Busy morning, Folks!.

We just wrapped up Production Meeting, and Miles looked like he’d been standing the mid-watch. The Boys stayed up again as the crisis lurched into a twelfth night of strikes and counter-strikes. Congress is heading home for August recess, but around here the Conference Room may be getting busier instead of quieter.

The President says additional attacks on shipping could result in strikes against additional Iranian infrastructure. Overnight there were reports of new Houthi attacks near the Bab al-Mandeb, and Iranian officials again warned they would retaliate against regional energy infrastructure if their bridges or power plants were attacked.

Whether any of that happens is well above my pay grade.

My job is simpler.

When everyone wanders into the Conference Room hungry at exactly the same moment, somebody has to feed them.

That is where the Galley comes in, and the job is to keep it hopping while looking relaxed.

So, Crisis Logistics Begins in the Galley
If you expect to feed twenty people without losing your mind, stop thinking about recipes and start thinking about systems.

The air fryers have become the backbone of my kitchen. They let me produce chicken, potatoes, vegetables, appetizers, and leftovers with almost no oil, very little cleanup, and almost no supervision. While one batch is cooking, I’m chopping vegetables, assembling tomorrow’s lunch, or pretending to pay attention to whatever emergency is unfolding on the television in the Conference Room.

The trick isn’t making one spectacular meal.

The trick is making today’s dinner become tomorrow’s pasta and the next day’s lunch.

That is how you feed watch sections instead of individual diners.

Here is what the Boomers would call an ‘operations order’:
Key Galley Guidelines
Use the fewest pots and pans possible.
Put interns to work chopping vegetables before shift change.
Build buffet-style meals so everyone can customize portions.
Let volunteers serve while everyone else keeps working.
Cook proteins that become tomorrow’s meal instead of starting over every day.
Think in three-day cycles—today’s entrée, tomorrow’s pasta or rice dish, then lunches.
For todays afternoon entree, I’m doing my Deirdre’s special:

Meatball Sliders

(IRGC Aerospace Commander Ali Hajizedah and two of sixty daily meatballs).

The Cheat? Use plain, frozen meatballs (for a dozen to two-dozen people you’ll need between 66-100 for this recipe) from the Whole Foods down at the corner and just heat them up in your slow cooker.

Beverages? Box Reds or Bourbon-mixes work.

Copyright 2026 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com