CALENDAR ANNOUNCEMENT
WHAT: Part of the Navy Memorial’s “Authors on Deck” series of book lectures. Author Rudy Shappee will present his new book Beef Stew for 2500: Feeding Our Navy from the Revolutionary War to the Present, followed by Q&A, a book signing and a lunchtime tasting prepared by the Navy’s culinary specialists.
WHEN: Wednesday, May 5, 2010, 12:00 NOON
WHERE: United States Navy Memorial
Naval Heritage Center
701 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20004
COST: Free and open to the public.
CONTACT: 202-737-2300.
Imagine having to cut and trim 630 pounds of beef into one-inch cubes and then dredge the meat in 33.75 pounds of flour before browning it in 33.75 pounds of fat. While you are doing this, your assistants are busy washing and cutting up 270 pounds of tomatoes, cleaning and quartering 135 pounds of onions, cubing 135 pounds of carrots, peeling and cubing 270 pounds of potatoes, and dicing 112.5 pounds of celery, all this in preparation of beef stew for 2,500 hungry sailors. Cooking a meal like this requires the labor of eight men toiling over four 80-gallon steam kettles. After adding these ingredients to 90 gallons of beef stock you season the mixture lightly with 8.5 pounds of salt and a dash (11.25 ounces) of pepper. After cooking for two hours, all you have to do is make gravy from 22.5 pounds of flour and 4.25 gallons of water, add it to the stew, stirring with a device that resembles a canoe paddle. After testing for enough seasoning, you are finally ready to begin serving the hungry crew.
To give the reader an understanding of how the U.S. Navy feeds the crews of its busy ships at sea, Rudy Shappee takes his reader on a tour from the Revolutionary War to the present, showing how food was prepared aboard and abroad during periods of conflict in our nation’s history. In addition, the book contains authentic recipes reflecting various foods eaten by our sailors.
Rudy Shappee served on active duty with the Navy for 20 years. His career spanned the Cold War years of 1957 to 1976. During his career, he served aboard three aircraft carriers: USS Bennington (CVS-20); USS Independence (CV-62); and USS Bennington (CVA-64). After retirement, he enjoyed a 20-year career in public education at elementary, secondary and university levels. Upon the arrival of the USS Midway (CV-41) in San Diego Harbor, he left his teaching career to become a volunteer aboard the new naval aircraft carrier museum. He has assisted in the restoration of the ship and is now serving as Assistant Exhibits Manager for the museum. He and his wife Louise live in San Diego, California.
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