nyfirepatrolchef X

Hi MSP~ Well, in the firehouses of FDNY its Firefighters. In the Fire Patrol its Fire Patrolmen...male or (when we had) female. I work two 24 hour tours out of every 8 days...I usually cook both tours unless I have the Housewatch from 5-8 in which case theyre on their own. I cook for usually about 6 to 8 people...theres one unit in each Fire Patrol House. I usually cook a little extra in case someone gets hungry in the middle of the night or in case someone comes back from a job hungry. In terms of reheating...usually...thats why God invented microwave technology :) In terms of dietary preferences...in my case it tends to be healthy...but for most fire chefs its not a big thing usually. In my house its a matter of one guy doesnt eat this, one guy is allergic to that...and being a decent sort I try to accommodate.

Soba~ You said the magic word...Cardamon...in your one post. Any chance youd come forth (fifth if youre feeling a bit slow) with the recipe for the roast chicken glazed with lemon honey and cardamon please?

MSP~ In the days that followed 9/11, there was such an outpouring of support especially in the form of food...our firehouse kitchen looked like a bakery lol...and we had more pasta and stuff than we ever were able to eat...we had guys taking stuff home there was that much....and it might have seemed that sometimes we were going through the motions of thanking people...but believe me it was a blessing to have people making sure we were fed...so yes...you DO now know what it meant to us. If you want one mans insight on what was down there, dig into my postings in the member bios page...theres a post in there somewhere. And yes its all very real now. Thank you for being there.

welcome msp... more and more Im running into people who gave if themselves to get involved.....whered you cook? How are you now that its over with downtown? Im really shaky without ninos to focus on. It was a real oasis down there. You walked in the door and suddenly the madness of the time was gone and you felt good and secure.

ruuuuuuuuuuuubyyyyyyyyyy~ dont take yourl ove to toooown! how ARE you? Im having a blast here but nobodys replying to most of my posts in cooking :(

cabrales~ and so you should...I added my input...thanks for the opportunity.

mostly from watching my mom doing the evry day stuff...when I was old enough not to remove body parts wi th sharps I was allowed to prep and add stuff to the pot. first rule was presantation is everyhting. at times like easter my pop would do the ethnic stuff...especially the breads....dont recall my mom doing the slavic food...just the greek xmas cookies..spritz cookies, kourabiedes, drop cookies.....and eventually when my pop moved out, I moved up to bread baker....age 12...only thing my mom did for me was finger temp the water for the yeast....my finger hadnt acquired that skill...still hasnt lol. Most ironic part of that scenario was the recipe came from a lady who was Aunt (by marriage) to the kids who about 20 years later would be my stepbrothers and sisters. Then in 1982 I volunteer as an Auxiliary Firefighter with the FDNY...spent a lot of time in the firehouse kitchens learning from some damn good cooks....had my first grilled swordfish there, my first grilled mako, a killer lasagna...eventually I started kicking in with bread pudding or choccy dipped strawberries.

B Edulis~ Nina~ Even though I wound up as one of the people helping out with food at Ninos, I was also one of the guys in the firehouses where people were kind enough to stop in and bring us a cake, a pot of soup, or just listen to us. It felt incredible. But can I make a suggestion...the events of 9/11 are headed toward the history books....but we're still out there in the City doing the job. Dont stop coming to say hi...you dont have to bring anything but yourselves.

Sweetpea~ offfff COURSE you should be asking questions! Im on a limited diet so I have to make the best of my food when I cook. For me...lots of fresh fish...Tilapia, Nile Prech, Mahi...sometimes dredged and fried, sometime, like the Mahi..grrrrrilled! Otherwise lots of chicken..marinated and grilled. Sometimes Ill dredge and fry too. I also like to play with pasta and toppings/sauces....lots of veggies...fruit...Im getting around to making a baklava with phyllo dough I can actually use. Up til I started adding girth I was living on sweet potatos as a main veggie...now Im salad binging. I love sweets...either roasted or even better...once in a while...sweet potato fries. At work I make a nice bolognese...roast beefs, grilled steaks, my garlic mashed potatos go over well. As do my french cut green beans with onion and tomato in olive oil. Welcome and ask questions :)

Ruuuuuuuubyyyyyyyyy~ Guten Tag! Das ist der menu from der Hamburg-Amerika Linie Mailsteamer Pretoria...Farewell Dinner...9 November 1913 oxtail soup chicken consumme with beef marrow Salmon, Holland Style Loin of Beef, Garnished, Champignon Sauce Asparagus a la Cream Roast Turkey Cranberries Wax Bean Salad Ice Cream a la Bajazzo Macaroon Pastry Cheese Fruit Coffee

Ruby~ Your wish is my command..tomorrow when I have energy Ill dig it out.

yeah periodic more frequently is a kicass idea...I work rotations...sooner or later Im bound to hit one lol

Actually the kitchen is my refuge at work...it is there to break up the frequent tedium of a 24 hour tour. We didnt lose anyone at my house...but the photos of the member the Patrol DID lose as well as the member who left us for FDNY are in ample supply around the house. If I didnt step up and cook, someone else would, or most of the people would get take out. Its when Im home that things get to me because Im alone.

Il have to look into it...thanks !

dayyyyyum~ I get off work at 8AM Sunday after a 24 hour tour....if its anything like the last one....only thing Ill be doing is falling asleep at the stove. Id love to in the future though.

23rd and Madison....bar in front tables in rear...decor like a fishin hole in the country. Basic diverse grill menu plus pasta I believe....some desserts. Nice service..very attentive and pleasant. I dont think they work Sundays though. Open for lunch dinner and later.

Wow~ Awesome post Ruby. When she was a lot younger my late mom used to go to a place in the low west 50s I believe called Mikes....the decor was that of ships and nautical....had rooms like the Submarine Room. I have a menu up in the attic Ive been meaning to pull out. I also have a menu from the Hamburg Amerika Lines ship my Polish relatives came over on. damn impressive. God Im loving this place. If it only had a chat room.

There *was* a place on Queens Blvd just west of the GCP called Kew Rest. It was a Kosher Deli with table service. The childhood joy of a bowl of consumme with fine noodles....that and the kosher hot dog that bit back. It was a milestone in my life when I got to order a turkey club sammich. My mom sister and I had Thanksgiving dinner there in 1973 on the way home from Radio City Music Halls Xmas Show. Probably the last time I ever got to eat there. They musta closed within a couple of years after then. It was there from at least the early 50s when my Pop was out there in the field with NYPD. Does Katz's, since its Kosher, preclude the use of nasty things like soup base mixes in its chicken soup..is it the real thing? No chemicals, etc? And would they look at me like Im meschugga if I asked for rice with it? I cant have egg noodles cuz of the flour. But Id kill for good chicken soup when I eat out.

I was an elitist...cream cheese and jelly. Hard to believe that I make a better red sauce than most Italians Ive worked with over the years (and one Xmas Eve we had an authentic Italian Xmas Eve dinner, prepared by two authentic Irish Firefighters). Even harder to believe is that as a kid I couldnt stomach sauced pasta...so I ate it dry. Now I live on sweet potatos, as a kid the texture made me gag. And my mom had to force feed me the packaged mac & cheese she used to doctor up with cream of mushroom soup and tomatos. Now since I cant have the mac or the cheese, Id give my right arm for just one plate of it. And nothing, but nothing beats a good chocolate eggcream and a Black & White Cookie.My first summer at the Fire Patrol I treated the house...went out and got the fixins and foamed up a tricolor storm. I used to be able to get three layers of color in the glass. And I dont mean unmixed chocolate syrup settled at the bottom. And of course it had to be Foxs UBet. Were from that far off foreign country Brooklyn. Itd be blasphemous to use that stuff from Pennsylvania.

Ive been using red pepper flakes to add a nice little bite to my Marinara sauces...in conjunction with coarse chopped calamatas (no sulfites) and rinsed capers. Right now I m munching a fried chicken breast I seasoned with kosher salt, black pepper, granulated garlic, chili powder, a bit of paprika, and then flour dredged, egg washed, and pecan crusted. Going for something kinda cajun perhaps. Its not got a real bite, but a pleasant little tingle from the chili powder. It also adds a nice little flavor to it.

Researchgal~ My pleasure. If its not reflected online, their roasters are across the river in Brooklyn...and it goes out to the three stores basically the same day. Ive been to jobs in both coffee roasters and warehouses containing cocoa beans. The *s t e n c h * when that stuff burns...my god. But once the fire was controlled and vented...the cocoa beans smelled very enticing. We were right on the water and it was one of the coldest nights of the winter. All that *hot cocoa*...the beans, and the superhot water runoff from the hoselines...was like the old addage water water everywhere but not a drop...

hmmm barley salad.... elaborate please

*slaps self on forehead* Somehow I was getting Tribecca Greenmarket confuzzled with Chelsea Market. *slaps self again* :wow: :confused: *likes it* *slaps self again* *suddenly remembers hearing about a distant relative that had a thing for whips*

Ive gotten into the habit of using Barley as a side dish....in a manner similar to a risoto. I usually sweat some chopped onion in olive oil, add some garlic, chicken stock, kosher salt, black pepper, and either some ground fennel or rosemary. Maybe some grated carrot if I have some to grate. Cook til the fluid is absorbed. If I want to get it a bit more liquidy at the end I throw in some soy milk and let it sit a minute. I usually serve it with chicken (I eat a lot of chicken). Ideas?

But bottom line the guy in question *does* sell at Chelsea MArket on Saturdays? Im a wee confuzzled now.