Wednesday Evening Meal
March 21, 2012
4:45 – 6:15 pm
All members and visitors welcome to join us for dinner.
Suggested Donation $4 per person
Tatertot Casserole
Mandarin Orange Jello Salad
Tossed Garden Salad
Dinner Rolls
Boston Cream Pie
Menu for March 21st
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Pork Roast and Cheesecake Recipes
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It wasn’t a traditional Irish dinner, but in the spirit of the season, we decked out the dining room in green. We served 470 for dinner with 200 pounds of boneless pork loin roasts, broccoli rice casserole, sweet potato casserole, and dinner rolls. For dessert we made 30 cheesecakes with fresh strawberries and a strawberry glaze on top and 5 gallons of chocolate pudding. Here are a couple of requested recipes from our dinner:
Roasted Pork Loin
5 pound boneless pork loin, rubbed with a mixture of 1 tsp sage, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, and 1 clove crushed garlic. Marinate in refrigerator overnight with the rub, or go ahead and cook right away. Roast uncovered at 325 degrees for 2 1/2 hours.
Mix glaze ingredients in saucepan and cook, stirring occasionally, until bubbly and thickened.
1/2 cup sugar
1 TBSP cornstarch
1/4 cup vinegar
1/4 cup water
2 TBSP soy sauce
Brush roast with glaze and return to oven for an additional half hour. Rest the roast for 10 minutes before slicing.
Basic Cheesecake adapted from The Foster’s Market Cookbook
1 ½ pounds cream cheese, softened
¾ cup sugar
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
3 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
½ cup heavy cream
2 tsp vanilla
Preheat oven to 325*. Cut cream cheese into small pieces and blend with electric mixer until soft and creamy. Add sugar and flour slowly until completely incorporated. Add eggs and yolk one at a time, beating after each addition. Combine the cream and vanilla in another bowl and slowly add to the cream cheese mixture, blending thoroughly.
Pour filling into prepared pan (see below). Place the cheesecake in a large roasting pan or baking dish. Add enough water to come 1 inch up the sides to make a water bath. Place the roasting pan with the cheesecake in the oven to bake for 1-1 ¼ hours, until the cheesecake sets and is firm about ¾’s of the way into the center, the center will be slightly loose.
Remove cheesecake from oven and remove from water bath. Place on a baking rack to cool completely. Leave in the springform pan and place in the refrigerator to chill several hours or overnight. Add topping.
Crust:
1 ½ cups graham crackers, crushed
3 Tbsp sugar
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
Combine and press into bottom of greased springform pan, pressing about 1 inch up the inside of the pan. Place in refrigerator and chill until ready to use. Before adding filling, wrap the bottom of the pan with a large sheet of foil, going up the sides about 2 inches to prevent any water to seep in from the water bath.
Strawberry Glaze: from Junior’s Cheesecake Cookbook
1 cup strawberry jelly
½ cup apricot preserves
1 Tbsp light corn syrup
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp cold water
½ cup pureed fresh strawberries
Mix jelly, preserves and corn syrup in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until melted. Blend in strawberry puree. In a small cup, dissolve the cornstarch in the water, then whisk into the glaze mixture. Bring to a simmer and cook until it boils, thickens and turns clear. Strain the glaze and drizzle over berries on top of the cheesecake. Refrigerate until cold and glaze has set, about 2 hours.
NOTE: Since we made 30 cheesecakes, we did not use a water bath. The tops of the cheesecakes crack a bit, but when you cover them up with strawberries who can tell? Also, in making the glaze, we opted not to strain it in the interest of time and it still looks and tastes great.
“Thanks for making my birthday dinner!” Happy 9th Birthday Ellie!
Mitch and EJ are regulars on Wednesdays. Thanks for joining us guys!
“Don’t come any closer and don’t touch my food…I’m just getting started and it’s delicious!” (at least I think that’s what he said)
Menu for March 14th
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Wednesday Evening Meal
March 14, 2012
4:45 – 6:15 pm
All members and visitors are welcome to join us for dinner. Suggested donation $4 per person
Herb Roasted Pork Loin
Broccoli Rice Casserole
Sweet Potato Casserole
Dinner Rolls
Strawberry Cheesecake or Chocolate Pudding
Greek Dinner Recipes
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Here are all the recipes from our Greek menu last night. We made 576 baked lemon chicken breasts (bone-in, skin on), 165 pounds of roasted yukon gold potatoes, and 350 servings of Greek Salad. On the side we had pita bread with 24 pounds of prepared Hummus and 2 gallons of Kronos Tzatziki sauce that were ordered from Sysco.
Here’s the original recipe from Ina Garten, “The Barefoot Contessa”, from her newest cookbook How Easy Is That?
Lemon Chicken Breast
Ingredients:
» 1/4 cup good olive oil
» 3 tablespoons minced garlic (9 cloves)
» 1/3 cup dry white wine
» 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
» 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
» 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
» 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
» Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
» 4 boneless chicken breasts, skin on (6 to 8 ounces each)
» 1 lemon
Serves 4
Preheat the oven to 400 F.
Warm the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, add the garlic, and cook for just one minute — but don’t allow the garlic to turn brown. Off the heat, add the white wine, lemon zest, lemon juice, oregano, thyme and 1 teaspoon salt, and pour into a 9-by-12-inch baking dish.
Pat the chicken breasts dry and place them skin side up over the sauce. Brush the chicken breasts with olive oil and sprinkle them liberally with salt and pepper. Cut the lemon in eight wedges and tuck it among the pieces of chicken.
Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken breasts, until the chicken is done and the skin is lightly browned. If the chicken isn’t browned enough, put it under the broiler for two minutes. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and serve hot with the pan juices.
GREEK SALAD: 350 servings
50# case Cucumbers, seeded, peeled, cubed (about 50 lg or 80 smaller cucumbers)
25# case Roma tomatoes, diced (about 100-120)
2 large red onions, about 2#, thinly sliced lengthwise
12# feta cheese, either crumbled or cubed
12 cups kalamata olives, pitted ( 4.4# jar from Sysco)
Dressing: Whisk to combine
2 cups lemon juice
1 cup red wine vinegar
7 ½ cups olive oil
2 cups dried oregano
2 TBSP Salt
1 TBSP pepper
If you don’t have 350 to feed for dinner, here’s the smaller version of the recipe:
GREEK SALAD FOR 20
3 1/2# Cucumbers, seeded, peeled, cubed (about 5)
1 3/4# Roma tomatoes, diced (about 7)
1/4 of a large red onion, thinly sliced lengthwise
12 oz feta cheese, cubed or crumbled
¾ cup kalamata olives, pitted
Dressing: Whisk to combine
2 TBSP lemon juice
1 TBSP red wine vinegar
½ cups olive oil
2 TBSP dried oregano
½ tsp Salt
½ tsp pepper
Greek Roasted Potatoes with Garlic, Lemon, and Oregano
Serves 10
3 pounds pre-cooked Yukon Gold potatoes, use either whole small potatoes, or larger ones cut into wedges
¼ cup olive oil
½ tsp garlic powder
¾ tsp dried oregano, crumbled
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground black pepper
¼ cup chicken stock
2 TBSP freshly squeezed lemon juice
Preheat oven to 375°F convection. Combine all ingredients except potatoes in large bowl. Toss potatoes in marinade to coat. Put on sheet pans covered with Silicone mats or foil in a single layer. Drizzle extra marinade over potatoes.
Baking time will depend on whether or not potatoes were pre-cooked. The pre-cooked, frozen potatoes will take about 35 minutes to roast until golden brown. Uncooked potatoes will take additional time. Add more salt and pepper to taste.
Cooking for a Crowd:
Greek Roasted Potatoes with Garlic, Lemon, and Oregano
Serves 525 5 oz servings
165 pounds pre-cooked Yukon Gold potatoes (Eleven 15# cases Baby Bakers frozen potatoes from Sysco) or use fresh uncooked Yukon Gold Potatoes cut into wedges
10 ½ cups olive oil
12 TBSP garlic powder
13 TBSP dried oregano, crumbled
4 TBSP salt
1 TBSP ground black pepper
130 oz chicken stock
6 ½ cups freshly squeezed lemon juice
Preheat oven to 375°F convection. Combine all ingredients except potatoes in large bowl. Toss potatoes in marinade to coat. Put on sheet pans covered with Silicone mats or foil in a single layer. Drizzle extra marinade over potatoes.
Baking time will depend on whether or not potatoes were pre-cooked. The pre-cooked, frozen potatoes will take about 35 minutes to roast until golden brown. Uncooked potatoes will take additional time. Add more salt and pepper to taste.
For dessert we served Blue Bunny Mango Tango Sorbet and Wholesome Farms Raspberry Sherbet.
καλή όρεξη kali orexi
Enjoy your dinner!
Bon Appetit!
Greek Dinner Menu for March 7th
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Wednesday Evening Meal
March 7, 2012
4:45-6:15 pm
Cuisine of Greece
Baked Lemon Chicken
Greek Salad with Tomatoes, Cucumber, Feta Cheese and Kalamata Olives
Greek Roasted Potatoes
Pita Bread
Hummus and Tzatziki
Assorted flavors of Sorbet
The sun was shining and the snow was melting yesterday as we spent the afternoon in the kitchen preparing for our Italian dinner. 80 pounds of spaghetti noodles were precooked, rinsed, then drizzled with a little olive oil. Just before serving, the noodles required only a 1-2 minute dunk in boiling water to heat up again. This is the best way to feed a huge crowd in a short amount of time. The spaghetti sauce started with 20 pounds of 90% lean ground beef that we browned on the griddle, then added to 60 pounds of leftover meatloaf that was in the freezer from dinner a few weeks ago. To the meat mixture we added 24 #10 cans of Contadina Deluxe Spaghetti Sauce, and used seven 22 quart roasters to warm it up in. We planned for 500 servings, but only served 450 last night, so leftovers will be shared with the WAVI women’s shelter today.
The recipe for the Italian Garden Salad we served was one that I adapted from a recipe I found online for a copycat version of the Italian salad at Olive Garden. Here’s the recipe if you have a big crowd to feed:
Italian Garden Salad: 400 servings
40# American Salad Blend (Iceberg, Romaine, Radish, Red cabbage, carrots)
5 red onions, thinly sliced
1 gallon banana peppers
10# small vine ripened tomatoes, cut in quarters
1 #10 can sliced black olives
50 cups large croutons
6 cups grated parmesan cheese
Dressing:
16 cups olive oil
6 cups white vinegar
1 1/2 cups Miracle Whip
3 ¾ cups lemon juice
8 cups grated parmesan cheese
5 TBSP garlic salt
¾ cup dried Italian Seasoning
3 ¾ cups water
Puree ingredients in blender until smooth.
Add croutons and dressing to salad just before serving.
We served 2 kinds of bread that was ordered through Sysco: Baker Boy Garlic Toast and Tuscan Loaf from La Brea Bakery. The garlic toast comes frozen with 125 pieces per case. Last night we used 4 1/2 cases. It requires about 3 minutes on a hot griddle to get it warm and toasty. The Tuscan Loaves come frozen with twelve 28 oz loaves per case. These are thawed, heated and sliced and have a really great homemade flavor. We used 10 loaves for dinner as an alternative for those who don’t care for the strong garlic flavor in the toast.
For dessert we made fruit pizza that I adapted from a recipe given to me by my friend Deb Fredrich. Thanks for sharing Deb! We used kiwis, strawberries, blueberries and bananas as our toppings, but any fruits will do (unless they are too juicy.)
24 pounds of fresh strawberries, 4 1/2 pounds fresh blueberries, and 50 kiwi were chopped and mixed together. 15 pounds of bananas were sliced and layered on the pizza crust separately.
Fruit Pizza: Makes 48 squares, when cut 4 x 6. Use 2 half size sheet pans (13″ x 18″ x 1″)
3 cups butter (softened not melted)
2 cups powdered sugar
6 cups flour
Mix and pat into 2 half size pans. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper first. Bake 20 minutes @ 300 degrees in convection oven. Cool.
24 oz. White chocolate chips
4 1/2 ounces whipping cream
Melt chips and cream together in microwave and add:
16 ounces softened cream cheese
Beat all together and spread on cooled crust. Make sure the cream cheese mixture seals against the sides of the pan, otherwise the fruit will seep to the crust and make it soggy. It is not a good idea to cut the pizza ahead of time, it will also make the crust soggy.
Refrigerate a couple of hours or overnight for the cream cheese mixture to harden.
Add your favorite fruit: Cut fruit in small pieces and spread on cream cheese topping. Don’t use frozen fruit because it will be too juicy.
To make the glaze to go on top of the fruit, mix together in a saucepan:
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbsp plus 1 tsp corn starch
1 cup pineapple juice
1 tsp lemon juice
Cook on stovetop until thick, stirring constantly. Cool, spoon over fruit.
Coming next week…Cuisine of Greece. Menu will be posted soon!
Leap Day Spaghetti Dinner Menu
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Wednesday Evening Meal
February 29, 2012
4:45 – 6:15 pm
All members and visitors are welcome to join us for dinner. Suggested donation $4 per person
Spaghetti with Meatsauce
Italian Garden Salad
Garlic Toast
Artisan Breads
Fruit Pizza
With no education classes last night, our Ash Wednesday Soup and Pie Supper was a little smaller, quieter and less frantic than the usual Wednesday meal. We served 345 last night with 36 gallons of soup, 33 loaves of artisan bread, 330 grilled cheese sandwiches, 25 chocolate cream pies and 25 lemon meringue pies.
The first soup was a homemade vegetable soup that I adapted from a Weight Watchers cookbook recipe. Here’s the recipe for 100 servings:
Pistou: A Hearty French Vegetable Soup
100 servings
25 cups diced onions
25 cups sliced carrots
25 potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 TBSP salt, add more before serving if needed
2 TBSP pepper
9 ½ gallons water
25 medium zucchini, sliced
25 cups chopped, trimmed green beans
25 cups corn
1 #10 can beans, kidney, navy or black
3 cups grated Parmesan cheese
6 cups minced basil, fresh
1 ½ cups tomato paste
25 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups olive oil
Divide among large pots, the onions, carrots, potatoes, salt, pepper and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally about 30 minutes.
Stir in zucchini, green beans, corn and beans. Simmer for another 30 minutes.
In separate bowl, whisk the cheese, basil, tomato paste and garlic. Whisk in the oil. Stir about 12 cups of the hot broth into the mixture, then gradually add the basil mixture into the soup. Continue to simmer until ready to serve.
The second soup selection was a Creamy Tomato Bisque that I ordered from Sysco, made by Block and Barrel Classic. Whole milk is added to the concentrated frozen soup and we warmed it slowly in roasters. The grilled cheese sandwiches were assembled in advance with sandwich bread, American cheese, and a little margarine on the outsides of the bread. We used the griddle on the stove and 2 extra portable griddles in order to keep up with the demand.
Who doesn’t love a grilled cheese sandwich with a bowl of tomato soup!
The third kind of soup was a Block and Barrel Classic from Sysco, Wild Rice with Chicken. It was also a frozen concentrate to which we added 2% milk and warmed up in the roasters. Great flavor!
The three varieties of breads we served were a Focaccia Bread made by Rotella, Asiago Cheese Batard and Olive Rosemary Batard made by BKRSIMP (I don’t know what that stands for). All the breads were ordered from Sysco. We warmed them up and sliced them to serve.
And now for the PIES! We made 25 chocolate pies on Tuesday and refrigerated them overnight. On Wednesday we added a coolwhip layer on top and shaved on some milk chocolate.
Here’s the recipe for 5 pies:
Chocolate Cream Pies Recipe for 5 pies: Use 1 large pot
Mix together in large bowl, whisk until blended, and set aside:
4 cups sugar
2 cups unsweetened cocoa
1 cup plus 2 TBSP cornstarch
¾ tsp salt
6 eggs
3 cups skim milk
In heavy pot, heat 9 cups skim milk, until tiny bubbles form around edges, to 180* but not to boiling. Remove from heat.
Gradually add hot milk to sugar mixture, stirring constantly with a whisk. Return milk mixture to pot. Add 12 oz semisweet chocolate. Cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat and add 2 TBSP Vanilla. Pour into 5 prepared crusts. Cover surface with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Chill completely, at least 3 hours. Top each pie with 8 oz coolwhip and shaved chocolate.
For each pie crust:
4 ½ oz graham cracker crumbs (about 1 cups)
2 oz sugar
3 oz melted butter
Combine all ingredients, pat into pie pan. Bake at 375* for 5 minutes.
(Filling for 25 pies: Total milk is 3 ¾ gallon, cocoa 10 cups, 30 eggs, 20 cups sugar)
(Crusts for 25 pies, use 7 pounds graham cracker crumbs, 4 2/3# butter, 3# sugar)
I Love Pie!
We also made 25 lemon pies on Tuesday and added the meringue on Wednesday. The meringue is better on the day you serve it.
Meringue Madness!
And into the oven it goes…
Here’s the recipe for one pie:
BEST EVER LEMON MERINGUE PIE
□ 1 baked 10 inch pie shell
□ 1 1/2 c. sugar
□ 1 1/2 c. water
□ 1/2 tsp. salt
□ 1/2 c. cornstarch
□ 1/3 c. water
□ 4 eggs, separated
□ 1/2 c. lemon juice
□ 3 tbsp. butter
□ 1 tsp. grated lemon peel
□ 1 tsp. vanilla
Combine sugar and water with salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
Mix cornstarch with 1/3 cup water to make a paste; add to the boiling mixture slowly, stirring constantly; cook until thick and clear. Remove from heat.
Beat egg yolks, add lemon juice and stir into thickened mixture. Return to heat and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture bubbles. Remove from heat and add lemon peel, butter and vanilla. Cool.
MERINGUE:
Combine and cook in saucepan until thick, stirring constantly:
½ cup water
2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp cornstarch
Beat 4 egg whites at high speed, gradually adding 6 Tbsp sugar until stiff peaks form. Add the cooled, cooked mixture and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla.
Pour filling into baked pie shell and top with meringue, making sure it goes to edges. Bake in a slow oven, 350 degrees F. about 12-15 minutes, until lightly brown on top.
Spaghetti Dinner next week, details coming soon!
Menu for Ash Wednesday Meal, 2-22-12
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Soup and Pie Supper
February 22, 2012
4:45 pm to 6:15 pm
Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
Tomato Bisque
Homemade Vegetable Soup
Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Chocolate Cream Pie
Lemon Meringue Pie
No Education Classes before or after worship
Ash Wednesday Service begins at 6:30 pm
Thanksgiving in February
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Last night’s church service included a celebration of Communion for the 5th Grade class. Our sign in table for dinner honors our 5th graders and their families for their “Milestone” celebration. Ten tables of 10 were reserved for these families to eat together at dinner.
Everyone eats a lot of turkey during the holidays, so at Calvary we like to have our turkey dinner in the middle of winter. The kitchen crew sliced and warmed up 228 pounds of smoked turkey breast, and made 18 pans of mashed potatoes and 8 gallons of turkey gravy.
As an alternative to the mashed potatoes, we also baked up 300 sweet potatoes in a 400 degree oven for 1 to 1 1/2 hours until soft. Some were so huge we had to cut them into thirds to serve. The leftover sweet potatoes were peeled, mashed and frozen for future use in a sweet potato casserole.
For a green vegetable side dish, we served 55 pounds of asparagus, which was rinsed, had the ends snapped off, and then steamed for 5 minutes. On the side we served a ready-to-eat lemony Hollandaise sauce made by Knorr. The sauce comes frozen and just requires warming before serving. Towards the end of our serving time, we ran out of asparagus and then cooked up some green beans that we had on hand from the freezer. We’ll make more asparagus next time!
For dinner rolls, we used Sister Shubert’s yeast rolls which are available at Sam’s Club. These are very popular rolls: we went through 24 bags of 30 rolls/bag! They come parbaked, so you just have to put them in a 350 degree oven for 8 minutes, and they come out warm, golden brown and have that delicious yeasty bread smell.
On Tuesday morning, we made 17 pumpkin spice cakes with cream cheese frosting, baked in half size sheet pans. We also defrosted the extra cookies from the freezer that we made 2 weeks ago.
470 people signed in at dinner last night! Thanks for coming and we’ll see you next week. Visitors are always welcome, so bring your friends along.
Next week is Ash Wednesday, so there will be no education classes, just dinner at the usual time, 4:45-6:15 pm, followed by a special Ash Wednesday service in the sanctuary.
thenewchurchsupper 