This month’s firehouse cooking column brings us some style and flavor from the East Coast. The recipe for “Hot Pasta” was sent in by Dan Rinaldi, a 21-year veteran of the Providence (RI) Fire Department (photo 1). For the past 18 years, Dan has been assigned to a rescue company and he has also been a technical rescue specialist on MA-TF1, the FEMA urban search and rescue team in his region.
(1) Photo provided by Dan Rinaldi.
Dan has also spent a little time around a kitchen, having won several impressive cooking awards. From 2002 to 2004, Dan was voted the best firehouse cook in America by Tabasco and the Food Network. Dan also won the best appetizer and an overall silver medal at the Food Network Super Seafood Grill-Off in Napa, California. In March 2010, Dan won the Rhode Island Firefighters’ Chili Throwdown. As if all this were not enough, he has also been on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and on the Rosie O’Donnel Show. Humbly, Dan says he does not consider himself a chef because he has not had the formal schooling required to be a chef. Still, the 16 firefighters he feeds must all be very happy at dinnertime.
The engine company I was with this week made “Hot Pasta.” The crew had fun preparing the recipe and even more fun eating it. There are many ingredients, but the preparation is easy. The end result was an amazingly flavorful meal. We cut the recipe in half to feed three. Nobody made any ice cream-worthy mistakes during the day, so we didn’t have dessert, but we didn’t need it after overindulging on “Hot Pasta” (photo 2). After finishing the meal, the crew thought Dan should travel to Fargo and cook for us so we could enjoy some more of his kitchen talents. In return, Dan can enjoy amazing views of incredibly flat fields. Also while in Fargo, he would get a chance to enjoy our wonderful northwesterly wind tunnel. What do you say, Dan?
(2) Hot pasta. Photo by Criag Nelson.
Ingredients
20 pitted Kalamata olives sliced in half 20 Manzanella olives sliced in half 1/2 cup of liquid from Manzanella olive jar ½ cup of sliced Peperoncini peppers< ½ cup of liquid from Peperoncini pepper jar 1 7-ounce jar julienned sun-dried tomatoes in oil 1 6.5-ounce jar artichoke hearts, marinated and quartered 1 ½ cups chicken broth 3 tablespoons of canola oil 1 pound sweet Italian sausage (remove meat from casing) 4 teaspoons of Kosher salt 4 teaspoons of fresh ground black pepper 3 cloves of minced garlic 2 pounds of skinless and boneless chicken breasts cut into bite-size pieces 1/3 stick of Margarita pepperoni, cut into small cubes 1 pound penne rigate pasta 4 ounces of pepper jack cheese, cut into small cubes ¼ cup of freshly grated pecorino Romano cheese 1 tablespoon of chopped flat leaf parsley Extra virgin olive oil (optional)
Preparation
Put the first eight ingredients into a bowl, including the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes and the liquid from the artichoke hearts. Heat one tablespoon of canola oil in a 10-inch frying pan on medium-high heat, and add sausage. Break up the sausage into small pieces while cooking. Once the sausage is cooked, set it aside. Add the remaining canola oil to the frying pan, and add garlic. Cook until garlic is translucent, and then turn the heat to high. Salt and pepper the chicken, and add it to the pan. Once the chicken is cooked halfway through, add the pepperoni and sausage. When the chicken is cooked all the way through, add all ingredients from the bowl. Bring this to a boil; let it simmer for 10 minutes. Cook the pasta one minute less than in the directions on the box. Drain the pasta until it’s almost dry but not sticking together, then put it in a large serving bowl. Add the ingredients from the pan and the pepper jack cheese together, and mix. Let this sit covered for 10 minutes. Remove the cover, stir again, and then add Romano cheese and flat-leaf parsley. Drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil if desired.
Scores
Ease of preparation: Easy Time: About an hour Cost: About $5.00 per person Feeds: 6
I am looking for your recipes. You can share your creations with many other firefighters by sending in your favorite recipe. Each column will contain a brief introduction to the recipe donor, the name of the donor’s department, the recipe, and any stories that may surround the legendary dish. Send recipes to firestationcooking@gmail.com . Include your name and e-mail address. Eat together when you are able, and stay safe out there.
Craig Nelson has been in the fire service for nine years, working as a volunteer, paid-on-call, and a full-time firefighter/EMT. He works for the Fargo (ND) Fire Department and works part-time at Minnesota State Community and Technical College – Moorhead as a fire instructor. He also works seasonally for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources as a wildland firefighter in Northwest Minnesota. Previously, he was an airline pilot. He has a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a master’s degree in executive fire service leadership.
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