Many hands make quick work of dinner preparation

This year, the cooks and bakers at the annual Thanksgiving Community Dinner at St. Mary’s Catholic Church have some shiny new tools at their ready.

http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20101125/NEWS02/711259879

Published November 25, 2010 in the Rutland Herald         Many hands make quick work of dinner preparation         By SUSAN SMALLHEER Staff Writer         SPRINGFIELD — This year, the cooks and bakers at the annual Thanksgiving Community Dinner at St. Mary’s Catholic Church have some shiny new tools at their ready.         The newly outfitted kitchen at the Nolin-Murray Center will undoubtedly make cooking 19 turkeys easier, said head cook Michael Knoras, who has been heading up the church’s volunteer effort for years.         Knoras said the new equipment, which includes an eight-burner stainless steel Garland stove and two stacking convection ovens, will help the effort to produce meals for more than 300 people today.         The dinner, a joint effort by the church and the Springfield Family Center, started because the local Meals on Wheels group is closed on Thanksgiving Day, Knoras said.         The church does the cooking and the Family Center delivers about 120 meals to shut-ins, and the hall is set for 175 diners.         On Wednesday afternoon, people peeled 100 pounds of potatoes, cooked butternut squash, cleaned turkeys and minced onions and celery for the dinner. All ready for the meal were 32 pumpkin pies and 17 dozen rolls.         All of the food for the dinner was donated, Knoras said.         Even the Rev. Peter Williams, the church’s priest, was busy in the kitchen.         Williams raced over from the rectory with two giant trays of uncooked pumpkin breads and he quickly loaded more than 30 of the small loaves into the new convection ovens, standing back to wait for the ovens to work their magic.         Baking them back at the rectory in his regular oven would take too long, Williams said. He would bake the last 30 at the rectory, to perfume the rectory with the smell of pumpkin and the season’s spices.         “You can buy a candle that smells like that,” offered Knoras helpfully. “He makes good pumpkin bread.”        In all, the priest will make 100 loaves of the quick bread to have one for every parishioner who attends Thanksgiving morning mass.         Once the pumpkin bread and the priest were out of the warm kitchen, the volunteer sous chefs got back to work, and in the case of two women, tearing up.         Of course, it was the large yellow onions, destined for cream sauce.         Laura Bauer and Mary Jane Eastman, both of Springfield, were cleaning the onions and even Knoras’ advice to cut the root end last to minimize the pungent odor didn’t protect their eyes.         “As my mother always said, ‘Many hands make light work,’” said Bauer, her eyes watery.         Tanner Aberle, 14, was at the sink with Bob Aumand, cleaning celery that would be minced by others.         Knoras and his fellow cook, Bob Aumand, who has been working on the Thanksgiving dinner since 1980, will be back in the kitchen at 4 a.m. to stuff the turkeys and put them in the ovens.         Four turkeys per oven, said Knoras, a total of 370 pounds of turkey.         Most of the turkeys will be done by 8 a.m., and then set to cook, so the birds can be carved in time to start making the 120 take-out meals, Knoras said. Seven people are lined up to deliver the meals, he said.         It’s too late to request a take-out meal, Knoras said, but anyone is welcome at today’s Thanksgiving dinner. Serving starts as noon and continues until 2 p.m. http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20101125/NEWS02/711259879