Bakersfield Life

Firehouse Holiday Recipes

“I want you to know this isn’t the normal meal at a fire station,” says Bakersfield Fire Department Chief Ron Fraze as he looks over a busy kitchen while Engineer Chad Burton masters a holiday meal for the crew. “Engineer Burton is an extraordinary cook and we’re ecstatic every time he has the opportunity to cook a wonderful meal for us.” This is the mood at Bakersfield Fire Station 15 as Burton takes to the kitchen to create a magnificent feast fit for any home on Thanksgiving. The aroma of the turkey, stuffing and apple pie hits everyone gathered as soon as the front door opens.

“After years of trying, I finally got the recipe from my grandmother for her Swedish rolls. These are awesome,” he says as he pulls the tray of warm bread from the oven.

Bakersfield Life went looking for holiday recipies and found some of the best chefs in town living together for four-day, 24-hour shifts who were ready and willing to share some recipies and a look at life at the firehouse on Thanksgiving. Burton took the lead and, with the help of Firefighter Saul Alvarado, spent more than nine hours in the kitchen with the hopes of sitting down with his crew for a wonderful holiday meal.

“Some people may not realize that we go shopping every day for the food we eat.

We all pitch in some money and rely on the station’s firefighters to cook meals for the crew,” Burton continues. “We don’t eat like this everyday. Normally it’s stuff like taco salad and spaghetti.” Many days, chow time in a firehouse is interrupted by a call for assistance. The public- comes-first mentality means everyone will drop their forks and head out to save and assist those in the community.

After hours of preparation, Burton presented a meal any firefighter would dream to enjoy on Thanksgiving.

“You have to have an appetizer,” Burton says. His Parrot Bay coconut shrimp with pina colada dipping sauce should be a recipe used year round in any home. Beginning the meal with the traditional roast turkey, Burton accents his table setting with chive and garlic mashed potatoes, green beans with caramelized onions and almonds, Swedish rolls and a Napa style apple pie and homemade vanilla ice cream for dessert. This meal is perfect for any holiday feast, straight from the home of Bakersfield’s local heroes.

How do firefighters handle time away from family when they’re on duty on a major holiday?

“During Thanksgiving and Christmas, we’ll usually have our families come down to the firehouse and spend the day with us at work. The whole crew will lend a hand in the kitchen to cook. We may still get called out, but we try to spend as much time with our families as we can,” Burton says.

On this day, with Fraze, Deputy Fire Chief Doug Greener and additional visitors coming together to enjoy Burton’s meal, the camaraderie of the firehouse is alive and loud. Talk about the day, the last call and the meal about to be presented dominates the conversation. Right before 6 p.m., a call goes out on the loudspeaker telling everyone that it’s chow time. Plates began to fill up as the conversation turns to “What did you put in these potatoes, Burton?” Burton, the master chef for the day, is last to fill his plate. While in the middle of receiving props for a meal well cooked, a voice comes through the radio attached to the hip of most firefighters in the room.

The voice says the members of Station 15 are needed to assist someone in the community.

After a week of preparation and a full day of cooking for 15 people, the station cleared and Burton is left with a hot meal and an empty fire station. All of his diners are destined to enjoy his meal re-heated.

“It happens,” Burton says. Public comes first.

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Roast Turkey
10 to 12 servings

1 (14 to 16 pound) frozen young turkey
For the brine:
1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 gallon vegetable stock
1 tbsp black peppercorns
1/2 tbsp allspice berries
1/2 tbsp candied ginger
1 gallon iced water
For the aromatics:
1 red apple, sliced
1/2 onion, sliced
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup water
4 sprigs rosemary
6 leaves sage
Canola oil

Combine all brine ingredients, except ice water, in a stockpot and bring to a boil. Stir to dissolve solids, then remove from heat, cool to room temperature and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.

Early on the day of cooking (or late the night before) combine the brine and ice water in a clean 5-gallon bucket. Place thawed turkey breast side down in brine, cover and refrigerate or set in cool area (like a basement) for 6 hours. Turn turkey over once half way through brining.

A few minutes before roasting, heat oven to 500 degrees. Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick and cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes.

Remove bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard brine.
Place bird on roasting rack inside wide, low pan and pat dry with paper towels. Add steeped aromatics to cavity along with rosemary and sage. Tuck back wings and coat whole bird liberally with canola (or other neutral) oil.

Roast on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cover breast with double layer of aluminum foil, insert probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and return to oven, reducing temperature to 350 degrees. Set thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting. Let turkey rest, loosely covered, for 15 minutes before carving.

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Chive and Garlic Mashed Potatoes
6 to 8 servings

4 to 6 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
4 cloves garlic, lightly crushed
3 sprigs fresh thyme
2 tablespoons chopped chives

Put the cut potatoes into a large pot, cover them with cold water and add a large pinch of salt. Bring to a boil and simmer until the potatoes are fork tender, about 20 to 30 minutes. Drain well. Meanwhile, in a small pot heat the cream, butter, garlic and thyme. While the potatoes are still warm, press them through a potato ricer or food mill into a bowl. Stir in the warm cream a bit at a time, straining out the solids, until the potatoes are fluffy. Season with salt and pepper and gently fold in the chives. Serve immediately.

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Green Beans with Caramelized Onions and Almonds
 
6 to 8 servings

Kosher salt
3 pounds green beans, trimmed of stem end
1/2 cup skin on sliced almonds
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 large onions, sliced thin
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
Freshly ground black pepper

Fill a large high-sided skillet with some water, adding enough to be just shy of the rim of the pan by about 1 inch. Place over high heat and bring up to boil; add a big pinch of salt and the green beans. Cook for about 5 minutes; the beans should still be crisp. Drain the beans and then run them under some cold water to stop them from cooking. Reserve the beans while you start the onions.

Return the skillet you cooked the beans in to the cook top over medium heat. Add the almonds and toast, stirring every now and then until golden, about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove the almonds from the skillet and reserve. Return the skillet to the heat and add the butter and olive oil and heat until the butter has melted. Add the onions, season with salt and pepper and cook stirring frequently until the onions caramelize, 20 to 25 minutes. Add the thyme and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the cooked cooled green beans and almonds and stir well to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Parrot Bay Coconut Shrimp

Pina Colada Dipping Sauce
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup pina colada nonalcoholic drink mix
1/4 cup crushed pineapple (canned)
2 tbsp granulated sugar
Shrimp
6-8 cups canola oil (as required by fryer)
12 large shrimp, peeled and deveined (about 1/2 pound)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tbsp granulated sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup milk
2 tbsp Captain Morgan Parrot Bay coconut rum
1 cup panko Japanese-style bread crumbs
1/2 cup flaked coconut

Prepare pina colada dipping sauce first by combining all the ingredients.
Cover this and let it chill in the fridge while you make the shrimp.
Heat oil to 350 degrees.
Measure 3/4 cup of flour into a medium bowl.
In another medium bowl mix together the remaining 3/4 cup flour, sugar and salt.
Stir milk and rum into flour mixture.
Let this batter stand for five minutes.

While the batter rests, combine panko breadcrumbs and shredded coconut into a third medium bowl.

Butterfly cut each shrimp before battering: Use a sharp knife to slice through the top of the shrimp (where the vein was) so that you can spread the shrimp open.
Leave the tail intact.

To batter the shrimp, dip each one in the flour, then the wet batter, then coat each shrimp with the panko/coconut mixture.

Arrange the shrimp on a plate until all of them are battered.

Fry the shrimp by dropping six at a time into the hot oil for 2 to 3 minutes or until the shrimp are golden brown.

Remove shrimp to a rack or paper towels to drain.

Serve shrimp with pina colada dipping sauce on the side, along with a small dish or your favorite salsa.

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Grandma’s Swedish Rolls

8 cups flour
1 cup sugar
6 cardamom seeds crushed
2 eggs
1 tsp salt
2 cups scalded milk
2 packages yeast dissolved in ½ cup warm water
1 stick butter

Scald the milk and pour over butter until melted.
Add sugar, seeds, eggs, salt and yeast mixture. Be sure the milk is not too hot.
Mix well and add flour gradually 1 cup at a time. At the end knead in the rest of the flour.
Let rise until doubled in size. Punch down and make into rolls.
Place rolls in lightly buttered loaf pan and let rise until doubled.
Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

Makes 25 rolls.
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Napa Style Apple Pie  
 
Favorite homemade pie crust or ready-made pie crust
5 1/2 cups peeled cored sliced cooking apples
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
3 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
Topping
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup butter or margarine, room temperature

Preheat oven to 375°F.
Fit pie crust into pie plate.
In a large bowl, mix sliced apples, lemon juice, both sugars, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg.
Pile into crust.
Prepare topping.
In a medium bowl, with a pastry blender or a fork, mix flour, both sugars and butter until coarsely crumbled.
Sprinkle evenly over apples.
Bake at 375°F for 50 minutes

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Classic Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe

2 cup heavy cream
4 cups half-and-half
2 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp salt

Combine ingredients in a blender or food processor until sugar dissolves.
Refrigerate until needed for ice cream maker.
Pour into the ice cream maker and follow your ice cream maker's instructions for freezing.
Note: Due to variances in operating times on different models, that is not included in the prep time.