> Yeah, you've mentioned this before. :)  All I can say is we were in two
 > vastly different Navy's then. :)  I do concede that if the base was small,
 > ala Imperial Beach, the cooks could do outstanding work.  But on larger
 > bases that wasn't the case at all during my days.

I have little experience with base galleys.  The only times i lived on base
(and working there doesnt count as normally too far away or a surcharge due
to comrats) was my first one, AF base, caeteria contracted out and pretty
good, and once as a student at SSC San Diego (chow not great but not
horrible).  In Hawaii, I was on comrats as my base was Camp Smith and they
didnt have a galley except weekdays lunch.  Surcharge to eat there or at
Pearl.

So, shipboard food is all I can really talk about as I'd see the insides of a
base galley perhaps once a year and that only in a few places.
 
 >  CS> On the FTM, they didnt follow the recipe cards, even when the
 >  CS> assesors were there except with one main, and one side per meal.  The
 >  CS> rest was fair game ;-)  Most ship's arent bold enough to do that but we
 >  CS> said 'what the heck, we aint gonna win anyway so go for it'.  Charmed
 >  CS> the inspectors especially when the inspectors found out tha the crew
 >  CS> was allowed to send in favorite recipes and help cook'em if they
 >  CS> wanted.
 > 
 > Help em cook?  Not even sure Navy regs would allow that back in my Navy. :)

It doesnt now either ;-)  Didnt stop us but the MS folks would watch and
handle any heavy duty gear for safety reasons.  Mostly this was a mongolian
BBQ day sort of thing.

 >  CS> So like, the standard menu said today was supposed to be veal parmesan
 >  CS> and the assessors knew that, and we'd stick the label of 'veal
 >  CS> parmesan' over that steam plate and inside would be miso butterfish on
 >  CS> a bed of caremelized onion and bell peppers with a sprinkle of birdseed
 >  CS> chiles.....
 > 
 > Wow, so many words in that message that I'm sure our old Navy cooks never
 > even heard of, let alone know how to cook them.  :)  Now if you would have
 > said something like, "Greasy pork chops swimming in a sea of
suet" that
 > would ring a bell. :)
 > 
 > Miso Butterfish, birdseed chilies, yeah - tell me more.  :)

Small silver flat fish with miso dressing, baked just til tender and finished
off in the steamer table.  Purple birdseed chiles (so you could find'em and
pick'em out if you were a chile whimp like me).  Onions and green peppers
done on the grill in butter and bacon fat.

 > Biggest day for a decent meal was Spaghetti day, followed by the Sunday
 > "selected cold cuts" dinner.  Two meals not even the Navy
cooks could screw
 > up.  :)

FTM spagetti wasnt great but the ESSEX one was!

 > 
 >  CS> had to make a trade deal with the Essex to send a helo over with a few
 >  CS> missing ones.
 > 
 > Oh, my gawd!   Stop, stop.

heheehe
          xxcarol
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