Brigade, Seats!: The Naval Academy Cookbook

Brigade, Seats!: The Naval Academy Cookbook by Gibson, Karen Jensen. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9781557503060.

Brigade, Seats! is at once a collection of favorite recipes from the U.S. Naval Academy and a celebration of its rich traditional heritage. First published in 1984, this volume has been thoroughly revised and updated. Menus, including 282 all-new recipes (mostly serving 8 but occasionally 4,000), are featured for every significant event in a midshipmans four-year career at the Academy. Everything from a plebe summer picnic and a football tailgate party to the Ring Dance banquet and Superintendents garden party are showcased here, and the traditions behind them fondly described. Chef Karen Gibson made headlines when she went to the Naval Academy in 1980 and revamped the dietary program for the midshipmen, creating new recipes and instructing the cooks of King Hall. In this book she gives a firsthand look at the mind-boggling problems involved in feeding a crowd of 4,000-plus and at the social activities that have been a part of Academy culture since the early days. Along with her triumphs have come occasional disasters - such as the time 2,000 pounds of roast beef fell to the oven floor or the day a forklift smashed an elaborate 250-pound ice carving - and she shares them all with good humor. Indian, Mexican, Chinese, and Middle Eastern cuisines are all represented in this collection of menus for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and many special occasions. Illustrated with photographs of Academy life, past and present, the book is sure to attract everyone with an interest in Annapolis and gourmets who will take delight in the tasty recipes provided.