Cooking for 50 in New Orleans
Julie
02/16/06 		I'm getting ready to cook 3 meals a day for a group of 50 volunteers who will be serving a church community in the Upper 9th ward of New Orleans. We are staying at a church with a small kitchen. 4 days of breakfasts, lunch (to go w/ them) and dinners. The Church is right next to a Wal-Mart Super Center.

Should I cook and freeze and take things with me (10+ hour drive) and if so how should I travel w/ it? I have 2 roasting ovens and 4 crook pots. Should I bring them? Any ideas you all have would be so appreciated.

Blessings,

Julie

ellen
02/17/06 		Well at least the shopping will be simple.

The two roasters and 4 crock pots are definite helpers in this situation. One roaster will hold a stew, soup, chili or meat combo entree and the other will cook the baked rice, scalloped potatoes, cornbread, etc.

I would not plan to transport frozen foods- ice chests will not hold for 10 hours and you don't know what the freezer situation there is. Instead, go to your Walmart supercenter and plan your meals around the foods available there.

You want lots of fluids- about a pint an hour for each person, especially important when planning/packing the "lunch".

You want some serious protein in the breakfast for each workday. See the egg casseroles, impossible pies and baked oatmeal for some ideas. make hard boiled eggs and send along with the lunches, too.

Think and plan ahead about how to get some vegetables into each lunch as well as dinner. Plan for a wet snack of fluids and a bit of protein on their arrival back at the church in the afternoon, people will be remarkably physically overextended.

You don't say whether you will have any help for cooking or clean up or whether you have a tight budget restriction. Many of the recipes in the Big Pots section are suitable. Please email if ZI can be of further help. The link is at the bottom of the page.

Julie
02/17/06 		Thank you Ellen. I didn't find a link to email direct so I will post and if others have ideas, great!

I will have a team of 3 to 4 and we will do all of the prepping/clean-up and serving. I know it will make for some long days but it is only 4 days out of the rest of our lives!

I am in the process of writting out menus and I'm wondering if there is a good way to figure out per meal costs. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Is there a good rule of thumb to follow for what to expect to pay for eggs, deli meats, bread, milk etc. especially since I am in KS and will be making purchases in LA?

Your site has been an answer to prayer for me. I feel so much more comfortable about the amounts that I need to purchase once we get down there. Thank you again. I look forwarding to hearing any other ideas you might have for us.

Blessings,

Julie

ellen
02/17/06 		This is plenty of staff for this size group. I did this for several weeks for a group this size with different volunteers each meal.

The prices at superwalmarts are basically the same everywhere, so you can do pretty good cost estimates.

If you know the group, check in advance for food allergies and restrictions/ special diets, diabetes, etc. You can accommodate almost anything if you know in advance.

You can do a nice menu for about $30 per person if you make some good decisions, for example, homemade iced tea instead of sodas. Do locate and take dome BIG cold thermoses for iced tea and lemonade.

ellen
02/17/06 		Think about things like using large bags of frozen stew vegetables and soup vegetables for your soups and stews to reduce prep times.
Julie
02/18/06 		Ellen, were you saying $30.00 a person for all 12 meals? I have but some padding in for necessary paper goods but that sounds low to me. Great, but low. What's the secret? Thanks, Julie
Julie
02/18/06 		Is there a rule of thumb on bagged lettuce? How many will it serve? There are some good deals from time to time and I am trying to figure out at what price it makes more since to by the bag vs. chopping everything up. Thanks, Julie
ellen
02/18/06 		Julie, if you make the lower cost entrees like red beans and rice, roast turkey so you have the carcasses for soup and meat for turkey (instead of chicken) salad as well as dinner, roasted chicken, and scalloped potatoes with ham, or baked spaghetti, you will stay in the budget and have great meals.

2 ounces per serving is the rule of thumb for a side salad, up to 5-6 onces for a main course salad like taco salad.

ellen
02/20/06 		P.S. Get a #10 can of stewed prunes- offer the first and second morning- people get dehydrated and unsettled when traveling and they will get eaten. Old summer camp trick...
ellen
02/20/06 		While wallyworld is convenient for planning, consider supporting the local grocers like schwegman's who are struggling to serve their local community. They need the business.

Also, buy your potatoes, and fruit by the case, through a produce broker. Cheaper.

Julie
02/22/06 		Thanks Ellen. As my boys would say "You rock out loud!"
Kathy
02/22/06 		I live on the Gulf Coast - first thing you need to do is make sure the Walmart is open for business. Depending on how close it is to the water it could or could not be open. If it's four or five miles off shore it should be fine, but once you get to New Orleans you'll see what I mean. Everything on the Gulf of Mexico from Alabama, the Mississippi Sound to Louisiana on the coast is so severely damaged or just plain gone. When you get to the westernmost part of Mississippi around Bay St. Louis and Waveland from the water up to three or four miles inland there is nothing. The Walmarts and Kmarts and supermarkets are all still closed. The water topped those buildings. We live on the coastline on the Bay side of the Gulf of Mexico. We had Ivan then Katrina. We had only a shell of a house left after Ivan and had made substantial progress in rebuilding only to have Katrina undo most of what had been done. God bless you and anyone that is willing to help in this effort. I can assure you this is a sight you will not soon forget. But to add something to what has been said - make sure you have plenty of bottled water and any kind of citrusy drinks you can find. Those were the most refreshing and when you begin working - there is so much to do, you tend to overdo and overwork. It's so overwhelming and you try to make progress so most people will be almost too dog tired to eat so whatever you make - make it refreshing. We loved when the Red Cross trucks and Salvation Army Food Wagons brought around fresh fruit - and I would never knock a good old po boy sandwich. Just me personally, but by night time my family and I would be so tired we really didn't want anything hot or heavy, we just wanted something simple, easy and again - refreshing. I craved lemonade and orange juice and water. I didn't really want tea or sodas but other people might be different. Gatorade was also a big plus.

Kathy

Julie
02/22/06 		Kathy,

Thank you so much for your input. We will be staying in Boutte. We have adopted Desire Street Baptist Church in the upper 9th ward, which probably means more to you then to me. We would love to have your family join us for dinner any night. We arrive late March 11 and leave early March 16. You can email me at julieewing@hotmail.com if you think that you might be able to join us for dinner. : )

Julie
02/23/06 		Ellen,

getting my act together and I now have a menu set out and the local Hy-Vee crew has asked me to submit a list of dry goods that we will need to see if they can donate things for us to take with us. I can't find a recipe for lasagna. I am looking for amounts more than a recipe. It looks like I will be making Lasagna for 100. Any ideas of were to look to get in idea of how much noodles, sauce, meat I'll need for 100? Thanks, Julie

ellen
02/23/06 		The lotsa pasta page on Big Pots has a shopping list table for large quantities of lasagna. It shou;d give you exact info.
ellen
02/24/06 		Kathy,

My grandparents lived on Bayou Circle in Gulfport and I worked in Biloxi for several years, saw the results of Camille. I have had pictures of the places I used to live which show empty slabs- so much worse than anything we could have imagined-. Thank you for taking the time in the middle of your hard work to give such cood advice to Julie.

Kathy
02/24/06 		It wasn't much advice, but I do know what was helpful to us. It has really been hard work to try and rebuild, but we live in a wonderful neighborhood and we each help each other. We were fortunate to have a shell left after the first hurricane hit us so we had something to at least build to. There were fourteen houses just on the short stretch where the cove begins and the marina ends that were totally swept away. We weren't allowed back for a full two weeks and then it was by homeowner pass only. The hardest part is waiting. Imagining what might have happened and then being faced with it was hard. Our entire roof was sitting in the neighbors yard. It was as if someone had jacked it off and sat it down. I'm not talking shingles and tar paper - but the rafters and joist were gone. We had an open air house. Some of the houses had more than 14 feet of water in them, we were lucky. The only reason we had flooding on the second floor was because the roof was gone. The first floor wasn't so lucky - that's where the muddy debris come from, but our family was safe, we were all alive and a house can be rebuilt. So many people lost their lives. We've had numerous storms hit us in the past and I too remember Camille and even Betsy, but this season is one for the books. I feel our own loss, but I don't think I will ever, ever get over seeing Beau Revoir and all those beautiful old antebellum homes just washed away. To see those travel trailers sitting among the debris is just something. I've always loved Old Town Bay St. Louis. It's just gone. In my wildest imagination I could never fathom anything so horrendous. In Waveland, MS when you get even uptown where Kmart and Walmart are - the debris from where the water literally rose over these buildings is still on top - I don't know. As I said it's nothing you can imagine. You can see photos and news on TV but to see the actual destruction will stay with you for a lifetime. I applaud anyone and everyone that is willing to help. Like I said, I have a wonderful family and wonderful neighbors and we work together and will continue to work together, but there are so many that need help. When anyone is willing that is a true blessing. My problem is I just keep counting down to this season. They continue to predict it will be a bad one. Until the last two years I just took it for granted. It had been so long since a Camille or Andrew or Fredrick I felt like the Gulf Coast was almost a safe haven. I sincerely hope that all your family on the coast have fared well and that they get the assistance they need. My husband and I have become pretty handy with a hammer, some nails and a saw. I can even use a mitre saw and I'm a whiz at sheetrocking. I know my way around Lowes and Home Depot with the best of them. I can now install hardwood laminate, ceramic tile, do finish work, paint and getting to be a pretty fair plumber. I'm an expert at hauling off limbs, trees and other debris - but I can't get the hang of the electrical - too scared of the shock. I know this is a cooks corner, but thank you for thinking about us. Again, I hope your coastal family is okay and if they need help just yell. We're about to wrap up any more repairs until after this year's hurricane season - not taking any chances. And rest assured -- if there is even a hint of a storm coming this way you can reach me in one of the northern states.
Julie
03/05/06 		Hello Ellen, We're getting close to our departure (3/11) and I just found out that we are staying in a church about 40 minutes from the Church community that we are serving. We will arrive late (11 ish) Sat. night and need to eat and leave for a service by around 8:30 a.m. Sunday. I have been asked to provide lunch that day from the Church that doesn't have the kitchen and to consider cooking for their congregation that will be coming in from all over to worship with us. Got any thoughts? I would love to offer up something warm and delicious and not just sandwhiches. I'll have at least 3 portable ovens. What are your thoughts? Thanks, Julie
ellen
03/05/06 		OK, I would spend some extra money for the breakfast and pack it this way;
Prepackaged individual servings of cereal (They make a double size one which is better than the tiny bowls, if you get the tiny ones, allow 2 per person); a juice box per person; a little milk box per person(these do not have to be refrigerated). Put out a big bowl of pre-wrapped string cheese or cheddar sticks (the little ones the kids like), allowing 2 per person, for folks that need some protein- remind people these are low fat cheese. A bowl of apples and oranges.

Quick and dirty, and will get you all where you are going in a hurry with minimal cleanup.

For lunch, consider a chicken stew? I would make it aone pot meal and use the 3 ovens like giant crock pots if they are the roaster type.

Remember in the morning to allow the hour it takes to perc the large perc of coffe, and you will be in prety good shape.

Julie
03/06/06 		Thanks so much Ellen! Julie
ellen
03/06/06 		If you were to buy boneless frozen chicken pieces at home, and take them from the freezer to ice chests and then not open the chests until Sunday morning, they should be thawed for cooking/simmering all morning. Maybe with rice, frozen mixed or stewing veggies transported the same way so they are thawed but cold to start. Also, yYou could "tote in" Kansas tasty things (baked goods, etc) picked up fresh Saturday morning before you leave to serve with Sunday lunch. Add salad and maybe a frozen fruit salad moved the same way and you have a pretty nice meal with mighty little trouble and no big shopping Saturday night or Sunday morning.
ellen
03/18/06 		Hope to hear from you how it went, when you have had time to rest up from your hard work.