Recipes that sizzle: Arkansas firefighters know what it takes to heat up station appetites

Little Rock firefighter Ashley Coleman pulls her Ultimate Cheesy Lasagna out of the oven at Station 2. The dish is a favorite among her fellow firefighters.
Little Rock firefighter Ashley Coleman pulls her Ultimate Cheesy Lasagna out of the oven at Station 2. The dish is a favorite among her fellow firefighters.

The second-floor kitchen and dining area at the North Little Rock Fire Department's Central Station smells like home at suppertime.

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Lt. Mark Wittenburg of the North Little Rock Fire Department stirs a pot of goulash in the kitchen of the department’s Central Station.

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A heaping plate of goulash, green beans and a roll await a hungry North Little Rock firefighter.

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Ashley Coleman’s Ultimate Cheesy Lasagna is served with a salad and bread.

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Bryant Firefighter Chris Crane puts ribs in a smoker at the department’s Station 3. Crane has competed in several barbecue and chili competitions and handles most of the cooking duties for his co-workers.

There's a big pot of goulash simmering on the stove and next to that is a pot of green beans; the hearty aroma is enough to instantly set a visitor's mouth watering.

It's just after noon on a Tuesday in early September and Lt. Mark Wittenburg has been cooking lunch for his fellow firefighters, most of whom are out rappelling down cliffs at Emerald Park on a training exercise. The plan is for everyone to be back at the downtown North Little Rock station on Maple Street to eat at 1 o'clock.

"This is the American version of goulash," the 55-year-old Wittenburg says. "It's not the Hungarian version."

It still smells great.

Wittenburg knows his way around a kitchen. He has been a firefighter for 29 years and has been making meals for his station mates for most of that time. At the Central Station, that means food for 10 to 12 hungry firefighters.

"I experiment on these guys," he says. "I read a lot of cookbooks and if it looks good to me, I'll try it out on them."

After the goulash, green beans and rolls topped with melted butter and rosemary for lunch, the firefighters on this shift will have a supper of grilled chicken salad, Wittenburg says.

One of his most popular dishes is Mexican Chicken Casserole, which makes liberal use of Velveeta and nacho cheese-flavored Doritos.

"You mix it up and it's a gooey, cheesy, nacho chicken mess," he says.

Capt. Alex Guajardo raves about Wittenburg's Volcano Cake, adding that he'd been hinting to his wife that perhaps she should make it at home. A suggestion that maybe Guajardo make it himself prompts a round of laughter and jokes.

"I love it when he does a seasonal meal when it's not in season," says Lt. Ben Evans, "like a Thanksgiving meal in the spring."

Throughout the interview, Wittenburg often adds that there are plenty of good cooks in the North Little Rock department.

"Pretty much all firemen cook at one time or another," he says.

And, as all firehouse cooks know, at any time the signal might come that will take them from the kitchen, down to the truck and off to a fire, an accident or some other calamity where firefighters are needed.

At Bryant Fire Department's Station 3, which serves that city's north side, firefighter Chris Crane handles most of the cooking for his shift.

"I was cooking when I was in high school," Crane, 44, says earlier this month at the double-wide trailer where the three firefighters of Station 3 live during their 24-hour duty stints. "Mom and Dad are both real good cooks. When they were both working, I'd start supper for the family."

Mixing up the menu is a part of the job when cooking for co-workers.

"I try to do different stuff because you don't want to get burned out on one thing," he says. "Tonight, we're having tacos. Next shift, we're having burgers."

Crane, a 10-year veteran of the Bryant department who has competed in barbecue and chili contests, heads outdoors to cook with fire when the mood strikes for ribs or pork butts.

"We've got a smoker out back and we use it at least once or twice a month."

Fellow Bryant firefighter Taylor Meeks, who has been with the department for 18 months, says Crane has inspired his own forays into the kitchen and with the grill.

"I've never been one who is all that good a cook," Meeks says, "but I've been learning a lot. We eat good out here, that's for sure, especially with him."

Ashley Coleman, 35, has been a Little Rock Fire Department firefighter for four years and has been at Station 2 on Ninth Street for a few months now, sharing cooking duties. The community aspect of gathering together for a meal isn't new to her.

"I'm a very social person," she says. Coleman learned to cook by watching her mom and grandmother and while at college at Tennessee State University in Nashville, she would have friends over every Sunday and cook for them. All of that translated well when she left her job as a technical support agent to become a firefighter.

"I didn't like it because you're stuck behind a desk all day," she says on a bright Wednesday morning. "And I like challenges."

Challenges like becoming a firefighter and cooking supper for up to 11 hungry co-workers.

"These guys over here, I love 'em. They give me a hard time sometimes, but I can take it," she says.

Indeed, when asked about her cooking, her co-workers joked about her kitchen skills as Coleman rolled her eyes and laughed along.

"She makes good cinnamon rolls," Jordan Fulmer says. "I'll pretend to eat right and then sneak in here at night and eat seven cinnamon rolls."

Capt. Brian Whitley, after wryly praising Coleman's water-boiling prowess, admitted that "her lasagna is good, her hamburgers are also good."

Good news for him: On the menu that evening were Coleman's grilled burgers.

"You have to make sure they're not dry. I put in onions, bell peppers, jalapenos, Worcestershire sauce, onion powder and garlic powder," she says.

She'll make fries on the side if requested, but was planning to have a salad with her burger.

"Some of us are [careful] of what we eat and some of us aren't, but I try not to make [unhealthful meals]. We have a tendency to always want to eat fried foods."

All of this cooking also calls for a lot of shopping. Wittenburg and Coleman say their stations make grocery runs every shift, collecting money from the other firefighters to pay the bill. In Bryant, at the smaller Station 3, Crane says they shop every third shift.

There's a garden at the Central Station in North Little Rock where Wittenburg says they grow tomatoes, peppers, rosemary, basil and other vegetables and herbs. And the outdoorsmen among the crew will sometimes bring in the venison, duck and other game they've harvested during hunting season.

"If they're nice enough, they will bring in some backstrap," Wittenburg says of the deer hunters. "We'll fry them up with some gravy and potatoes."

Coleman, who is awaiting word on her recent audition for Food Network's Guy's Grocery Games, says she hasn't cooked venison for her co-workers, but has made it at home.

...

Back in North Little Rock, the stove has been turned off and Wittenburg is gone, leaving behind his goulash and beans.

There's been an alarm at Willow House Housing Project and Wittenburg is on his way there. It's all part of life as a firefighter.

"Sometimes, he'll make homemade pizza," Guajardo says, "And the presentation will be excellent; everything is perfect, and then we get a run. After an hour or two hours, you come back and [the pizza] doesn't look nearly as good. We still eat it, though. That's part of it. The meals we have here, you're not guaranteed to eat hot off the stove."

Crane knows the feeling.

"You make sure you turn everything off and then you leave. You come back and try to pick up where you left off, or throw it in the microwave."

Only a few minutes after answering the call, Wittenburg is back. The alarm was taken care of and they weren't needed on the scene, this time.

Editor's note: Many of the following recipes are written for cafeteria-size pots and pans. Home cooks will need to use multiple baking pans or pots to accommodate the quantities.

Mexican Chicken Casserole

2 pounds process cheese such as Velveeta, cubed

2 cans diced tomatoes with green chiles, such as Ro-Tel

2 large onions, diced and boiled

1 family-size can cream of mushroom soup

3 cups chicken broth, divided use

3 chickens, boiled

3 family-size OR 4 large bags Nacho Cheese Doritos

Salsa and sour cream, for serving

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the process cheese and tomatoes with green chiles in double boiler. Add onions, soup and 1 cup of chicken broth. Heat until cheese is melted.

Pull chicken from bone. Crush the Doritos.

Layer bottom of a large baking pan or casserole dish with 1 bag of the Doritos. Add a layer of chicken and a layer of cheese mixture. Add another bag of Doritos, then a layer of chicken followed by a layer of cheese mixture. Top with remaining Doritos. Add 2 cups of broth. Cook until cheese bubbles.

Serve with salsa and sour cream.

Courtesy of Lt. Mark Wittenburg

Goulash

5 pounds ground beef chuck

3 onions, diced

3 bell peppers, diced

2 (30-ounce) cans diced tomatoes

2 (30-ounce) cans tomato sauce

2 cans diced tomatoes with green chiles, such as Ro-Tel

3 bay leaves

1 tablespoon seasoned salt

1 tablespoon ground black pepper

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

4 cups water

4 pounds elbow macaroni

In a very large pot, brown beef over medium heat. Drain. Add onions and bell peppers and cook until soft. Add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomatoes with green chiles, bay leaves, seasoned salt, pepper and Italian seasoning; simmer about 20 minutes. Add water and macaroni and simmer until noodles are done.

Courtesy of Lt. Mark Wittenburg

Taco Pockets

1 (16- to 17-ounce) can refrigerated biscuits

1 pound ground meat (beef, turkey or chicken), cooked and seasoned for tacos

1 cup cooked white rice

1 (15- to 16-ounce) can black beans

Shredded cheese

Salsa and sour cream, for serving

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Roll out biscuits to flatten. In the center of each biscuit, place 1 tablespoon of taco meat, 1 tablespoon of rice, 1 tablespoon of beans and a pinch of cheese. Fold over and seal edges. Bake until biscuits are brown.

Serve with salsa and sour cream.

Courtesy of Chris Crane

Chili

1 pound ground beef

1 pound breakfast sausage

1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes

1 can diced tomatoes with green chiles, such as Ro-Tel

2 cans chili beans

1 envelope Williams Chili Seasoning

Brown ground beef and sausage; drain. In a large pot, combine the cooked and drained meat with the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Simmer for 30 minutes.

Courtesy of Chris Crane

Bacon-Wrapped Chicken Stuffed With Spinach and Feta

6 or 7 chicken breasts

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1 (10-ounce) bag spinach

10 ounces cherry tomatoes, sliced

1 (6-ounce) container feta cheese

1/2 teaspoon Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning, plus more to taste

2 pounds maple bacon

Toothpicks, for securing bacon

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Flatten or butterfly chicken breasts. Sprinkle with garlic and onion powders. Add spinach, tomatoes and feta cheese and sprinkle with Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning. Wrap each breast in sliced bacon. Use toothpicks to keep breast closed.

Place on greased cookie sheet, add more Tony Chachere's to taste and cook for 75 minutes.

Courtesy of Ashley Coleman

The Ultimate Cheesy Lasagna

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 bell pepper, diced

1 purple onion, diced

1 package baby portobello mushrooms

4 fresh tomatoes

1 can diced tomatoes with green chiles

1 bundle fresh basil

1 box lasagna noodles

Salt

2 fresh jalapenos, chopped

1 (8-ounce) can tomato paste

2 cans fire-roasted tomatoes

2 cans stewed tomatoes

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Black pepper to taste

1 pound ground beef

1 pound Italian sausage

1 (16-ounce) container ricotta cheese

Several bags shredded mozzarella cheese (size not given)

1 block process cheese such as Velveeta, sliced

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

In a pot, heat the olive oil, bell pepper and purple onion. Simmer until soft. Add mushrooms, fresh tomatoes and diced tomatoes with green chiles. Simmer. Rinse and chop basil and set aside.

In a separate pot, bring water to boil. Add noodles and pinch of salt. Boil noodles until partially cooked, about 10 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water to cool.

Add basil, jalapenos, tomato paste, fire-roasted tomatoes, stewed tomatoes, onion powder, garlic powder and Italian seasoning to the pot with vegetables. Season to taste with black pepper. Simmer.

In a greased skillet, brown ground beef and Italian sausage. Drain and add to sauce. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Spread some sauce evenly on the bottom of a large casserole dish or pan. Top with some of the noodles. Layer sauce and some ricotta cheese on top of noodles. Top with slices of process cheese. Add shredded mozzarella. Repeat layering process.

Bake 1 hour or until edges are brown.

Courtesy of Ashley Coleman

Food on 09/21/2016

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