high-pressure steamer. Since I feed two-dozen residents out of a home-style kitchen, I had to re-think my broccoli cooking process.

As shown in the photograph, I set a steamer up on the range top, as follows:

• Place 4-inch hotel pan with 1-quart water over two burners
• Set 2-inch perforated hotel pan inside the 4-inch pan
• Place 3 (2-pound) packages of broccoli spears inside the pan
• Cover broccoli with lid or aluminum foil
• Turn both burners on high and steam broccoli for 5 to 10 minutes; reduce heat to medium once the water boils
• Gently separate broccoli spears with a pair of tongs
• Continue cooking until done

The 2-inch hotel pan next to the broccoli is baked macaroni and cheese.

Pasta shells with roasted broccoli and walnuts

Pasta salad is currently on the menu at work one time each week. When I started in December, I quickly discovered that the residents had tired of the vinaigrette-based salad.

To offer variety, I often morph the salad into a hot pasta dish every other week. This gives me the opportunity to experiment with a full range of different flavors.

Successful tests will be incorporated into the new menu, which will feature one pasta dish for lunch each week.

Spaghetti puttanesca filled the void twice in the past two weeks. While popular, the sharp bite of the puttanesca isn't universally accepted.

Today's pasta dish came from an article that I clipped in the doctor's office last year. The photograph of the dark green roasted broccoli in a bed of pasta shells caught my attention.

Since I was looking for vegetarian entrees at the time, I clipped the recipe and filed it in my large recipe binder.

As often happens, the recipe sat in the binder for a year. I had intended to use it at Deer Crossing Camp this past summer.

The recipe could've made a good inter-session dish. The crew would've enjoyed the rich blending of broccoli and walnuts roasted in olive oil with garlic.

It's a fair compromise when you feed a significant number of vegetarians, as I did during inter-session at Deer Crossing.

PASTA SHELLS WITH ROASTED BROCCOLI AND WALNUTS

To use frozen broccoli spears, steam until cooked about halfway. Cut the stems off the broccoli. Reserve the stems and cooking liquid for cream of broccoli soup.

Roast as directed. Since the semi-cooked florets will be moist, the roasting process may take a few minutes longer.

2-1/2 pounds pasta shells
6 pounds broccoli, cut into small florets
2 cups walnuts, roughly chopped
1 cup olive oil
8 cloves garlic, minced
Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup melted unsalted butter
1 cup grated Parmesan

Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Reserve 2 cups of the cooking water, drain the pasta and return it to the pot.

Meanwhile, toss the broccoli, walnuts, oil, garlic, 2 teaspoons kosher salt and 1 teaspoon pepper together. Pour onto a sheet pan. Roast in a 400-degree F oven until the broccoli is tender, about 20 minutes.

Toss the pasta with the broccoli mixture, butter and 1 cup of the reserved pasta water. (Add more water if the pasta seems dry.) Sprinkle with the Parmesan before serving.

Serves 24 portions.

Camouflage uniform at sea?

I worn the camouflage uniform during my last eight or nine years in the Seabee reserve as a chief petty officer.

At the time, Seabee leadership welcomed the change from the olive drab utility uniform. It helped us blend in with the U.S. Marines on the battlefield. This was important during Operation Dessert Storm because our old uniform resembled those of the Iraqi army.

While I comprehend camouflage uniforms for the land forces, I'm puzzled by the Navy's recent conversion to camouflage. Why do sailors, especially those who spend the better part of a career on board ships, require a multi-colored uniform?

The answer comes from New-Navy-Uniform.com:

The concept uniforms are not intended to be ‘camouflage’ uniforms as is the case with similarly patterned uniforms of the other services. We have no need for camouflage. However, by learning from our past working uniforms as well as the uniforms from other services, the Navy realized that a solid cover uniform shows heavy wear areas much more predominantly than a multicolored pattern.

The solid color uniforms also show wrinkles in the fabric more predominantly and often a small stain or spot of paint renders a solid colored uniform not wearable. A multicolored uniform alleviates those problems as well.

This old chief doesn't buy into the whole idea of a pristine working uniform. After all, they're "working uniforms." That implies that the wearer will soil his uniform.

The new Navy Working Uniform -- even with a blue-grey camouflage pattern -- doesn't fit in with naval tradition. Blue chambray starts and dungaree trousers have served the Navy well.

In the photograph, Culinary Specialist 1st Class Richard Rieth, assigned to the guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain (DDG 56), looks through the different components of the Navy Working Uniform at the Navy Exchange uniform shop at Fleet Activities Yokosuka on February 10, the first day the uniform was available in Navy Region Japan.

U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Dominique Pineiro.

Dutch oven cookoffs for Northern California, Southern Oregon and Western Nevada

Here is Don Mason's 2010 list of Dutch oven cookoffs in Northern California. Originally intended to broadcast cookoffs in the north state, Don has expanded it to include events in Southern Oregon and Western Nevada.

Check with the contact person for applications, rules and maps and to make sure dates and times are correct.

Camp cook job opening

For anyone looking for a camp cook job in Northern California, the Silver Lake Campers Association is looking to staff the High Sierra Family Camp this summer. The camp is located at the west end of Silver Lake, just to the south of State Route 88.

The camp has immediate need for two cooks and two prep cooks. An ad in the Gold Country Craigslist reports that the positions run from July to August 16, 2010. The job may extended beyond August 16 if there's a need.

In addition to room and board, the cooks are paid $1,800 per month. The monthly salary for the prep cook is $1,400. Submit your resume to silverlakestocktoncamp@gmail.com if interested in one of the positions. (I don't have any connection to the camp.)

According to the ad, the morning cook works from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. The cook prepares breakfast and lunch, plus overseeing the duties of other kitchen personnel and meal planning.

The evening cook works 12:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. The cook prepares dinner, plus overseeing the duties of other kitchen personnel and meal planning.

The prep cooks work 6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. or 12:30 p.m. to – 8 p.m. Prep cooks work under the direction of the shift cook. Duties include food preparation, salad bar set-up, food service and kitchen cleaning. The prep-cook replaces the shift cook on his/her day off.

The cooks and prep cooks work six days per week.

"The Silver Lake Campers Association is a nonprofit group that has worked to support the City of Stockton’s operation of Silver Lake Family Camp for more than 50 years," reports their website. "In the past, the Association has provided 'those little extras' that enhance the Family Camp experience."

City officials approved the association's proposal in 2009 to operate the camp in the wake of the city's decision to not open the facility this year.

Fears that the "facility would fall into disrepair and be subjected to vandalism if the city stopped operating the camp even for a year" prompted the group to shift its focus from fund raising to operating the camp, reported a March 24, 2009 article at Recordnet.com.

The City of Stockton has operated the camp since it opened in 1922 under permit with Eldorado National Forest.

"Wouldn't you like to spend your off time fishing, hiking or just relaxing in this scenic area?" asked the job 2009 ad.

British Army chef connects with his inner-Spam

Here's a story that belongs in the annals of World War II, when Spam was a common feature on the mess trays of Soldiers, Sailors and Marines in the Pacific Theater.

Being at the front line of a war zone brings countless hardships.

But Britain's brave Armed Forces are justly famous for their resourcefulness in times of adversity.

And one heroic figure surely deserves a medal for maintaining morale in Afghanistan among the soldiers of the 2nd Royal Welsh Guards - on a 42-day diet of Spam.

Army chef Corporal Liam Francis refused to surrender when food supplies were interrupted by Taliban fighters for six weeks.

With almost no gastronomic ammunition to hand, the 26-year-old opened tin after tin of the chopped pork and ham and produced a series of dishes to rival the famous Monty Python Spam sketch.

"I was surprised what we could do: Sweet and sour Spam, Spam fritters, Spam carbonara, Spam stroganoff and Spam stir fry," said the father of one from Tidworth, Wiltshire.

"We were on compo [field rations] for six weeks and we only had one menu - Spam."

But he added that the troops were relieved when fresh supplies finally arrived. "The first day off Spam, I prepared battered sausages, chips and curry sauce," he said. "The Sergeant Major said it was the best meal he had ever had."

Corporal Francis, who serves as a Royal Logistics Corp chef attached to the 2nd Royal Welsh Guards, began his tour of Afghanistan in July.

He was forced into emergency action at the Forward Operating Base in Sangin when Taliban fighters shot down a civilian supply helicopter the day before he arrived, leaving him without the usual beef burgers, chicken, sausages and fish and chips.

Yesterday his proud mother Pat, 65, from Bristol, said of her married son: "I was amazed when I heard the story about serving the troops using nothing but Spam because he hates the stuff.

"He would never have eaten it if I'd served it to him, that's for sure."

Source: Luke Salkeld, "Operation Spamalot: After Taliban hit supplies, Army chef serves up 42 days of Spam," DailyMail.co.uk, February 5, 2010.

1,000 articles and counting ...

While one-thousand blog articles in five years may not form the basis for an earth shattering record, it's a significant milestone for me personally. 'Round the Chuckbox represents my longest running writing project.

Prior to the establishment of 'Round the Chuckbox on February 4, 2005, my average writing project would fall apart in its second year. I was beginning to worry if I had it in me to stick with one project for the long term.

I pulled the plug on each of a dozen projects for various reasons. Lack of capital forced me to cease publication of my most ambitious project in early 1999.

I published the Seabee Log, a journal that "celebrated Seabee wit and ingenuity through history," between 1997 and 1999.

Some, like the Seventeen Stewburner, a quarterly newsletter for the cooks of Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 17 in 1992 and 1993, came to a close when I moved on to my next assignment.

But most projects fell for less valid reasons. I usually lost interest and quit writing or contributing to the project around the 18-month mark. That's what happened when Suite101.com stopped paying its contributing editors in 2001.

When I conceived the idea for 'Round the Chuckbox in late 2004, my concern was that I'd loose interest sometime in 2006. Another writing project would fail.

But something happened. Writing for 'Round the Chuckbox. I posted a steady stream of blog articles for the next eight months. Even after my productivity fell off in the winter, I surprised myself.

I kept writing and posting recipes. I currently have no plans to let 'Round the Chuckbox die a premature death. I'll keep writing as long as I'm able.

'Round the Chuckbox has become a natural extension of my work as a chef and cook in the world of non-commercial food service. I enjoy cooking for residential populations (like my current position in a drug-alcohol treatment program).

As long as I'm able to cook and write, I trust that you'll continue to find the blog interesting. Please drop a note. I'd always enjoy hearing from my viewers.

5th anniversary

Today marks the fifth anniversary of 'Round the Chuckbox. And I'll post my 1,000th blog article tomorrow, which is the fifth anniversary of my first blog article. See you then.

In the meanwhile, enjoy a photograph of me that was taken last summer at Deer Crossing Camp.

Another culinary photographer

BODEN, Haiti (Jan. 26, 2010) Sailors assigned to the guided-missile cruiser USS Normandy (CG 60) deliver humanitarian supplies in Boden, Haiti. Normandy is supporting Operation Unified Response following a 7.0 magnitude earthquake that caused severe damage in Haiti Jan. 12.

U.S. Navy Photo by Culinary Specialist 2nd Class George Disario.

Spaghetti puttanesca

I made spaghetti puttanesca for the residents at work for lunch today. Out of respect for the women, I called it "spaghetti with a lot of stuff in it!"

The residents enjoyed garlic, tomatoes, roasted red peppers, pepperoncinis, olives and olive oil tossed in with spaghetti. The sharp bite, which is characteristic of the dish, made it a hit.

I enjoy cooking the dish because it's easily modified to accommodate ingredients in stock. Since I don't stock anchovies or capers, I left them out. Two ingredients that I stock in the pantry -- roasted red peppers and sliced pepperoncini peppers -- enhanced the pasta dish.

Spaghetti puttanesca is a good fall-winter dish for the menu when imported produce is expensive and California-grown produce is non-existent.

SPAGHETTI PUTTANESCA

This recipe re-printed from Professional Cooking, 4th edition. My version eliminated the anchovies and added 1/2 (28-ounce) roasted red peppers (chopped) and 1 cup sliced pepperoncini peppers to the recipe.

3-1/2 pounds tomatoes
2 ounces olive oil
5 cloves garlic, minced
15 anchovy fillets, chopped
3 tablespoons capers, drained
5 ounces black olives
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 ounce olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 pounds spaghetti

Peel, seed and dice tomatoes. Let them stand in a colander to drain moisture. If using canned tomatoes, drain and chop coarsely.

Heat olive oil in a saute over moderate heat. Add garlic and saute for a minute. Add anchovy fillets and saute for a few seconds.

Add tomatoes, capers and olives. Bring to a boil and cook 2 to 3 minutes.

Remove from heat. Add oregano, parsley and second quantity of olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Boil spaghetti, drain, toss with the sauce and serve immediately. Grated cheese is usually not served with this dish. Portion 12-ounce servings.

NOTE: "Spaghetti a la puttanesca (whore's spaghetti) is a spicy, tangy and somewhat salty Italian pasta dish that culinary experts regard as modern and reflects the bounty of the market rather than the garden. The ingredients are inexpensive, easy to find and typically Mediterranean. Italians refer to the sauce as sugo alla puttanesca" (Wikipedea, January 23, 2010).

Coppers

Steam-jacketed kettles are called coppers in the U.S. Navy.

GULF OF OMAN (Jan. 30, 2010) -- Culinary Specialist Seaman Apprentice Kiley Margenson prepares lunch for the crew of the guided-missile cruiser USS Hue City (CG 66). Hue City is deployed with the Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group to support maritime security operations in the U.S. 5th and 6th Fleet areas of responsibility.

U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Matthew Bookwalter.

Roasted red pepper salsa for hamburgers

Hamburgers are on the menu once each week at work. The burgers usually appear early in the week on the four-week cycle menu. Hot dogs, grilled sandwiches and pasta dishes fill the remaining lunches.

As you might guess, the residents have expressed boredom with the current menu. Since I'm obligated to follow the approved menu, I add interest by paring a relish or salsa with the sandwich lunches.

Last Thursday a roasted red pepper salsa accompanied the grilled hamburger. I served it on the side so the residents had a choice.

The spicy salsa served two purposes. It helped make up for the lack of cheese on the hamburger. (I didn't have enough inventory.)

It also gave the ladies an additional layer of flavor on the hamburger. It gave the sandwich an uplifting flavor profile while helping the residents avoid unwanted calories.

I plan to keep the roasted red pepper salsa when I write the new menu. One salsa or relish will be featured with each sandwich. The three hamburger lunches (reduced from four) will feature:

• Roasted red pepper salsa with cheddar cheese
• Green chili salsa with Monterrey jack cheese
• Sauteed mushroom & sweet onions with Swiss cheese

Sliced onion and tomato, pickle chips and lettuce with all the condiments are still available to residents who want to assemble a traditional hamburger.

ROASTED RED PEPPER SALSA

Use canned roasted red peppers if desired. To roast the sweet peppers, follow directions below.

4 roasted red bell peppers, chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt and pepper, to taste

Combine ingredients. Season with salt and ground black pepper to taste. Serve immediately. Makes about 2 cups.

To roast red bell peppers: Blacken skins of bell peppers under a broiler or over the flame of a gas burner. Place blackened peppers in a zipper lock bag and seal closed. Leave for 5 minutes so the steam helps to lift the skin from flesh.

When peppers are cool enough to handle, pierce a hole in the bottom of each and squeeze out the juices into a bowl. Peel, core and seed the peppers, then finely chop with a knife. Add reserved juices to the salsa.

Steaming toward El Dorado, California

This article is reprinted from the fall 2009 issue of The Dispatch, the official newsletter of the El Dorado Western Railway Foundation. This a project that I'm actively involved with in my role as vice-president of the El Dorado Western Railway Foundation.

Steaming toward El Dorado
County Supervisors approve concept plan for El Dorado County railroad park
By Keith Berry, President

The long awaited moment has now occurred. The El Dorado County Railroad Park concept plan has been approved!

Over the past years, we have searched for a site to establish exhibit and operational trackage for our rail logging artifacts. Several sites were evaluated but could not be developed for a variety of reasons.

Our growingly difficult challenge was to locate a site where the local community would support our plan, and a site with rail in place to shorten the development timeframe.

The site would also require public access, be close to U.S. Highway 50, yet be reflective of a pastoral setting reflective of the age of logging railroad activity in El Dorado County.

Such a site was found along the old Southern Pacific Placerville Branch adjacent to the township of El Dorado, now designated as a transportation corridor featuring multiple recreational formats.

During the summer months, we worked with our Museum Director Mary Cory to assemble our concept plan including a detailed site plan drawing by Harold Kiser. During August, this plan was carried thru the Joint Powers Authority and the County Board of Supervisors by Supervisor Jack Sweeney.

Final plan development was assigned to the County Department of Transportation for survey work, utility verification, road access evaluation, and coordination with other corridor recreational stake holders including trails and visiting rail groups.

Given full support by the community, recreation commission, and trails groups, approval was achieved with unanimous votes! A vital resource was the concept watercolor volunteered by ANOVA Architects.

While all this was going on, we had the opportunity to "glean" the rail materials from the old Diamond Springs Yard, adjacent to Missouri Flat Road. This project permitted the reuse of approximate three-fourths of a mile of track and switches at El Dorado, and cleared the area for public trail development along the right of way to the east.

A tremendous effort was put forth by all volunteers and friends to accomplish the disassembly and transport of tons of materials in the course of several weeks during the dog day heat of summer.

Thank you to all who came to work and kept with it until this valuable inventory was protected and protected for the future recreational benefit of our community.

Currently, we are waiting for a property survey to verify the actual boundary lines, this very much in our favor to recover the entire right of way to public use. The fire season is almost over; we can then address the current unkept weedy nature of the area.

Railroad work will commence with replacement of rotted ties along a 1,500-foot section north from the old station site, this to allow use in 2010.

As this work will soon commence, while we continue to restore equipment, we encourage all volunteer support, we need your help in a variety of ways.

Our moment has arrived!

Fresh tomato salsa, part 2

Since I posted the recipe for Fresh Tomato Salsa, I've had an opportunity to work up several ways to alter or enhance the recipe. The simple addition or substitution of one or more ingredients can change the character of the salsa. In the end you'll be rewarded with a new salsa experince.

Here are several possibilities to enhance the recipe for Fresh Tomato Salsa:

• Smokin' hot -- Toss one or two chipotle chilies into the blender or food processor bowl. Add more or less to suit you tolerance for a smoky salsa. Start with one chipotle and taste before adding a second. You want to add an smoky flavor, not overpower the salsa.
• Mix it up -- By itself, the jalapeno provides a nice layer of spicy richness to the salsa. But in culinary terms, more is often better. Experiment -- blend two or three different chili varieties, like Anaheim, jalapeno and serrano.
• Go green -- Why not change direction (and color)? Go green with chili verde. Substitute an equal number of tomatillos for the tomatoes. Follow recipe direction for roasting.

Instead of roasting the salsa ingredients in a skillet, you can roast the tomatoes (or tomatillos), chilies and garlic under the broiler. Cut the tomatoes and chilies in half and lay them on a lightly oiled sheet pan. Broil for five to seven minutes, or until caramelized. Then place all ingredients in the blender or food processor bowl and process.

Cutting tomatoes

CSSN Hooker has set a cutting board inside a full-sized sheetpan to contain runoff from the tomatoes. Most cooks place a wet cloth or paper towel between the sheetpan and counter to stabilize the cutting board.

OKINAWA, Japan (Jan. 24, 2010) -- Culinary Specialist Seaman Olivia Hooker slices tomatoes for lunch aboard the forward-deployed amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD 2). Essex is the lead ship of the only forward-deployed expeditionary strike group and serves as the flagship for Combined Task Force (CTF) 76.

U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Matthew A. Ebarb.

Five-second rule

When the cooks on the USS Robison (DDG-12) dropped a pork chop onto the deck in the galley, the offending cook called out, "I just changed the wax paper."

I suppose the lighthearted remark eased the guilt of scooping the round, preformed chop off the deck and tossing it back onto the griddle.

In defense of the Robison's galley team, there was little chance for bacteria to catch a ride to the griddle and contaminate the rest of the meal. Quick action on the cook's part limited the time the chop rested on the deck.

Plus, the deck was scrubbed after each meal, a process that washed bacteria down the drain. The cooks ran a tight ship in the sanitation sense of the word.

While our process called for decisive action, it won't work in today's kitchen. No one uses wax paper any longer.

I found the answer on Facebook this afternoon. Friend and fellow chef Ira Krizo posted a link to the five-second rule decision tree.

I traced the photograph back to the San Francisco Food Blog (SFoodie).

We've all been there: You dropped your cupcake on the ground. Did it land icing up, down? Can you just scrape off the icing? How many hours have you lost trying to decide? Here's a time-saving flow chart to help out. (Andrew Wright, "You Dropped Food on the Floor. Do You Eat It?" January 19, 2010.)

There you have it. Commit it to memory. Next time you drop a pork chop (or cupcake) onto the floor, you can quickly determine if it's edible or not.

Since cats weren't allowed on the the Robison, it looks like the cooks rightly threw it back onto the griddle. Following the "Is it a raw steak?" chain, the cooked pork chop was safe to eat!

Fresh tomato salsa

One of the joys of my job is that I get to work with several accomplished cooks. I'm always open to learn new recipes and cooking techniques.

Although several residents have extensive restaurant experience, one resident of Mexican heritage leaned to cook from her paternal grandmother. "Laci" is is one of four ladies who cook in my place on the weekend and when I take a day off.

Last Tuesday morning, Laci approached me and asked if she could make a fresh tomato salsa for lunch. I quickly said yes. Not only would the residents enjoy a spicy salsa with lunch, it would give me a chance to watch her.

Laci placed four larger tomatoes and three jalapeno chilies into a medium-hot skillet. Over the next 20 to 30 minutes she frequently turned the vegetables as the skin charred.

Laci then threw six whole peeled garlic cloves in the skillet after she removed the tomatoes. The tomatoes by this time were soft and falling apart.

Once the garlic was lightly browned, Laci transferred the vegetables to the blender bowl. She added one chopped onion, the juice of one lemon and salt before processing the mixture into a fine salsa.

When I tasted the salsa, its clean, spicy flavor impressed me. Laci's salsa is reminiscent of the salsa served at better Mexican restaurants in Northern California.

"I make this salsa the way my grandmother taught me to make it," said Laci. I invited her to prepare chili verde next time that I purchase a Boston butt.

TOMATO SALSA

5 medium tomatoes
2 jalapeno chilies
6 cloves garlic
1 medium onion, chopped large
1/2 bunch cilantro
2 limes, juiced
Salt, to taste

Char tomatoes and jalapeno chilies in a lightly oiled skillet over medium heat. Add garlic after about 15 minutes. Be careful not burn garlic as it will impart a bitter flavor.

After tomatoes and chilies are soft and skin is brown, toss in food processor or blender bowl. Add onion, cilantro and lime juice. Possess to desired consistency. Season with salt to taste.

Relief food

ATLANTIC OCEAN (Jan. 17, 2010) -- Culinary Specialist Seaman Jefferson Angcanan and Hospitalman Timothy Franklin transfer food stores to feed the more than 700 civilians and Sailors aboard the Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) who are participating in Operation Unified Response. Comfort is deploying to conduct humanitarian and disaster relief operations after a 7.0 magnitude earthquake caused severe damage near Port-au-Prince on Jan. 12, 2010. Comfort brings the capability of one of the largest trauma facilities in the U.S., capable of providing a full spectrum of surgical and medical services.

U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Matthew Jackson.

Working on the buffet line, part 2

The most memorable moment in the buffet came early last November. As I worked my first Sunday swing shift, I had this friendly exchange with a buffet patron:

"Thanks for the great food."

I looked up as I assembled a pizza to find a middle-aged woman with silver-streaked hair. Her wave emphasised the compliment.

"Thanks for the great food."

Interaction with buffet patrons helped the evening flow. Most cooks enjoy the occasional compliment about their labor.

It's the valuable feedback that lets know how customers receive our tasty creations.

Jack-of-the-dust

Jack-of-the-dust is the traditional name for the cook in charge of the storeroom and refrigerators on a naval vessel. I served as the jack-of-the-dust on the USS Stein (DE 1065) during it's second Western Pacific cruise in 1974.

We usually didn't have time to check the delivery against the invoice, especially when the ship was underway. I'd check the delivery after the fact and adjust the invoice later.

YOKOSUKA, Japan (Jan. 8, 2010) -- Culinary Specialist 1st Class Tremayne Brown, from Tulsa, Okla., receives stores for the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain (DDG 56). John S. McCain is one of seven ships assigned to Destroyer Squadron 15 and is permanently forward-deployed to Yokosuka, Japan.

U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Mike Mulcare.

Roast pork butt for pulled pork

Today at work I roasted an 8-pound pork butt for barbecued pulled pork sandwiches tomorrow. Since it's my day off, one of the residents will pull the meat from the refrigerator, add sauce and heat it for lunch.

Pork butt (also known as pork shoulder) is a fantastic cut for the institutional kitchen. It's economical and full of flavor.

I purchased a package of two pork butts at the Smart and Final warehouse grocery store this morning for $1.49 per pound. I placed the second roast in the freezer for a later meal.

The meat for tomorrow's meal cost about $12. That's a $5 savings when compared against ground beef or hamburger patties.

While $5 may not sound like a lot of money, it's significant to me because I'm feeding around 30 residents on about $5 per day. I'll apply the savings toward something special for the residents later in the month.

To roast the pork butts, I placed it in a two-inch hotel pan and three two-inch deep cuts on the top and bottom. I then seasoned the roast with a spicy rub made from chili powder, cumin, paprika, granulated garlic, dried oregano and kosher salt. A little brown sugar would've given the rub a hint of sweetness.

I placed the roast in a 325-degree oven, fat side up. A quart of water helped tenderize the meat and prevented the drippings from burning during the long cooking process. It took close to four hours to cook to the point where the meat pulls apart with little effort.

Unfortunately, I won't be able to taste the end product as I have the weekend off.

Shopping on a shoestring budget

I frequently contribute to the Growlies Recipe Exchange and Party Planning Board. Many readers come to Growlies looking for party planning advise. They're often looking for advise from professionals as they plan to cook a meal for a large group.

Anna posted this question on Monday. I was intrigued by the question because 70 cents per person per meal isn't a lot of money to feed a large group, even when discounts for purchasing in bulk.

Even though the food budget at work is more than double Anna's, my answer is based on experience. While I buy the bulk of our food supply from Sysco Food Services, I use the markets listed below to purchase food on sale and to take advantage of special deals to save money.

I cook weekly for 160 needy community members, ages 5 to around 90. I have helpers, so one person can do the entree, one the salad, one the bread and donated desserts, one the beverages. The problem is sustaining the budget as our numbers keep growing. I want to serve the best nutrition possible for about $.70 per serving.

I commend you for your effort. Purchasing on a limited budget is one of the most challenging situations for a chef.

A budget of 70 cents per meal requires intimate knowledge of the food market in your city. You must developed a keen sense of locating deals, as well as becoming a frugal shopper.

You need to be tuned into local market food prices and be ready to adjust the menu on a moment's notice. Stores like Wal-Mart, local 99 cent stores and other discount stores in town can be a great source of discount food.

Pick up the Wednesday section of the newspaper and search the market ads for weekly specials. When ground beef, beef chuck, pork putt, whole chickens, etc., go on sale, be ready to buy in bulk (as long as you have space in the freezer). I take advantage these products when prices hover around $1 per pound.

Learn how to cook the cheaper, but more flavorful, cuts of meat. Beef chuck and pork shoulder can be turned into dozens of dishes, especially when braised, smoked or slow roasted.

I'd also keep a close eye on the serving size of the main protein source. While it's nice to offer a 5- to 6-ounce portion of meat, a budget of 70 cents per meal makes this a challenge. To avoid smaller portions, focus on casseroles, soups and stews, where the protein can be incorporated into the dish.

Another strategy is to offer a vegetarian entree each week (or so). As long as you watch the amount of eggs and cheese in each recipe, the use of vegetarian dishes can help save the cost of purchasing meat, since it's the costliest element of the menu.

One last idea: Search the community for donations, either of food or money. I worked at a boys home many years ago that received produce, dairy and eggs from a local supermarket.

Each morning I planned the meals for the day based on the food that was donated the day before. While it's a challenge, its situations like this that bring out the best in a cook.

New Year newsletter from Cee Dub & Penny

Howdy From Cee Dub & Pen:

With the holidays behind us and 2010 underway, I'm keeping one of my New Year's Resolutions ... to get these newsletters out on a more regular basis.

Here's how that Resolution came about. Most married folks learn something new when overhearing their spouse talking to someone on the telephone. And, that's how I learned about MY New Year's Resolution.

I was sitting at the kitchen counter one afternoon while Pen was on the phone taking a phone order from a customer who'd recently received our Christmas Newsletter. My ears really perked up when I heard her say this, "He's made a New Year's Resolution to send out newsletters on a more regular basis. He just doesn't know it yet!"

Well, so far, so good.

Sweet Heart Deals & Winter Tour

Based on the response to the special pricing we did for Christmas to the New Year, we're extending those price breaks through Valentine's Day. So take advantage of the specials and price roll backs and get a special gift for your camp cook. Spring and summer are just around the corner!

As a result of us both working full time, we've had to reduce our appearance schedule. Last year Pen and I did nine shows in nine weekends from Seattle, Washington, to LaGrange, Texas.

This year, Pen is holding down the fort in Texas. Her brother, Al, will be making the appearances with me. For our friends and customers in the Northwest, here is our appearance schedule. Check the "Appearance Page" on our website.

1. Tri-Cities Sporstmen's Show - Pasco, Washington - January 15-17, 2010. 
2. Washington Sportsmen't Show - Puyallup, Washington - January 27-31,2010. 
3. Pacific Northwest Sportsmen's Show - Portland, Oregon -February 10-14, 2010. 
4. Central Oregon Sportsmen's Show - Redmond, Oregon - March 11-14, 2010. 

Check Out Our Sweet Heart Deals

We had a great holiday season, and hope you and yours did as well. See you out there on the trail!

Cee Dub, Pen, and Al

Fresh strawberries in January

I'm impressed! The Navy has found a way to supply fresh strawberries to the fleet in January. Back in the day (the 1970s for me), I never saw fresh strawberries while cruising in the 7th Fleet. We always worked with frozen berries.

PACIFIC OCEAN (Jan. 7, 2010) -- Culinary Specialist 3rd Class Nicholas Holland makes chocolate strawberries in the chief petty officer mess aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6). Bonhomme Richard is the command platform for the Bonhomme Richard Amphibious Ready Group and 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (11th MEU) supporting maritime security operations in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility.

U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Eva-Marie Ramsaran.

Split pea soup for a crowd

Sometimes it's the simplest recipes that impress people the most. This is especially true with split pea soup. A pot of its rich green goodness will please any crowd.

From scratch, split pea soup can be ready for the table in about two hours. Simply add a mirepoix, a bit of ham or bacon and two or three basic herbs to a three pounds of green split peas and you have the recipe.

I simmered a pot of split pea soup for the ladies at the residential facility last Thursday. From initial comments, I though the soup was going to be a failure.

Residents inquired about the source of the wonderful aroma in the house throughout the morning. Many seemed disappointed when I explained that it was the soup. Their faces told me the soup may not be a popular as I had hoped.

That all changed when I called lunch at 11:30 p.m.

"I have not eaten split pea soup since I was a teenager," said Sarah (not her real name), a middle-aged resident who recently entered the program.

Sarah changed her mind saw a bowl of soup on the table at mealtime. "That soup was good."

The soup was a success. In my three weeks on the job, this was the first time the ladies ate all of the soup. Four or five servings are left after most meals.

I recorded "None left -- very well accepted" in my notebook. It looks like I now have several new converts to split pea soup.

SPLIT PEA SOUP

A ham bone or ham hock can be used to flavor the cooking liquid when ham stock isn't available. Simmer the water and bone together for an hour or more before making the soup. This'll extract more flavor from the bone.

6 ounces salt pork, diced small
10 ounces onion, chopped
5 ounces celery, chopped
5 ounces carrot, chopped
6 quarts ham or chicken stock
3 pounds green split peas
3 bay leaves
1-1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
Salt and black pepper, to taste

Cook salt pork slowly in a heavy sauce pot to render the fat. Do not brown. Add chopped onion, celery and carrot and sweat in fat until the vegetables are slightly softened.

Add the stock and bring to a boil. Add split peas, bay leaves and thyme. Cover and simmer until the peas are soft, about 1 to 1-1/2 hours. Puree soup if desired.

If soup is to thick bring it to proper consistency with a little stock or water. Season with salt and pepper to taste. If ham hock is used, trim off the meat, dice and add to the soup.

Serves 25 (8-ounce) portions.

Post Script ...
I can't seem to convert one of my daughters. She posted "Ewwwwwwwww ..." in response to a status update on Facebook!.

Cumin marinated chicken breasts with chimichurri

This dish is inspired by one served at the casino. One Friday in mid-December, I walked into the casino's large central kitchen at the start of my shift. A lead cook instructed me to grill marinated chicken breasts on the broiler.

The sharp, nutty aroma of the cumin and coriander amazed me as it wafted into the exhaust system. I asked the lead cook what was in the marinate, "Cumin, cilantro, sage, coriander and lemon juice," said the cook.

This cook was well known in the kitchen for creating flavor blends. I quickly wrote the ingredients for the marinade in my notebook and finished the chicken.

To serve, the cook sliced the chicken breasts and arranged them in a single line down the center of a decrative buffet pan. After arrangining a line of the garnish on either side of the chicken, he ladled the chimichurri over the chicken and placed the pan on the buffet line.

CUMIN MARINATED CHICKEN BREASTS WITH CHIMICHURRI

Substitute any citrus juice for the lemon. Lime juice complements the marinade well.

Chicken and marinade:
4 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground sage
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
3/4 cup lemon juice
3/4 cup vegetable oil
8 (5-ounce) chicken breasts

Garnish:
1 large sweet onion, sliced into rings
4 medium tomatoes, quartered
2 jalapeño chilies, seeded and sliced (optional)
2 lemons, cut in half

Chimichurri:
1 cup flat leaf parsley (packed)
1/4 cup cilantro (packed)
2 cloves garlic
3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil

In a large container or bowl, combine cumin, coriander, sage, cilantro, salt, pepper, lemon juice and oil. Place chicken breasts in the marinade and turn to coat. Cover, refrigerate 2 hours or overnight.

Meanwhile, prepare chimichurri up to 2 hours ahead. Puree all chimichurri ingredients in food processor or blender until consistency of pesto. Transfer to serving bowl.

Remove chicken from bowl and brush off excess marinade. Grill over medium-hot heat for about 20 minutes, turning after first 10 minutes. Check for doneness. Place chicken on a clean platter and cover with aluminum foil.

While chicken sets, saute garnish ingredients (sliced onion, quartered tomatoes and sliced jalapeño chilies) in a skillet over high heat until soft and they're just beginning to brown. Sqeeze lemon juice over onion and tomato mixture.

Slice chicken on the bias and arrange in a line in the center of a serving platter. Arrange garnish on either side of chicken. Lightly spoon chimichurri over chicken. Serve remaining chimichurri on the table.

Working the buffet line

My job at the casino buffet was the my first restaurant job in 20 years. Since the early 1970s, my career has emphasized institutional food service (now called non-commercial food service by Food Management magazine).

In a way, the 10-week job in the buffet restaurant was really an extension of my nearly 40-year career feeding military, hospital and prison populations. Instead of focusing on plated service, the buffet was organized like an upscale serving line.

Like any new job, I took it to heart and set out to train myself how to become the most competent buffet cook possible. Even though the job was physically demanding -- long hours on your feet with constant running when the buffet was busy -- I quickly learned that I needed to become familiar with each food item on the buffet line.

Over the next month, I'd like to discuss six or seven lessons for cooks working on the buffet line. Really, much of this advise applies to all cooks. A good cook will apply these lessons to any setting, whether in restaurant or institutional food service.

Learn the location of every item on the buffet line.

Customer service is one of the most important jobs for the cook that works in view of the public. Patrons frequently look to the cooks for direction.

From my first shift in October, patrons continually asked, "Where's the cocktail sauce?" I eventually found it helpful to walk the buffet line sometime during the shift to learn the location of each item.

Questions like, "Is the curry shrimp hot?" and "What's in the enchiladas?" often sent me into the kitchen for answers. I found it necessary to taste new foods, a task that I thoroughly enjoyed. (Of course, sometimes it took two bites!)

While standing in front of the buffet line on one of my last days at the casino, a customer asked, "Where are the potatoes?" She was looking for the potatoes that had become the starring attraction on the new Saturday "Steak and Potatoes Night."

In addition to "numerous steaks such as Delmonico, Strip, Tri Tip, Butt Steaks, Pork Chops, Grilled Chicken Breast, Snow Crab Legs and Carved Prime Rib," the buffet served "many styles of potatoes such as Mashed, Pan Fried with Onions, Baked, Sweet Au Gratin and more with all the toppings."

I showed the patron that we had a dozen different potato dishes, all located next to the appropriate steak dish. Mashed potatoes along with roasted red potatoes and peppers were located on my station.

Garlic fries, scalloped potatoes and candied sweet potatoes were on the carver station, between to the prime rib and grilled t-bone steak. Customers could find garlic mashed (along with one or two other preparations) on the American bounty station.

I'd always tried to walk the entire buffet line sometime in the first two hours of my shift. Even though most buffet offerings remain the same from day to day, the chefs introduced new dishes each week.

Remember that you represent the restaurant when you're working on the buffet line. It's your responsibility to know the make-up of each dish on your station, as well as the location.

Creole macaroni on the U.S.S. Ronald Reagan

Here's another YouTube video. Produced by America's Heartland in January 2009, the clip takes a look at the daily routine below decks on the U.S.S. Ronald Reagan (CVN 76).

Culinary Specialist John Smith's description of Creole macaroni caught my attention. Smith stirred a large steam-jacketed kettle of the popular casserole or "spaghetti sauce with macaroni."

I remember cooking the casserole, topped with lots of shredded cheddar cheese and finished in a medium-hot oven, during my sea-going days in the Navy. The dish features a combination of elbow macaroni, ground beef and canned tomatoes with sauteed onions and green bell peppers. It's all-American comfort goodness.


America's Heartland description: "This is a story not so much about the exciting life topside but the more routine life below decks. While seemingly mundane, the galley crews like 'Culinary Specialist' or 'C.S.', Torry Mitchell, take enormous pride in their work."

CREOLE MACARONI (OR AMERICAN CHOP SUEY)

This recipe is adapted from U.S. Armed Forces Recipe Service card L-64. It yields 100 (1-cup) portions or 2 (18 by 24-inch) roasting pans. Bake at 350 degrees.

1-1/2 gallons water
1 (#10) can tomato paste
1 (#10) can diced tomatoes, drained
1-1/2 pounds diced green bell peppers
1-1/4 pounds chopped onions
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup salt
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon garlic powder
2-2/3 tablespoons dried crushed basil
1 tablespoon crushed red pepper
1 tablespoon dried thyme
6 pounds elbow macaroni
11 pounds lean ground beef
1 pound shredded cheddar cheese

Combine water, tomato paste, tomatoes, peppers, onions, sugar, salt, black pepper, garlic powder, basil, red pepper and thyme in steam-jacketed kettle or stock pot. Combine and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 10 to 15 minutes or until thickened.

Add macaroni to boiling, salted water. Return to a boil, stirring constantly. Cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain well. Do not overcook.

Brown beef until it loses its pink color. Drain or skim off excess fat. Combine beef, tomato sauce mixture, and macaroni. Mix well. Pour about 8-1/4 quarts macaroni mixture in each pan. Sprinkle 1-1/3 cups cheese over macaroni mixture in each pan.

Using a convection oven, bake 20 minutes at 325 degrees on high fan, closed vent or until mixture is bubbling and cheese is melted. Internal temperature must reach 155 degrees or higher for 15 seconds. Hold for service at 140 degrees or higher.

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Check this Diners, Drive Ins and Dives video for Chef Roy Donohue's take on Amercican chop suey. It was filmed at Red Arrow Diner in Manchester, New Hampshire.

U.S. Armed Forces chef's battle in Salt Lake City

I haved spent the morning catching up on YouTube videos. Viewing YouTube with a dial-up Internet connection isn't practical. A decent highspeed Internet connection is hard to come by in the Serria Nevada foothills.

This video was posted to YouTube in April 2008. Chefs from each of the five military services battled in an Iron Chef style competition.