Posted on 06/28/2019 4:27:11 PM PDT by Jamestown1630
Recently, by a circuitous route, I became interested in submarines and submariners especially the human aspect of the culture. What kind of man volunteers for this sort of duty, and how do the Navy, and individuals themselves, compensate for and cope with the extremely unnatural conditions, cramped living and limited resources?
It quickly became apparent that FOOD is very important on a submarine, in terms of morale and having something nice to look forward to; and while the job of cook there seems daunting, the submarine force is known for offering the best food of all the services. Submarine cooks have sometimes been sent to study at the Culinary Institute, as well as with famous chefs and restaurants.
Submarine Cuisine is a very interesting book published by the Submarine Research Center in Washington State in 2004, and contains many recipes from submarine cooks as well as lots of information about the foodlife and life in general on subs. It advertises itself as The secrets of the submarine cooks who, during the past fifty years, have served the best food in the world:
Another book, Dolphin Dishes, published in 1952, is actually a book of recipes from submariners wives and families, but also includes some that were favorites on particular boats, such as this Lobster Newburg served on the USS Nautilus (SSN571), the worlds first nuclear-powered sub:
Lobster Newburg Ala Nautilus
[This isnt verbatim from the book, because the instructions were a little vague; but all the ingredients are there.]
2 live lobsters
1-1/2 cups butter
1 cup sherry wine
1 tsp. Salt
dash of black pepper
¼ tsp. Paprika
dash of nutmeg
6 egg yolks, beaten
2 cups light cream
Boil lobster for 15 minutes. Remove from shell and dice meat into small pieces. Melt butter in a double boiler, blend in sherry and seasonings and add lobster. Combine egg yolks and cream.
Add egg mixture to lobster mixture slowly, stirring constantly. Cook until thick. Serve on hot toast or in patty shells.
A pdf of Dolphin Dishes is available from the Hathi Trust (takes a while to load):
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.31822037855665&view=1up&seq=12
I didnt think this would be complete without a recipe for S.O.S. - or Shit on a Shingle. Ive been told that the denigrating name isnt really because people didnt like it, but because of its ubiquity in military fare. Its one of my favorites, and while its not exactly inexpensive to make from scratch these days, thats superior to the frozen stuff:
Cream Chipped Beef
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1- 1/2 cups milk 1 (8 ounce) jar dried beef, diced
Black pepper to taste.
Melt butter over medium heat and whisk in the flour. Slowly add the milk, whisking. Keep whisking until the mixture thickens, then add black pepper to taste, and the dried beef. Serve over toast or biscuits.
For a history of the Dolphin Insignia at top, go here:
https://www.hrb-ussvi.org/single-post/2018/05/25/History-of-the-Dolphin-Insignia
And here is a discussion on Quora of submarine food, with comments from former submariners:
https://www.quora.com/How-is-the-food-on-US-navy-submarines
-JT
I’ll look for it.
Mmmmmmm...Bacon.
This article lists some of the daily menus. Food sounded fantastic especially when one of the cooks was a prior pastry chef!
When he served,our ex submarine friend said food was simply awesome.
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-jan-18-fi-submarine18-story.html
Yes, I saw that, and remembered especially the last part - it’s the only service where the guys generally gain weight on deployment ;-)
I recently made this version as I did not have canned soups in the house. Recipe does call for 3 4.5 oz cans of chopped green chiles. I used mixed chiles I froze last year from the garden. I also added a layer of that smoked frozen corn you get from Trader Joe’s. Casserole was really good.
https://www.aspicyperspective.com/king-ranch-chicken-casserole/
I need to go to Trader Joe’s and see what it’s like. They recently opened a Lidl near me - it’s very nice. Are they similar?
It kind of threw me when I saw lobster, and in one video King Crab legs - those seem really inefficient to store; but I figured it must be a first-week-out thing. (I’ve never seen processed, frozen lobster, but I guess the Navy could get it.)
Lidl is AMAZING. Really lower prices than Trader Joes and they have these weekly bargains like eggs for 27 cents a dozen. A whole pineapple for 79 cents.Very inexpensive spices etc etc.
They do have an app that you can use to see what the weekly bargains are.
Their wines used to be really great and very inexpensive-many French, German and Spanish ones. but now I see that they have a much smaller inventory. I don’t know why.
They are really giving Trader Joe’s a run for their money.
I was amazed at how much money we saved - I know some of it was due to special ‘grand opening’ prices; but a lot of the regular prices were very good. The only problem with these stores is that they won’t be a one-stop place because they just don’t carry many of the big-brand name items that most people use and want. We’ll probably go to Lidl once a month or so.
We like Aldi, too; but parking at the store near us is a nightmare on weekends. The Lidl was easy.
This is the chicken enchilada recipe I use when I have left over rotisserie or other chicken in the fridge. I also add some Trader Joe’s enchilada sauce( addicted to this stuff),to the salsa on the bottom layer and then add more of the enchilada stuff on the top. We like things spicy and this adds a lot. Sometimes the salsas are very bland.
This recipe came from Gourmet Magazine years ago and was voted as one of their most popular recipes.
https://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/1168/Baked-Chicken-Cheese-Enchilada84752.shtml
Lidl has started bringing in lamb....both US and Australian. Prices are amazing and the quality is excellent. Meat and poultry prices are really low too. Since they are really close to us, we are going there for most of our shopping and not getting to Trader Joes as much, because of location and traffic issues. Aldi is right across the street from Lidl and both are very busy.
PREP Steep overnight in glass dish 1/4" slices 2 lge beefsteak tomatos, Marinade.
METHOD Spread Cuban bread loave halves w/ herb butter; lightly toast 450 deg.
ASSEMBLY slightly overlap tomato slices on buttered loaf; add Parm. Oven bake 1-2 min.
Cut 8 pieces. Sprinkle w/ julienned basil; arrange on warm server. SERVE garnished w/ basil sprigs.
HERB BUTTER fork/mash 4 tb butter, 2 tb evo, tsp minced garlic, ½ tsp thyme leaves, tb thin scallion rounds.
TOMATO MARINADE blender ½ cup Wh/wine vinegar, ¼ c oj, tb L/Juice, ¼ c evo,
tb ea Dijon, minced garlic, br/sugar, tsp ea fresh oregano leaves/parsley, ¼ tsp s/p.
Cuban Pizza?
That looks like a fun place - I’d never heard of it, though there’s one not too far away in VA.
I like coconut shrimp...
I believe Bahama Breeze started off as an island restaurant in the Caribe......but became very popular, and is a chain in the US.
I believe Bahama Breeze started off as an island restaurant in the Caribe......but became very popular, and is a chain in the US.
Shrimp Nimbus
2# large peeled and deveined shrimp
2 sticks unsalted butter
1 large green bell pepper - chopped
1 large or 2 medium white onion - chopped
3 cloves garlic - minced
2 cans cream of celery soup
1 - 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 tblsp. lime juice
1 tblsp. Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper
LOL!
My hubby served in the Navy on the aircraft carrier Independence in the Mediterranean during Viet Nam and he said they ate pretty well, too.
The key lime pie at Bahama Breeze is excellent!
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