Last time, In the Kitchen brought you Italian Wedding Soup, this week we had a much different experience with the firefighters of Chandler.
Today I'm eating lunch with engine 287 of the Chandler Fire Department. I've been given a tip -- bring ice cream -- so I arrive with two quarts in hand, chocolate and French vanilla. After a few quick introductions, and the handing over of the ice cream, we are off.
It's an eye-catching sight - a group of firefighters food shopping at the grocery store. What's their M.O? Broderick and Thomas say typically, they head straight for the meat department to see what's on special. The day's menu will be planned around whatever they find there. There are other crews that have vegetarians, they assure me, but not this one.
In fact Russell celebrated his birthday the night before. Here at the firehouse, there's a tradition. If it's your birthday you're in charge of making dinner. You decide on the menu, you buy all the ingredients and do all the preparation. Russell made a tenderloin wrapped in puff pastry: tenderloin en croute.
"It's a pretty colorful little spread right there," says Trig. We all start talking about the broccoli salad, which is delicious but has a curious amount of mayonnaise and sugar in it. Firefighter Thomas announces, "You can never have too much cheese or bacon."
Seconds later - sirens blaring, horn honking - we are in the truck racing down the street. A possible gas pipe rupture inside a home. The demeanor changes to total efficiency. Next to me, two firemen have suited up in 67 pounds of gear within seconds.