# Kromeski ala Russ



## septiclecky

It may have been asked before but does anyone know the recipe for making these please


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## Tony Drury

Using the trusty 'Nautical Cookery Book for the use of Stewards and Cooks of Cargo Vessels (a bargain at 5/6 from m Brown Son & Ferguson, 1949 Edition)

This gives a receipt for that sophisticated dish 'Kromeskies Meat'. Seems to me that you follow this and use sausages instead of 'meat'!


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## Varley

Sounds rather like a corned beef or spam fritter to me.


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## Stephen J. Card

A Denholm delight!


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## gwzm

Lunchtime regular on Brocklebank ships.
Happy Days,
GWZM


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## Dave McGouldrick

A delightful lunchtime experience - but beware of the heartburn.


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## woodend

Were all ships issued with the very same book? ED's was the same! As you say hap0py6 days! We were never hungry!


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## Farmer John

I think that "Ceserani & Kinton's The Theory of Catering" was used as well, and this:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Centaurs-Kitchen-Italian-Catalan-English/dp/1903018730

was an interesting swerve into cooking for passengers and other vermin.

I have just started to read Routledge's book about an expedition to Easter island, she caters by checking the BOT set of allowances for seamen and cutting it by quite a bit (far too generous), but perhaps she was quite as active as a crew member.

It is a fascinating subject, and one that has been covered at length in other threads on here, but interesting and there is always something more to be said.

A breakfast of Black pudding with a well isinglass preserved egg, after a Papaya starter, was a taste I have never reproduced to my perfect satisfation.


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## Farmer John

A review of the Centaurs cookbook by Constance Grey. Taken from Amazon's reviews.

" early 1960s to live in what was effectively an artists' commune in Greece. Funding their livelihood relied partly on her writing. One of the first books to help finance them was this book. The Blue Funnel line took passengers all over the world. Following the Second World War, the Blue Funnel line's fleet of 77 had been nearly halved to 36, and the extraordinary looking twin screw ship Centaur was commissioned, part cruise liner, part cargo carrier, and was manned to a great extent by Chinese crew. Quite why Patience Gray was chosen to produce the cookery guidelines is unclear, but she seems to have been recommended on the basis of a previously published cookery book, Plats du Jour. The resulting text was called "A Book of French, Italian, Greek and Catalan Dishes for a Blue Funnel Ship." Gray had to design recipes to take account of conditions in the ship's galley, the ingredients they were likely to have on board and were able to source in port, and the number of people who made up a party.

The book starts with a summary of the essential ingredients that are required for making the dishes (oil, butter, herbs, cheeses etc), together with notes on how easy they are to acquire in port and why Gray considers them to be essential. She also talks about the kitchen equipment that she assumes will be available. There are no photographs in the book, so you have to use your imagination about what the outcome should look like, but this means that an enormous number of recipes have been included under the headings Hors D'Oevre and Salads; Soups; Potatoe and Vegetable Dishes; Fish; Meat, Poultry and Game; and Sweets. Most are designed for 8 people, but some are made for larger numbers (e.g. the chilled clear consommé is for 18). Each recipe is given a couple of lines of description, then the ingredients in italics followed by a description of the process. To give some idea of her intentions, she began her section on hors d'oeuvre with the comment "The idea of hors d'oeuvre is not so much to titivate the eye as to stimulate or sharpen the appetite. These preparations should not only look appetizing, they should have piquancy."

One does wonder how many of these could have been done at sea, and some look like a challenge in a fully equipped 2017 kitchen, but I have had fun with many of them. The Mediterranean flavour to most of the dishes is countered by the occasional distinctly northern European example. There are far too many recipes to list, but I loved the stuffed vine leaves, the remoulade sauce, beetroot in burgundy chicken liver pate, prawn soup, spinach soup, cu***ber with cream, stuffed vine leaves, stuffed bacon rolls, Italian whipped potatoes, matelote of eels, fish steaks a la bonne femme, ham cooked in cider, and chicken a la creme. More unusual dishes that I haven't yet tried are cherry soup, okra and potatoes (on my to-do list), salt cod a la Catalane, paupiettes de beouf, ox tongue with cherry sauce and civet of hare. Desserts aren't my thing, so hard to judge, but they are all on the conventional British side, at least today, with things like pears in red wine, summer pudding, and chocolate mousse."


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## TalbotClark

septiclecky said:


> It may have been asked before but does anyone know the recipe for making these please


Yup. Kromeskis a la Russe was an old Port Line "Board of Trade" special. It's sausages, wrapped in bacon, dipped in batter, and deep fat fried.
My good lady, who sailed with me, and who remembers this sort of thing, tells me that the sausages and bacon have to be cooked first before this process. That's it. Happy Kromeskis !


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## Donald McGhee

A favourite of mine when I was Apprentice in Colina, Donaldson Line. Our cook was French and a damn good one at that. Never knew what the ingredients were, as long as I ate as many as I could. Nothing has changed, still a wee pig!


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## Roger Turner

Kromeski a la Russe at sea
Married a Scots girl, came ashore, discovered,
Kilted Sausages - something similar.

I know we used to call Lifeboat Drill, Board of Trade Sports, but I didn`t know there was BOT catering.


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## John S Martin

Talbot Clark's good lady remembers well. As an ED's - becoming Ocean Fleets Catering Officer....Kromeski a la Russe was a good staple lunchtime menu item. Learned at Nautical Catering College as one of Ceserani & Kinton's Practical Cookery recipes!


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## THEDOC

I overheard this conversation whilst doing some repairs in the galley.
Galley boy to Ch. cook (while reading the days menu in thick carrot cruncher accent)
Whats Kromeskis?
Ch. Cook - its what they eat in the Kremlin.
GB - Whats the Kremlin?
Ch. C - its where the Russian government meets
GB - wheres that?
Ch, C- FFS- do you not know anything? its in Edinburgh! 
GB - How the f--k am meant to know what goes on in Edinburgh.
Me - fall over laughing at this point.


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## sparkie2182

Never seen or heard of this delicacy in any context other than in the MN.


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## Stephen J. Card

Tony Drury said:


> Using the trusty 'Nautical Cookery Book for the use of Stewards and Cooks of Cargo Vessels (a bargain at 5/6 from m Brown Son & Ferguson, 1949 Edition)
> 
> This gives a receipt for that sophisticated dish 'Kromeskies Meat'. Seems to me that you follow this and use sausages instead of 'meat'!



On Denholm ships the cook did the 'sophisticated dish 'Kromeskies Meat'. Never just as a 'sausages wrapped as bacon'.


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## John Cassels

On the Denholm ore carriers Kromeski ala Russe was always just a sausage
wrapped in bacon and deep fried . Nothing sophisticated about it.


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## rogd

Working mans pigs in blankets.


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## Stephen J. Card

John Cassels said:


> On the Denholm ore carriers Kromeski ala Russe was always just a sausage
> wrapped in bacon and deep fried . Nothing sophisticated about it.


In 'Reefer Division' the food was 'sophisticated'.... especially with full cargo of frozen beef, lamb. Best grapefruit, oranges, grape, apples, bananas... perfect condition turnout as well! 


John, you remember the 'Pork Porjorski'. I bit like a seasoned chopped pork 'burger'. Rather good with mashed, veggies etc. Earlier today I tried to google the 'pork pojorski'. It come up as PORN!!!!


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## Varley

Damn it. No porn just:

Did you mean: pork pojarski


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## Stephen J. Card

Varley said:


> Damn it. No porn just:
> 
> Did you mean: pork pojarski




Not sure what I had typed it as. All I know was the girl in the photo looked Polish.


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