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HOT FROM THE FIREHOUSE!
Fire fighters are the guts of our country and the crowning glory of all that is good in us. The fire fighters that I had the privilege to interview at the Pembroke Pines Fire Department were gentleman. A reflection of their captain, Mike Vincent. When I first approached Captain Mike, he was very enthusiastic about letting us interview his team and share recipes with us.
	James Juliano
Mike's effervescent manner and colorful personality is reflected in his fire fighters. The fire fighters were focused and confident. Every question I asked was meticulously answered. These men and women are the backbone of our communities and ultimately would give their lives for your protection. It felt wonderful getting to meet them for the first time. I am looking forward to their friendship as they will be sharing recipes with us monthly. "Work as hard as you can, there is nothing out of reach. I wanted to be an astronaut, I always wanted to be a hero." These words came out of the Fire Fighter Chef of the Month, James Juliano who claims that he is not the best person with words. Well Jim, I 'm sure President Bush could not have said it more eloquently. On the day of my first visit it was Jim's duty to prepare dinner. Jim is originally from Howard Beach, New York and has been living in Florida for 20 years. He has many secret recipes that he has learned from his mother. Although he was more than happy to share his secret "The Mayor's Eggplant "Straight Roll" itini" recipe with us, he wouldn't go further than that. (Jim I think I will have to have a word with Captain Mike about getting your secret marinara sauce! I have a better idea, anyone that want's to ask Jim for his secret Marinara Sauce can e-mail him at ( ). Jim is happily married and does most of the cooking at home. His wife Laura, is learning to cook, so hopefully she will introduce herself to us at the forum and share some of her thoughts. Jim's favorite food to prepare is Italian food. "If I make all these guys happy, it makes the day easier. I live with them every third day, they are like brothers. Every day we sit down to dinner and we share stories of the day and giggle. There is a lot of camaraderie. It is just like sitting down with your own family. We are family." Jim went on to say that every morning a collection is made in which each firefighter contributes $10.00. The money pays for lunch, dinner and snacks. Whoever is cooking for that particular shift is the person who comes up with the dinner selection. Shopping for the day is done at one of the local supermarkets or warehouse clubs. Jim told me that once they did an 81 straight shift of eating only sushi! Sounds like fun to me, how come I wasn't invited? Some other meals enjoyed at the Pembroke Pines Fire Department are Steak and chicken grilled and marinated in Italian dressing, chicken Caesar wrap, and pastas. A typical dinner consist of an entree and salad with 'all the fixings in it' Dessert is not usually served but there is plenty of snack food such as Oreos and pretzels to munch on when our firefighters get the urge. In fact while I was conducting the interview with Jim, Battalion Captain Stew Pester snuck in a fast snack. I think it was pizza? I cornered him with a big mouthful of it too! Now it was time to get down and dirty with our Hot Firefighter Chef Of The Month. It was time to cook! Here is Jim's Recipe: The Mayor's Eggplant " Straight Roll" itini.
	2 large eggplants 1 cup fresh parsley 5 eggs 1/4 cup milk 3 cups bread crumbs 1/2 cup grated fresh Romano cheese 4 cups Ricotta cheese 3/4 pound sweet ham 1/2 pound sliced Provolone cheese 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 1 quart favorite pasta sauce 3 pounds linguini
Begin by peeling and slicing eggplant into 1/4 inch slices. Then beat 4 eggs and milk together in a bowl. Also mix bread crumbs and Romano cheese in a separate bowl. Dip eggplant slices into egg mixture, then cover with bread crumbs. Place eggplant in a pan coated with olive oil. Cook eggplant in pan until golden brown. Place eggplant on the side. Mix Ricotta cheese, parsley and 1 egg in a bowl. Take one slice of eggplant and place 1 slice of sweet ham on top of it. Then place 1 heaping tablespoon of Ricotta mixture at end of eggplant. In true Fire Fighters fashion "straight roll" eggplant and place into baking pan. Follow procedures with rest of the eggplant. Top each eggplant with 1 slice of provolone cheese and favorite pasta sauce. Bake in oven for 20-25 minutes at 325F. degrees. Add eggplant to bed of linguini.
	As you can see it looked absolutely delicious. Jim allowed me to participate in the rolling of the eggplant and it was a lot of fun. The sweet smell of the fried eggplant permeated the room. I never thought of topping the eggplant slice with some fresh ham before. What a brilliant idea and twist to take eggplant rollatini to the next level of perfection. Let me tell you a little bit about our Fire fighters cooking techniques too... P-E-R-F-E-C-T! Absolutely meticulous.
It's too bad that some of the local bakeries and supermarkets don't take a lesson or two from our Jim. We wish James all the luck in the world in his training to become a super man fire fighter. How wonderful it was of him and Captain Mike to allow us into a few precious moments in the life of a fire fighter chef. The professional fire fighter of Pembroke Pines, Florida are very active in the community. I asked them "For the honor of allowing us to interview you, how can we help you?" Their reply was just to give you the fighter fighter fund web site in case you might be interested in making a donation. It is www.iaff2292.com.