I'll never grill a steak again!

[Rocky]

This is really a great post. I read through everything and I have some thoughts.

First, did you know that sauces were originally developed to mask the flavor of meat that had spoiled?

Second, Army food. Personally I found little to complain about. SOS (creamed chipped beef on toast) was actually one of my favorites. I thought the food was good, nourishing and there was plenty of it. We had a Mess Sergeant in our Battery, a Cajun from New Orleans and he was very proud of his Mess. When brass from Division or Corps visited our Battalion, the Battalion Commander always brought them to Bravo Mess.

Third, preparing a steak. To me there is no better steak than to get a good, fairly lean cut of your favorite steak, tenderize it with a meat mallet, add salt and pepper to taste and let it sit while you prepare the Stainless Steel UNCOATED FRYING PAN. I mince a clove or three of Vitamin G (garlic to non-Italians), bring the pan up to medium heat, cover the bottom of the frying pan with EVOO and add the garlic to saute. Do not burn the garlic. After the garlic has "given up the ghost" I remove it from the pan, reserve it and turn the heat up to high. I sear the steak on both sides to a nice golden brown. I throw in a handfull of roughly chopped parsley on top of the steak and cover the pan, loosely to finish the cooking. When cooking is complete, I scrap out everything that collects on the bottom of the pan and top with steak with the scrapings along with the reserved garlic.

I also cook with lots of wine. Occasionally I add it to the food.

 

[robie]

I never had any problem with Army food. I was a country boy and not used to anything fancy, anyway. I heard complaint after complaint from many of the guys. I could never figure out their problem, myself. However, I didn't like the coffee. I would put one third cup of Army coffee and 2/3's cup of water and it was about right for me. At least it was bearable at that.

I know what you mean about SOS. I still enjoy it for a Sunday morning breakfast, when I'm not in any hurry. Pour that stuff over a bunch of hot biscuits, sprinkle with salt and pepper and its the breakfast of champions to me.

 

[Rocky]

Hey Robie, I forgot about the coffee. The problem with it in the Mess Hall was it simmered all morning so that by lunch time, there was precious little water left and you could "drink" it with a fork. If you got coffee at breakfast and you were one of the first, it was not too bad. When we were in field, the way they made coffee was novel. Just a big stock pot full of water, brought to a boil and a can of coffee dumped in. Eventually, the grounds would settle to the bottom and you could skim a canteen cupful off the top until some clown came along and used his cup as a stirrer and brought all the grounds up again.