Salvation Army Christmas Dinner (2006) [Now w/Pictures]

LTH,

A bit of late notice, there is a Christmas Dinner at The Salvation Army Harbor Light Center, which is a drug and alcohol treatment facility for men, on Friday 12.22.06 and they could use 10-people to assist serving dinner. .

We will be cooking rib-eye roast for 200 and I will be there from 11am on, those wishing to assist with serving should be there at 5:15pm. I could use a bit of prep assistance at 11:30am for an hour or so, and Jazzfood has kindly offered to come in at 4:30 to assist in carving. Jazzfood and I could use another experienced person at 4:30 as well.

5:15 start time for servers, please ask for David Stupay.

Please feel free to post to the thread or PM with questions.

12.22.06
Harbor Light
1515 W. Monroe
Chicago, IL
312-421-5753

In Captain Powers of the Salvation Army's own words.
"We have 200 men in residence at any given time. They come from many walks of life, but most are at the point of being completely broken when they enter our doors. The help you are providing for us goes a long way in the lives of these men!

We could definitely use all of the help that you can find to assist with the party. Most of our kitchen staff are also residents, so help with serving will allow them the opportunity to take part in the party and enjoy the food. "

I realize this is late notice, was for me as well, Captain Powers just lost his kitchen manager and cooking, slicing and serving 240-lbs of boneless ribeye is out of the realm of his kitchen support staff. Between myself, Jazzfood and Harbor Light residents we can manage, though additional people will certainly prove to smooth the path.

Enjoy,
Gary

Gary,

Count me in for carving.

Steve,

Great, see you there. Between me, Jazzfood, Steve and Dave Bigg we are covered on the carving and last minute prep, though, of course, more hands are welcome.

We could use additional people to help serve dinner though.

I should also note that, in addition to asking Jazzfood, a professional chef, a question or two as to timing I also consulted Evil Ronnie, who is the executive chef of the Standard Club. I wanted to double check my timing as having 200 people waiting an extra hour for the meat to be done would not be a good thing

If there are any late hour questions for me as to assisting with serving please post to the thread and Mike G will answer them.

Enjoy,
Gary

Well, I won't be able to join you -- but I did want to say God bless you. This is a wonderful thing to do. I hope you have a really rewarding time tonight.

it's a chrismitzvah

Phyllis and I would be happy to help.

Hi,

I just got back from being Gary's sidekick. There are 15 whole boneless beef roasts saturated with Gary's rub roasting in three different commercial ovens.

I look forward to reports on the outcome of the meal.

Regards,

LTH,

It was an honor to assist, in a small way, Captain Merrill and Nancy Powers at the Harbor Light Christmas party. Merrill and Nancy are tireless, selfless and do more good in a day than a crusty loaf like myself does in a decade.

It's also an honor to have friends who are willing to give of themselves, the day was filled with laughs, roasting ribeye and, in the end, 175 well fed men in the Salvation Army's Harbor Light program.

Merrill Powers w/15 boneless ribeye roasts


Cathy came in for the morning prep, four hands, though Cathy is so accomplished in the kitchen it was really more like eight hands, made the work go smoothly.


Cathy even took a turn tending the enormous soup pot.


I made up a wee bit of rub to apply to the beef, then off to the oven they went.


With the meat chuckling away in the oven I played in the devils workshop, in other words, idle time, eventually ambling over to Moon's Sandwich Shop for a couple over easy w/grits.

Dave Bigg, a seasoned BBQ guy, came in about 3, followed closely by Jazzfood (Alan Lake), resplendent in Chef's Whites.

Jazzfood, Nancy Powers, Dave Bigg


Shortly after that the real fun started.






The only slight problem we had all day was the gravy, which was overly salty. This is where it really paid to have a professional chef in the kitchen, when additional water and a bit of lemon juice didn't work, Jazzfood simply surveyed the kitchen pantry, added a food service size can of tomato sauce and, presto, not salty, moreover, a smooth delicious gravy.



Shortly thereafter we had a full house of hungry men.


Served with a smile and kind word by Kuhdo (Don).


Peter Daane


The absolutely tireless Phyllis, Kuhdo's better half.


And Melissa Bigg, played here by Mrs Claus.




Dinner was well received.


We even had an appearance by Santa himself!


FYI, best thing I tasted all day was not the ribeye roast, but Nancy Powers fantastic baked corn pudding. I'll ask Nancy for the recipe and post.

A terrific day, all things I love to do, cooking, being in the company of friends, with the added bonus of helping provide a nice meal and moments respite for the men in the Harbor Light program.

Additional pictures may be found here

Enjoy,
Gary

Gary,

Thank you for having the generous spirit the Salvation Army knew they could rely upon in a pinch. Otherwise there would not have been the opportunity for us to offer our goodwill, sharing our time and talents.

I presume the meat tasted as good as it looked!

(I went to Bombom Cafe just up the block from the Salvation Army. I picked up a sandwich to eat while on my errands. To my delight I found Berger Brothers open, which allowed me to pick up 40 pounds of lump charcoal. This would not have happened if you did put out the clarion call!)

Again, thank you!

Regards,

I wanted to say thanks to all who came to The Salvation Army, Harbor Light Center to assist with our Christmas party! The food was beyond well received and was the talk on all the floors for the past week. It was great to see old friends and to meet some new people who gave their Friday night to help out.

We have been searching for a new kitchen manager for the past month and this event was going to tax our abilities, as we have never cooked a ribeye roast at our facility! You guys made it happen and even made it look easy!

Gary, Cathy, Alan, Dave, Melissa, Kuhdo, Phyllis and Peter...thanks for giving your time and effort so a few others could have a great meal!

A blessed New Year to all,
Captain Merrill Powers

Phyllis and I had a wonderful time. It really was a privilege. Hope we can help out again next year!

Love to have you all back next year or any time you'd like to stop over! Our kitchen puts out three pretty good meals a day, so drop in and I'll treat you to lunch. I sent the recipe for Baked Corn Pudding to Gary for those of you who had requested a copy...hope you enjoy!

Merrill

Thanks Captain,and happy new year! I hope Gary posts that recipe because that puddin' was really fantastic.See you soon,

Don

kuhdo wrote:Thanks Captain,and happy new year! I hope Gary posts that recipe because that puddin' was really fantastic.

Don,

Baked corn pudding was really terrific and, nice person she is, Merrill's better half Nancy Powers has obliged with the recipe, which I just just posted in Shopping and Cooking.

Enjoy,
Gary