Wednesday, August 05, 2009

The Firefighter's Cookbook

A tribute to firefighters, their wonderful recipes and an old cookbook.



This is an old paperback cookbook I acquired in the 80's.....it's copyright date is 1986 as a matter of fact. Realizing that, when I made a few of these recipes this week, it's more than likely that some of these firefighters are retired now. Certainly it was long before September 11th when we lost so many in the tragedy in New York. But I like to think they are all well.....cooking the linguine recipes, about to retire with stories to tell, or better yet, retired and recreating these recipes in their family kitchens.

Here are just a few of my favorites...and I can tell you, it was hard to choose just a couple!

Linguine with Clam Sauce

2 ( 7 oz. ) cans whole baby clams, or 2 cups fresh minced clams

¼ cup olive oil or salad oil

¼ cup butter or margarine

3 large garlic cloves, minced

2 Tbps. chopped parsley

1 ½ tsps. Salt

8 oz. linguine

Parmesan cheese, grated



Drain canned clams
, reserving ¾ cup liquid; set aside. Slowly heat oil and butter in skillet.

Add garlic and sauté until golden. Do not let garlic brown. Remove skillet from heat. Stir in clam liquid, chopped parsley and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat then simmer uncovered for 10 minutes.

Ummm.....look at the pieces of clam...........



While mixture is simmering, boil linguine al dente in 3 quarts water, 1 teaspoon salt and 3 tablespoons olive oil.

Add clams to skillet after mixture has simmered. When linguine is cooked, drain and pour in ingredients of skillet and sprinkle with cheese.

Contributed by Lt. J. Shea
Brooklyn/Queens Holy Name Society
Page 77




A comforting meal with a glass of chardonnay..



OK, now to a chili recipe........



Tom’s Chili

2 ½ lbs. chopped meat
1 tsp. adobo (seasoning)
1 can okra
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
1 ½ tsps. Chili powder
8 oz. mushrooms, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 large can crushed tomatoes
1 large can kidney beans
5 dashes Tabasco
1 (15 oz) can pinto beans

Brown meat and drain off fat. Put meat in a 2 quart pot and add 2 cups water.
Add remaining ingredients.
Simmer over low heat for 2 hours. Stir occasionally.

Contributed by Tom Killean
Ladder 55



NOTE: I did alter this one. I combined it with another of the firefighter's chili recipe and did not add canned okra but did mix ground beef and ground turkey. Really tasty.

Serve with salsa, sour cream and shredded cheddar cheese.




Special Note - the introduction by John Sineno states he was appointed to the Nw York City Fire Department in 1962. He was assigned to the fire factory which stood at 114th street and Fifth Avenue in the heart of Harlem. He says it "was the busiest fire company on the face of the earth." He describes how the they had the finest firefighters and the most ravenous...hence all the recipes collected!

This little book has everything from appetizers, to main meals to wonderful cheesecake desserts. My copy is dog earred and the spine is separating...surely a sign of much loved book.





Chicken and Rice Soup

We love our soup in this house. No photos, but here's another dynamite recipe from John Sineno.

1 whole chicken, cut up

1 tbsp. chopped parsley

4 large carrots, diced

2 cups rice

2 chicken bouillon cubes

Parmesan cheese to taste

Wash chicken and put in stockpot. Cover with water (approximately 6 cups) and add parsley and carrots. Bring to a slow boil and cook until chicken is done. When chicken is done remove from pot, bone and shred. In the same pot, add rice and bouillon cubes. Cover and cook until rice is done. Add shredded chicken and serve. Garnish with Parmesan cheese.

John Sineno
Ladder 58

13 comments:

  1. What a great cookbook. I think all 3 of the recipes sound great, but I'm especially craving some of that crab linguine now! :D

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  2. Yum - clams! I love anything with clams!

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  3. Loving the white crab sauce! I have the very same book!! I love firefighter cookbooks! My hubby collects them.

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  4. Hey, I managed to get online - whoop! Great recipes I too love anything with clams ;o)

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  5. I'd love if you could tell us more about the firefighters who wrote the book - of course, if the books tells more. Are these recipes they made at work, while waiting for an SOS? Or family recipes from each one of them .. I mean, is tehre a story behind the book?

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  6. Girli and WC: Clams are favorite. Fortuntely we can get them fresh for $4 per dozen...that's not too expensive.

    Donna - does your hubby have John Sineno's second cookbook? I was sad to hear Sineno died a few years back.

    Jo - I sent you an email this morning....glad you have the net back!

    Laura - This book does have stories and I would be happy to get some out there to share. It's a nice little paperback and the firefighters seemed to take their turns cooking for their crew. Some recipes are meant to feed 12 people...so I cut back quite a bit since it's just two of us...sometimes 3....or if Tristan drags a girl home 4. :D

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  7. mmmm...was just telling my husband a few days ago I wanted to make the clam pasta dish you have up today.

    I used to eat it on the beach in Italy with clams straight out of the ocean...still alive when thrown into the pot on a big fire on the beach.

    the one difference is that Italians (at least the ones I know---it could vary from region to region as food habits do vary greatly in Italy) NEVER put cheese on seafood dishes...and so I've learned that too. I have tried cheese on these sorts of dishes as an adult once I left the control of my fathers kitchen and I still prefer italian seafood dishes without cheese.

    My husband generally insists on putting cheese on his in any case, so in the end it's all about personal preference!

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  8. This is a great post. I have some of my mom's old 'collection' cook books and it is so fun to rummage through them to find a gem. Cheers!

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  9. Yum! I want this Cookbook!!! LOL!

    Wonderful recreations of the dishes.

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  10. Monica jane- That sounds great - seafood fresh from Italy. Did you live there for a long time?

    Capt Rachel - Welcome! Ia gree with you about old cookbooks. They are so much fun to browse through. And you can find some really good old recipes!

    Miranda -Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment on my blog! I have saved your stromboli recipe - looks wonderful and when I make it, I will link back to your post.
    Cheers!

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  11. My mom used to cook out of this when I was younger. We seemed to have lost the book and the clam sauce was always my favorite. Thank you for putting it up!

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  12. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  13. Thanks for sharing the clam sauce! Our cookbook is long gone, so it's nice to have it online

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