The Pantagraph from Bloomington, Illinois • Page 21

THE PANTAGRAPH. Wfednsaa August 14. 1985 C3 There's not much cookin' in Normal Fireman's steak a hit in Clinton Home cooking is becoming a lcrt art at Normal Km- Ieiartment. with brown baas and TV dinners being seen more and more at mealtime. If any of the men were on diets, "they didn't mention it to me," Good says.

g'Kl at the Chi' ago fire where the shifts run a'xiut 2" u. I. alA the cook that is the who is the cherished member of the fire department." Chief George Cermak was one of those cherished firefighters back when fixxl was kmc Trent sa c-rmak I'olih dinner was memo rable, with pork roast, sauerkraut and a "big n'xidle" he would brmj down from lu aao. "I chjoeii it HCioklhg' when I was on shift," Cermak says "You du' up some recipes and try to get a little reative Trent says a dih 'alied 'Cermak Surprise is the one that should appear in the newspaper Cermak can't remember it exat lie says it was a combination of and luiian sausage mixed with sauce and sere over n'Hidles It was spi ed up" by a little pepper, he says Th'- re'ije 'hanged every time I made it Ormak claims the diih reputation surpassed the skill needed to ook it Trent remembers 'Cermak Sur prise as using Ragu brand spaghetti sauce having onions and garlic as added seasoning, and Ui-nu served with Italian bread Normal firemen occasionally fix a weekend bruri'h. but it's not like It uerl to tie "Maybe someday our firefighers will rediscover the idea of cooking together as a group." Cermak iays.

Each shift (overs two fire stations now. so oiere are fewer men at each place, and that discourages fan cy cooking. NKD I.t Gary Trent fondly re members the good old days in Normal the pot roasts, the 1 Li Cermak beans, the noodles, the Italian food He thinks the food must still be FIREMEN From CI poutws, with the breadc-d butter fly pork chops. MII.K GRAVY Drippings from butterfly pork chops, above 2 pats butter Hour Milk Salt and pepper, to taste Melt the drippings and butter together. Stir in flour with a fork until it has absorbed all the grease and made a firm mixture.

Start adding milk while bringing to a boil. Add milk until the mixture won't absorb any more. Use salt and pepper to taste "a lot of it," Brewer says Brewer rounds out this meal with scalloped corn and bread. Chop Suey is a Bloomington Fire Department classic, passed through several generations of firehouse cooks. Brewer learned it from his mentor, Don Swibaker.This recipe makes enough chop suey to feed eight or nine firemen.

HOP SI KY 2 pounds cubed pork, browned 2 pounds cubed beef, browned At least 2 large onions 2 stalks celery, sliced 4 cans bean sprouts 2 cans bamboo shoots 2 cans water chestnuts, sliced 1 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced 1 jar brown gravy sauce 2 small bottles soy sauce Cornstarch Combine all ingredients through the brown gravy sauce. Add one bottle of the soy sauce. Simmer for 2'i hours, adding water as needed. Just before serving, thicken the mixture with cornstarch. Serve on a bed of rice, with Chinese noodles sprinkled on top.

Use additional soy sauce as needed. Brewer includes bread and butter in this meal. Joe Hoeniges fed firefighters with Swiss steak and coleslaw DriverEngineer Don Good's chicken fried steak was a favorite with the Clinton Fire Department. In Clinton, there's one fireman on a shift, so the only group cooking is for the monthly fire department dinner meetings. Good did all that cooking for several years before his 1980 retirement.

His chicken fried steak was requested time after time by the firemen's committee that planned the monthly dinners. The steak was served with mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans flavored with bacon or ham, and coleslaw. If any of the men were on diets, "they didn't mention it to me," Good says. For dessert, Good would bake pies or cakes, but a little of that went a long way: two bundt cakes satisfied 30 to 40 men. "When they'd eat a meal, they really didn't eat too much dessert," Good says.

Good didn't work from cookbooks. He describes how he made the popular steak and a few of the accompaniments. DON GOOD'S UK KEN KRIKD STEAK Start with round steak that has been run once through the meat market's cuber to tenderize it. The rule of thumb for quantity is 4 ounces per person, Good says, but he figured 8 ounces per fireman. Dredge the steaks in flour seasoned with salt and pepper.

Joe Hoeniges earned his culinary reputation by rooking for 17 years at the old Central Station firehouse on Front Street in Bloomington. Dip them in a mixture of milk and eggs thick enough to resemble uncooked scrambled-egg mixture. Dredge again in seasoned flour. Drop the steaks into hot grease. Good didn't deep fry the steaks, but used "quite a bit" of melted Crisco in large cookers that the firemen made from boiler plate.

Cook until the steaks are brow and done through. "I go by the looks of it," Good says. Then he kept them in a warming oven until serving time. "There was very seldom any left over," he says. Good made gravy from the steak drippings.

COLESLAW Cut up the cabbage with a knife and add chopped green peppers or carrots for color and flavor For the dressing, thin mayonnaise or a prepared salad dressing such as Miracle Whip ith milk. Add a seasoning such as celery seed. He retired from Blooming-ton Fire Department in 1W18. Swiss steak served with coleslaw was a well-liked meal that came to mind when Hoe ii i ees re mi steak into pieces Hoeniges allowed two pieces totaling about pound for each fireman. Roll the steak pieces in flour sea soned with salt and pepper Brown the pieces well in vegetable oil or melted shortening Hoeniges recommends Crisco Spreail the pieces in a roasting pan.

se eral deep "Then." Hoei.ig.-s sass "I'd sli' lots onions on it." 'our tomato juice into the roasting pan deep enough to cover all the mt at Cover the pan and bake 2 to 3 hours at degrees. When done, remove the steak and onions from the pan. f'la the roasting pan on a burner. Thi ken the tomato juice and drippings with a flour water mixture. Hoeniges found his coleslaw recipe in The Fantagraph in the 1950s.

COLESLAW Grate cabbage with an "old-fashioned sijw cutter," Hoeniges says. Chop en-en peppers, celery and onions, crate carrots and mix all together with the cabbage. Mix Miracle Whip into the salad. Hoeniges say s. Sprinkle garlic powder, sugar, salt and vinegar, all to taste, over the salad.

Mix it up and serve it. called ins fire house cooking days. Hoeniges HOENTGES'S SWISS STEAK Have the butcher cut round steak about inch thick. Cut the The Hayloft Shops Visit our village of 8 complete shops for our 15th ANNIVERSARY SALE How BIG is our Back-To-School Sale? Shops sales on clothing, fine linens, crystal, pine furniture, Williamsburg Brass, Armetale', baskets and pictures. nirminnt: 1-74 W.

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