Doubly Good Chicken Soup for the Soul

Its been over a year since I posted any new recipes here and thought it was about time to get back to it. One of the things I recall fondly about Navy Chow is that we always had soup. Most of the time the Night Baker on that sewer pipe forgot to bring it in after Midrats and it was still there in the morning. This was one of my personal favorites. Its called Double Good Chicken Soup. Simplified, its 1 can of each soup, the requisite amount of water/milk for each can and a little nutmeg.
I had it - You got it.
Mark

Ingredient

Measure
1 gal 3-1/8 qts SOUP,CONDENSED,CREAM OF CHICKEN
1 gal 3-1/4 qts SOUP,CONDENSED,CHICKEN WITH RICE
2 cup MILK,NONFAT,DRY
2 gal 3 qts WATER
1/8 tsp NUTMEG,GROUND

Method
1 Add soups to steam-jacketed kettle or stock pot; mix well.
2 Reconstitute milk; stir into combined soups.
3 Add nutmeg; mix well.
4 CCP: Internal temperature must reach 165 F. or higher for 15 seconds. DO NOT BOIL. CCP: Hold for service at 140 F. or higher.

The Stupid Shall Be Punished: Choke Yourself!

SPC "Skippy" Schwartz is my hero! By the way, If you post these in the mailroom, Make sure you do them one at a time so you can spread them out over a year if you only do weekdays! That should put the old bitty into a tizzy!

Cowboy Meatloaf

Heres a story from Dex Armstrong followed by the real Navy Meatloaf recipe.
Thanks Dex

Cowboy... Did you ever eat Cowboy Meatloaf a la Requin? We had a cook called Stumpy or something like that. He and a sonarman named Jac Snider wore cowboy boots... Funny, the dumb stuff you remember. Stumpy and Snider were from New Mexico, where folks eat stuff so gahdam hot it oughtta be against the law.

We had been out doin' stuff that forced us into operating at ultra quiet. You remember, where the old man passed the word to "Rig ship for for ultra quiet... Secure air conditioning and refrigeration…" You remember… It got hotter than the hubs of hell and you sat on the potato lockers in the crews mess in sweat-soaked dungaree shirts listening to your armpit hair grow, watching the reefer temperature gauge inch toward the point where the corpsman announced that all the contents therein was now condemned and had to go over the side.

At some mystical point the Navy had determined meat thawed out and rapid decomposition set in and good steak became rotten shark chow. Just prior to "rig for rot", Stumpy broke out three boxes of steaks and popped the metal bands. He handed out his collection of butcher knives and had us cutting the steaks in two inch wide strips. He couldn't use the powered meat grinder so he set up his hand-cranked grinder and began grinding steak. "Whatcha doin' cookie?" "Makin' Cowboy meatloaf." If I had had the ability to see into the future, I would have taken that knife and cut the sonuvabitches' throat... But like the rest of the clowns in the after battery, I kept cutting strips and passing it into the galley. Anyway, the closest I'd ever been to cowboys had all taken place at the local movie house.

Stumpy had a mason jar full of little white jelly bean size peppers. As he cranked, he kept tossing in a couple of these blasting cap peppers. When he had a pile of ground meat and peppers a couple of feet high, he added shredded up stale Wonderbread, some eggs and God knows what else. We just wandered around in the bliss of total ignorance while a cook who had direct links to the culinary arts of hell packed breadloaf pans and put them in the oven. Had I had any inkling of what that diabolical sonuvabitch was pulling out of that jar and tossing in that hand grinder, I would have broken all known speed records moving aft, would have clawed my way through the after trim tank and done my damnedest to swim back to Norfolk.

Cowboy meatloaf and arc welding had the same mother. You can duplicate the sensation by sticking a flame-thrower down your throat and squeezing the trigger until fire shoots out your hip pockets or you can lick the manifold of an Indianapolis race car during the victory lap. That stuff should not be circulated without a warning label reading,

"DO NOT EAT WITHOUT ASBESTOS SKIVVIES AND A MIDAS INSTALLED COLON."

We sat there eating that napalm loaf... Each of us afraid that if we didn't eat it, we would be a big sissy and catch a lot of crap from all the other idiots eating it for the same reason. Given a choice between another helping of Cowboy meatloaf and French kissing a lightning bolt, I would go for the latter hands down. If you have to eat that concoction to be a cowboy, I'm signing up to be a sheepman.

MEAT LOAF L 035 00
Yield 100
Portion 6 OZ
Calories 343 cal
Carbohydrates 11 g
Protein 33 g
Fat 18 g
Cholesterol 154 mg
Sodium 648 mg
Calcium 48 mg

Ingredient
BEEF,GROUND,BULK,RAW,90% LEAN 30 lbs
BREADCRUMBS 3-3/4 lbs
SALT 3-3/4 oz
PEPPER,BLACK,GROUND 1 tbsp
GARLIC POWDER 1 tbsp
MILK,NONFAT,DRY 1 cup
WATER 1 qts 1-1/2 cup
CELERY,FRESH,CHOPPED 1 lbs
ONIONS,FRESH,CHOPPED 1 lbs
PEPPERS,GREEN,FRESH,CHOPPED 1 lbs
EGGS,WHOLE,FROZEN 1 qts 1/2 cup
JUICE,TOMATO,CANNED 1 qts 1-3/4 cup

Method
1. Combine beef with bread crumbs, salt, pepper and garlic; mix until well blended.
2. Reconstitute milk.
3. Add milk, celery, onions, sweet peppers, eggs, and tomato juice. Mix lightly but thoroughly. DO NOT OVERMIX.
4. Place 11 pounds 6 ounces meat mixture into each steam table pan and divide into 2 loaves per pan.
5. Using a convection oven, bake 1 hour 15 minutes at 300 F. CCP: Internal temperature must reach 155 F. or higher for 15 seconds. Skim off excess fat and liquid during cooking.
6. Let stand 20 minutes before slicing. Cut 13 slices per loaf. CCP: Hold for service at 140 F. or higher.

See you at dinner!
subchef

Shit on a Shingle

Another story from Dex about good ol' Navy chow.

"How many times over the years has your wife prepared some meal, or your friends mentioned some dish and your mind drifted back to a day long ago when you remember a grinning cook saying, "Man are you ugly bastards gonna like this… Learned from a stew burner off the Clamagore… You're gonna love this stuff… Meatloaf a la SUBRON 4."

And it was every bit as great as advertised.?

Compared to the seagoing monsters they bolt together today, a smoke-belching fleet-boat was small. Small boats with a single crew become a kind of communal order with a tribal hierarchy. We had a tribal king… A medicine man and some witch doctors who wore aprons and worked their magic in stainless steel pots and baking trays in a galley no woman would tolerate in today's modern appliance world. Hell, kitchens in house trailers are bigger than the huts our witch doctors operated out of.

Boat cooks were the best… Any ship that got a cook with the hull numbers of submarines listed as previous duty stations, held a three day prayer meeting to thank the almighty for bestowing such a gift on them. I don't know what the next level of proficiency is just above 'Totally gahdam magnificent', but that was what they were… Not at the time, but later when we had grown older and had the experience and the ability to make the comparisons necessary to recognize truly gifted cooks. At the time, they were a bunch of loudmouth jerks in dirty aprons who spent far too much time telling you how much you were going to like what they had been spending the last three hours whipping up for your express delight. A good submarine cook can bake a tractor tire and make it taste great.

One of the favorites from any boat was called S.O.S. or "Shit on a Shingle". The dish is officially called Creamed Chipped Beef on Toast but, any sailor worth his weight know what it's really called. My wife made it for breakfast this morning and boy did it bring back memories! Here it is for you.

Enjoy! I had it, you got!
Subchef

Chipped Beef on Toast L 052 00

Yield 100
Portion 6 oz
Calories 169 cal
Carbohydrates 12 g
Protein 13 g
Fat 7 g
Cholesterol 15 mg
Sodium 1219 mg
Calcium 110 mg

Ingredient
BEEF,CHIPPED,DRIED,CHOPPED 7 lbs
WATER,WARM 1 gal
MILK,NONFAT,DRY 1-3/4 lbs
WATER,WARM 3 gal 3 qts
MARGARINE,SOFTENED 1-1/2 lbs
FLOUR,WHEAT,GENERAL PURPOSE 2-1/4 lbs
PEPPER,BLACK,GROUND 2 tbsp

Method
1. Separate dried beef slices, cut into 1-inch slices.
2. Place beef in 190 F. water. Soak 5 minutes. Drain thoroughly.
3. Reconstitute milk. Heat to just below boiling. DO NOT BOIL.
4. Combine butter or margarine with flour and pepper; add to milk, stirring constantly. Cook 5 minutes until thickened.
5. Add beef to sauce; blend well. CCP: Internal temperature must reach 145 F. or higher for 15 seconds. Hold for service at 140 F. or higher.

Dex's Submarine Coffee Recipe

I tried to find a good recipe for coffee to pass along but all I got was this little story from Dex, Thanks Dex!

In the crew mess we had a contraption that could give you a hard time... The coffee urn!

Ah yes, the coffee urn... It stood outside of the galley. It had a gravity drain to number two sanitary tank. The drain line had a gate valve and a kick-throw between the urn and the tank. Failure to completely close these two valves on blowing sanitary tanks, allowed the wonderful contents of number two sanitary to percolate up into the urn and make its unique contribution to the taste of submarine coffee.

I learned to drink coffee aboard submarines. Every cup had a hydraulic oil slick floating on it... For years I wondered why in the hell my non-navy coffee at home didn't taste like boiled Yugoslavian Army socks and come with rainbow colors floating around in it.

Gotta run - See you later!
Subchef

Kolaches and Other Special Meals at Sea

Kolaches are one of my all time favorites to make in the galley for the guys. They are also a great breakfast pastry. You might remember thes little gems, they looked like bread dough tits with fruity nipples popped up on the top if you baked 'em too long.
I remember "Hey Stew, what are these? They remind me of this girl from back home..."

They're pronounced *koh LAHTCH ees,* and they originated in Central Europe. They came to the US with Czechoslovakian immigrants, who moved through the port of Galveston, TX at the end of the 19th century and settled farmland near Houston. In fact, there were enough Czechoslovakian immigrants for Caldwell, Texas, to be dubbed the *Kolache capital.*"

The base of a kolache is a slightly sweet, soft dough, not unlike our dinner roll dough. In the old country, this dough would be pressed flattish and the center would be filled with such Old-World fillings as prune, cheese (as in cream cheese Danish) and poppy seed, or savory fillings such as sausage and potato. Most of the time boat cooks would use fruit pie fillings.

Submarine Sailors are notorious for giving the cooks a hard time. But if anyone tells you they rode submarines and didn't eat like a king, check his ass for surface ship tattoos and run like hell… Anyone that full of shit is likely to explode.

Make some boat coffee (I'll see if I can't dig up a recipe) to dunk these in.
Have a great day catch you on the mid.
Subchef

Kolaches Do2700
Yield 100
Portion 1 Roll
Calories 240 cal
Carbohydrates 39 g
Protein 5 g
Fat 7 g
Cholesterol 20 mg
Sodium 177 mg
Calcium 21 mg

Ingredient
YEAST,ACTIVE,DRY 5-1/8 oz
WATER,WARM 3-1/2 cup
SUGAR,GRANULATED 2 tbsp
SUGAR,GRANULATED 2-3/4 cup
SALT 2-1/3 tbsp
SHORTENING 3 cup
EGGS,WHOLE,FROZEN 1-7/8 cup
WATER 1 qts
FLOUR,WHEAT,BREAD 7-1/4 lbs
MILK,NONFAT,DRY 1-1/8 cup
CHERRY FILLING (PIE FILLING, PREPARED) 2-3/4 kg

Method
1. Sprinkle yeast over water. DO NOT USE TEMPERATURES ABOVE 110 F. Mix well. Let stand 5 minutes. Add sugar; stir until dissolved. Let stand 10 minutes; stir again. Set aside for use in Step 3.
2. Mix sugar, salt, and shortening in mixer bowl at medium speed 1 minute.
3. Blend in eggs, water, and yeast solution at low speed.
4. Sift flour and milk together, add to egg mixture. Mix at low speed 7 to 10 minutes or until dough is formed.
5. FERMENT: Set in warm place (80 F.) for about 1 hour.
6. PUNCH: Let rest 10 minutes. Divide dough into 2 pieces. Shape each piece into a smooth ball; let rest 10 minutes.
7. MAKE UP: Form into a rope 1-1/2 inches in diameter. Cut into 1-1/2 inch pieces. Shape into 2-ounce balls. Place 2 inches apart on greased pans. Flatten out slightly with palm of hand.
8. PROOF: About 30 minutes or until pieces are double in bulk.
9. Press down center of each piece with back of spoon. Leave a rim about 1/4-inch wide.
10. Fill center of each Kolache with about 1 ounce (2 tbsp) of Cherry Filling, Recipe No. D 041 01.
11. Brush rim with Egg Wash, Recipe No. D 017 00.
12. PROOF: 20 minutes at 350 F. or until double in bulk.
13. BAKE: At 350 F. for 25 minutes or until done. For convection oven, bake 15 minutes at 300 F.
14. If desired, cool; sprinkle with 1 lb (3 1/2 cups) sifted powder sugar or brush out edges with 1 recipe Vanilla Glaze (Recipe No. D 046 00) per 100 servings.

Notes
In Step 10, 7 lb (1-No. 10 cn) prepared pie filling, apple, blueberry, cherry or peach, or bakery filling, raspberry, may be used, per 100

Beef Porcupines and the Horse and Cow

This afternoon my wife Jeanine a.k.a. COMBEDROOM1 came to pick me up at the office and told me she was making Porcupines for dinner! Holy Cow - Holy Horse AND Cow! What a treat. I'm stuffed right now. Thought you might like these. By the way, if you want to read a good one about the Horse and Cow click here!

See you in the off-going!
subchef

Beef Porcupines
L02900
Yield 100
Portion 5 oz
Calories 350 cal
Carbohydrates 23 g
Protein 27 g
Fat 16 g
Cholesterol 85 mg
Sodium 891 mg
Calcium 33 mg

Ingredient
TOMATO SAUCE 2 gal 2-1/2 qts
RICE,LONG GRAIN 2-7/8 lbs
WATER 3 qts 2 cup
SALT 1 tbsp
BEEF,GROUND,BULK,RAW,90% LEAN 24 lbs
ONIONS,FRESH,CHOPPED 1-5/8 lbs
PEPPERS,GREEN,FRESH,CHOPPED 1-1/2 lbs
PEPPER,BLACK,GROUND 1 tbsp
SALT 1/4 cup 1/3 tbsp
GARLIC POWDER 1 tbsp
WORCESTERSHIRE SAUCE 1/4 cup 1/3 tbsp


Method
1. Prepare 1-1/2 recipes tomato sauce. See Recipe No. O 015 00 or use prepared tomato sauce. Set aside for use in Step 6.
2. Cook rice according to directions in Recipe No. E 005 00. Cool.
3. Thoroughly combine cooled rice with ground beef, onions, peppers, salt, garlic powder and Worcestershire Sauce. DO NOT OVERMIX.
4. Shape into 200 balls weighing about 3-2/3 ounces each.
5. Place an equal quantity of balls on each steam table pan. Using a convection oven, bake at 325 F. at 15 minutes on high fan, closed vent, or until brown.
6. Place approximately 40 meatballs in each steam table pan. Pour 8-1/3 cups sauce over balls in each pan.
7. Cover, using a convection oven, bake 30 minutes at 325 F. on high fan, closed vent or until thoroughly heated. CCP: Internal temperature must reach 155 F. or higher for 15 seconds. Hold for service at 140 F. or higher.

Sliders for Andy

Andy from the Evergreen state wanted the recipe for "Sliders with Homemade Buns". Well Andy, things have certainly changed in this mans Navy. The days of soybean burgers are being phased out and being replaced with 92% lean beef. The good thing about this is that the cooks now have to practice some of the skills they are taught at Johnson and Wales or the CIA. They actually have to make the burgers by hand.

But, the thing that is hurting our cooks at sea is this damned Atkins diet. When I do my food order for a 90 day loadout, I can't order enough meat to feed 15 Atkins dieters for 90 days. Its INSANE! Every swingin' dick wants meat. Nothing but meat, every meal, everyday.
So anyway Andy from Washington, the best that I can do is offer this recipe for those delicious fresh Hamburger Rolls you used to sneak out of the galley during the midwatch!

As far as the Slider goes, check out Workman's Tavern there in Redmond. This little dive/restaurant/bar has one of the best kept secrets in the Pacific NorthWest. It's called The Digital Burger. By the way Andy, as you might tell, I lived in that area for a while. I was on the Georgia (B). And yes I am a Chief.

Have a great day and enjoy your meal!
subchef143


Hamburger Rolls - D o33 06

Yield 100 Portion 1 Roll
Calories 227 cal
Carbohydrates 37 g
Protein 6 g
Fat 6 g
Cholesterol 0 mg
Sodium 239 mg
Calcium 18 mg

Ingredient

YEAST,ACTIVE,DRY 3-3/8 oz
WATER,WARM 2-3/8 cup
WATER,COLD 1-7/8 cup
SUGAR,GRANULATED 1 lbs
SALT 2-1/8 oz
FLOUR,WHEAT,BREAD 9-2/3 lbs
MILK,NONFAT,DRY 2-2/3 oz
SHORTENING,SOFTENED 1-1/8 lbs
MILK AND WATER WASH 1/2 cup

Method
1. Sprinkle yeast over water. DO NOT USE TEMPERATURES ABOVE 110 F. Mix well. Let stand 5 minutes; stir.
2. Place water in mixer bowl; add sugar and salt; stir until dissolved. Add yeast solution.
3. Combine flour and milk; add to liquid solution. Using dough hook, mix at low speed 1 minute or until flour mixture is incorporated into liquid.
4. Add shortening; mix at medium speed 10 minutes or until dough is smooth and elastic. Dough temperature should be between 78 F. to 82 F.
5. FERMENT: Cover. Set in water place, about 80 F., 1-1/2 hours or until double in bulk.
6. Punch: Divide dough into 8 2 lb 14 oz pieces. Shape each piece into a smooth ball; let rest 10 to 20 minutes.
7. Shape 2-1/2 ounce pieces of dough into balls by rolling with a circular motion on work table.
8. Place on greased sheet pans in rows 4 by 6.
9. When half-proofed, flatten with hand or small can to about 1/2 inch thickness and 3-1/2 inch diameter; brush with 1/3 recipe Milk Wash, Recipe No. I 004 02 per 100 servings.
10. Proof at 90 F. until double in bulk.
11. Bake at 400 F. for 15 to 20 minutes or in 350 F. convection oven for 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown on high fan, open vent. Cool.