Top galley Navy man’s culinary talents get him off the ship and into a president’s kitchen

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One night recently, a dinner invitation sneaked up on me and because the local gift store was closed, I had to resort to my own creative devices for a hostess gift. I found a recipe for crunchy, savory cheese crackers, whipped up a batch of two dozen and delivered them to my friend that evening. She tasted one, swooned with delight, offered each of the guests one, and then put the top back on the tin. “I’m saving these,” she said.

The recipe – White House Cheese Blisters – came from Ariel de Guzman’s new cookbook “The Bush Family Cookbook,” based on the cooking he does for Herbert W. George and Barbara Bush, President Bush’s parents. Little did I know, as is often the case when dealing with political recipes, that I was doing the same thing that the chef at the Walker’s Point complex in Kennebunkport does all the time.

“What happens to me at Kennebunkport, Maine, is that Mr. Bush will give me a call on short notice about additional people he is bringing in,” said de Guzman, personal chef to the Bush family. “I have to think about what I have in the house instead of running to the store.”

Since 1985, when he officially worked for the Bushes at the U.S. vice president’s residence at the Naval Conservatory in Washington, D.C., de Guzman has developed his own philosophy to deal with the unexpected when it comes to running a kitchen. “Serve what you have and put your imagination into it. And it will be elegant enough to serve presidents,” he said.

Take White House Cheese Blisters as a house-warming gift, and I promise you’ll see what he means.

De Guzman (pronounced duh-GOOZ-mahn) was born in the Philippines and was studying to become a high-school teacher when he joined the U.S. Navy. Without U.S. citizenship, he was qualified to become what was then called a stewardsman, who cooked, cleaned, shined, washed or swabbed the decks of naval ships and naval bases across America. The story of his rise from steward on ships to chef at the White House during the elder Bush’s presidency is recounted in the opening chapter of the book, which was released earlier this month by Scribner. The book is endorsed with notes from former President Bush, Barbara Bush and Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida.

“The thrill I experienced walking into this job is the thrill I receive today,” writes de Guzman, who retired from the Navy in 1994 and now works for the Bushes in Houston for most of the year and at Walker’s Point in Kennebunkport in summers. “I love my work.”

He also loves Maine: “For one thing, the weather is a relief from the heat in Texas. And I love the seafood, the environment and the friendliness of the people.” Several recipes – Broiled Haddock with Mango Sauce, Walker’s Point Guacamole and Blueberry Squares – are based on his time in Maine.

As with many of us, de Guzman finds himself cooking for lots of guests in the course of a Maine summer. The most popular food he serves? “When in Rome, do like the Romans,” he said. “When in Maine: loooooooooobster.”

In writing the cookbook, he wanted to share recipes that have been popular with the Bushes, their family and friends. But there was another story to tell, too, said de Guzman last week from his home in Houston, where he lives with his wife.

“I joined the US Navy 36 years ago and like many of our military men and women, I worked my way up the ranks the hard way,” he said. “I was on sea duty for 10 years before I was assigned more challenging jobs in Washington. I literally went from a stewardsman to master chief, the highest rank for an enlisted man. So I was just sharing my story to inspire the military personnel in similar fields to continue working hard. I believe it’s a unique story, and I’m very proud of my experience with the United States Navy and the Bush family.”

To keep up with the family and guests who populate the Bush estate in Maine, de Guzman devotes most of his time to preparing food, whether on shopping trips to Biddeford or stocking three freezers full of supplies. He can feed up to 100 people at a sit-down dinner, and double that for a buffet. Dinner begins at 6:45 p.m. whether its for the family or for visiting dignitaries.

When he worked for the Bushes in Washington, de Guzman carried the secrets of his employers, and secrets they remain, said Guzman. “It’s part of our security clearance,” he said. “What’s said or seen in a room, stays there. It’s the same at the Pentagon and State Department.”

Since the release of his book, reporters have asked him questions of a more political than culinary nature. But de Guzman gears the conversation back to food. Even for his book, he left out fun facts – such as celebrity visits from Kevin Kostner and Chuck Norris – because they weren’t relevant to food.

But there’s one secret everyone knows: Former President Bush’s dislike of broccoli. De Guzman serves it to Mrs. Bush, often in creamy soup, when Mr. Bush is out of town.

“She loves all kinds of vegetables,” said de Guzman of Barabara Bush. “Mr. Bush likes anything barbecued: seafood, poultry, ribs, brisket. I would safely say anything he can eat with his fingers. Everywhere he goes, he is being offered sophisticated food by hosts. When he comes home, he would rather eat home-made food.”

De Guzman, who stays in the kitchen during dinner parties, often prepares three separate menus each night: one for the Bushes and their guests, one for children, and one for his staff, most of whom are Mexican and prefer that cuisine to the fancier meals the Bushes like.

When I told de Guzman my story about the White House Cheese Blisters, he gave me another tip. “Vary the shapes,” he said. “Twist it.”

When I told him that I sometimes improvise with recipes and that I had done so with his, he laughed – as if he recognized a fellow traveler on the path to food. “In the Navy, we call that ‘gun decking’.”

Crab Puffs

Makes about 4 dozen puffs

1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

3 scallions, finely chopped

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1 61/2 ounce can crabmeat, drained and picked over

1 cup water

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1 cup all-purpose flour

4 large eggs

Heat over to 400 degrees.

In a medium bowl, combine cheese, scallions, Worcestershire, mustard and crabmeat. Mix well and set aside.

In a large saucepan, combine water, butter and salt and bring to a boil. When butter is melted, add flour and beat until mixture leaves side of pan and forms a ball. Transfer to a mixing bowl. Add in eggs, one at a time, beating well with an electric mixer or wooden spoon after each addition. Stir in crab mixture.

Tranfer mixture into a pastry bag fitted with large star tip and pipe teaspoon-sized mounds onto ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees. Bake for 10 more minutes.

Walker’s Point Seafood Chowder

Serves 8

2 cups chicken broth

1 pound skinless haddock fillet

1 cup thinly sliced peeled potatoes

1 pound sea scallops, sliced

1 2-inch cube salt pork diced small

2 6-ounce cans minced clams, with juice

1 small onion, chopped

1/4 cup finely chopped celery

1/4 cup diced bell better

1/4 cup finely diced carrot

4 cups half and half

White pepper

3 egg yolks, beaten

1 pound lobster meat, cut into chunkx

Dry sherry, for serving

In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, bring broth to a simmer. Add haddock and slowly poach until flaky. Remove fish with a slotted spoon and allow to cool slightly. Separate fish into chunky flakes. Discard bones, if any. Set aside.

In the same poaching liquid, add potatoes and scallops and boil for about five minutes or until potatoes are tender but firm. Remove from heat and scoop out the potatoes and scallops with slotted spoon and set aside. Transfer poaching liquid to top of double boiler over simmering water.

In a separate heavy-bottomed saucepan, fry salt pork until dark brown and crisp. Remove with slotted spoon onto paper towels. Pour off all but one tablespoon pork fat. Set half of salt pork aside for garnish; return the other half to saucepan. Add minced clams and clam juice, onion, celery, red bell pepper and carrot and cook for about three minutes, or until vegetables are tender.

Add clam and vegetable mixture to poaching liquid in double boiler. Add potatoes and scallops mixture, half and half, and pepper and slowly simmer. A few minutes before serving time, add beaten egg yolks to hot soup and stir well until chowder begins to thicken. Add haddock to soup.

Ladle chowder into individual bowls and divide lobster among the bowls. Garnish with fried salt pork. Serve immediately. Offer dry sherry separately in a small pitcher to be drizzled over soup.

Simple Chocolate-Coffee Mousse

Serves 4 to 6

For mousse:

1 pound semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup freshly brewed strong coffee

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 envelope unflavored gelatin

1 cup heavy cream

For topping:

1 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup sugar

Berries, for garnish

For mousse: In a double boiler set over hot but not boiling water, melt chocolate. Add coffee and vanilla. Stir well. Remove top pan of double boiler from heat and stir in gelatin until dissolved. Let cool to room temperature.

In a bowl, whip cream to soft peaks. Fold half of whipped cream into chocolate to lighten it, then fold lightened chocolate into remaining whipped cream.

Spoon mousse into four to six glasses and refrigerate until set.

For topping: In a bowl, beat cream to soft peaks. Add sugar and whip until smooth. With a pastry bag, pipe cream over mousse. Garnish with seasoned berries.

Spicy Chicken with Scallions

Serves 8.

For seasoning sauce:

1 tablespoon dry sherry

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon sesame oil

For chicken:

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 tablespoon soy sauce

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs cut into once inch pieces

1 cup vegetable oil

10 dried hot red peppers, stems removed

1 teaspoon peppercorns

1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger

1/2 cup chopped roasted peanuts

1 bunch scallions, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 teaspoon hot pepper flakes

For seasoning sauce: In a bowl, mix sherry, soy sauce, sugar, salt, cornstarch and sesame oil. Set aside.

For chicken: In a bowl, mix cornstarch and soy sauce. Add chicken and toss to coat.

In a wok over high heat, heat oil to smoking. Add chicken and stir-fry for two minutes. Remove chicken with slotted spoon, draining well over wok. Set aside.

Pour off all but two tablespoons oil. Reheat oil to smoking and add hot peppers and peppercorns. Stir-fry until peppers turn dark brown. Add ginger and cook for 30 seconds. Return chicken to wok with seasoning sauce and cook, stirring, until sauce thickens slightly. Remove from heat and stir in peanuts, scallions and hot pepper flakes.

Broiled Haddock with Mango Sauce

Serves six

For sauce:

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 cup all-purposed flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 light brown sugar

1/2 cup hot water

Juice of two large lemons

1/2 cup chopped raisins

1/4 cup peeled, seeded and diced mango

2 teaspoons chopped parsley

For fish:

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon garlic powder

6 8-ounce portions of haddock fillet

Thin lemon slices, for garnish

For sauce: In a saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Add flour, salt and sugar and cook, stirring for about three minutes. Combine hot water and lemon juice and add to roux in saucepan. Whisk well to blend. Cook over medium heat for five to six minutes, stirring often, until thick. Add raisins and reduce heat to low. Cook for another two minutes. Remove from heat and stir in diced mango and parsley. Set aside.

For fish: Heat broiler and coat baking sheet with pan spray.

Combine salt, pepper, paprika and garlic powder in a small jar with lid. Shake bottle until all ingredients are combined. Place fish on baking sheet and sprinkle generously with seasoning mix. Broil fish for eight to 10 minutes, or until fillets are browned and flake easily.

Transfer fish to dinner plates. Garnish each portion with lemon slices. Drizzle sauce along one side of fish.