A food blogger and a firefighter walk into a bar…

OK, not really.

Remember Lt. Dan?  The guy who made the barbecue that Terry loved so much?

He’s a great guy– he and his wife, Sheilah, are some of my favorite people.  Strangely enough, we met before we actually met– I distinctly remember talking to him and Murphy in line at Bockfest two years ago, the year we had the huge snow and the only people there were folks from the neighborhood.  He and his crew drove down from Monroe just to do Bockfest!  We actually attended with him and Sheilah this year.

Dan invited me several months ago to come to his firehouse (he really IS a lieutenant) and eat with “his guys” and talk firehouse food.

I haven’t written about it until now.  And for that, Dan, I am really sorry.  You can tell your guys that I loved the food, but I’m just a bad blogger.  And I obviously owe y’all one.  Thing is, do I bring food? I can’t beat yours!

Anyway, Lt. Dan works for the Monroe Fire Department.  He’s a man of many talents: he’s a nurse, a medic, a firefighter and has been a police officer; he hunts, but he also cans and grows his own herbs, and throws a party like no other.  He and the guys have an herb garden on the firehouse property– with herbs, peppers, and tomatoes.  Dan’s kind of one big contradiction (which is why Terry and I like him so much).

Anyway, we headed up there on a cold day in March.  Yes, March.  See? BAD blogger.  The firehouse is relatively new, and the firefighters all work 24 hour shifts– so you work with the same team every time you work, two days off, and one day on.  Because of this, they each have their own room, a big living area, and a big kitchen.

We spent a lot of the night, when not talking about cooking, chatting about how crazy people are, and some of the runs they make.  It sounded like some of my favorite ER and ambulance blogs, and I insist Dan should start blogging about his experiences, but I’m still waiting (but then again, so is he– for this post!).

Speaking of Dan, here he is chopping up some parsley for the evening’s dinner:

When you think of firefighters, what kind of food do you think of?  My first thought–  he’s going to make chili.  I was wrong.  In talking with Dan and his guys, it’s pretty common for firefighters (in their house, at least) to live on things like mac and cheese, frozen chicken nuggets, and jarred pasta sauce.  Dan has started a one-man revolution in Monroe: his guys– some of whom were kind of picky– feast on things like his smoked pork shoulder, homemade pasta sauce, homemade desserts.  Nothing is pre-made or frozen.  They cook and eat the way I wish I could cook and eat more often.

The guys all contribute a certain amount to a grocery budget, so they work off of that as well as some standard pantry items and things from their garden.  Dinner, of course, often gets interrupted, so they tend to not make things that are super time-sensitive.  They eat like a big family– I’ve noticed that firefighters, in particular, are like a big family– and share stories of their day.

The night I was their guest, their menu was spectacular:

Chicken and bowtie pasta in a chipotle-cream sauce

Foccaccia-based garlic bread, with tons of butter, roasted garlic, fresh garlic, and parsley

Murphy’s red velvet cake with raspberry frosting

When we walked in Murphy was sauteeing chicken.

Dan demonstrating proper technique; of what, I’m not sure:

Dan checking the seasoning:

The final pasta dish:

It was amazingly good– Dan is a great cook– but I do wish I had the recipe. The chicken was tender, the sauce flavorful– rich cream (but not too rich), followed up by a smoky heat from chipotle peppers. I suppose he did keep the “firehouse” in dinner that night!

I ate way too much of this garlic bread, but it was excellent:

I’ve since duplicated it– very simple: split a loaf of crusty bread, lengthwise, then generously spreaad roasted garlic, a ton of fresh, chopped garlic, butter (though the guys used margarine) and parsley inside. Wrap it in aluminum foil and bake at 350 for about 20 minutes, then unwrap it and let it crisp a bit. Delicious and incredibly simple.

Shotwell and Fletcher, starting their dinner:

Red velvet cake:

The frosting had pureed raspberries in it– simple, but is there anything better than chocolate and raspberries?

Amazingly enough, we were there for almost three hours and there were no calls– until we were getting ready to leave!  So we left out the back door, and heard the sirens as the guys went to their first call of the evening.

So, firefighters– any recipes you’d like to share with the locals?  Maybe Terry and I will try a few (or maybe Lt. Dan would like to guest post) and your crew will get a little gift from wine me, dine me.
And in the meantime, guys, I LOVED dinner, and thank you so much for having me!  Stay safe!

Tagged as: chipotle chicken, garlic bread, lt. dan, monroe firefighters, red velvet cake