Cooking at Ronald McDonald house

I saw a reference in an article to cooking at the Ronald McDonald House for the families staying there. I was curious to know if any LTHers have done this. A quick search just turned up a post about Williard Scott.

My family did this at the northside R. McDonald House (on Deming that serves Childrens' Memorial Hospital) this past spring. It's an impressive place, very well run as we experienced it. The RMcD House provides a place to stay and food for families whose children are in the hospital; often the families have come long distances and the children need to be in the hospital for weeks and even months. Volunteers cook lunch and dinner every day of the week, and we were told that they are booked up months in advance. Breakfasts and snacks are available in two kitchens for the residents. We made a lunch and I chose the menu and shopped for a meal for 25 people. We cooked in their large kitchen with 2 other families from our temple. We served bow-tie pasta with tuna, lemon, and parmesan, green beans, bread, and brownies and fruit for dessert. If I do it again, which I would really like to do, I'd choose another vegetable. The volunteer coordinator discouraged salad. The pasta was a good choice because it is fine to eat cold. Families sometimes just stay at the hospital in the middle of the day but come back to the House looking for leftovers later in the afternoon. If you are volunteering, I have some other ideas for menus I'd be happy to share.

The people we cooked for were genuinely grateful. We got hugs for the brownies we baked and the fruit was gobbled up. It was a good experience for all of us. We have cooked for the homeless in the large commercial-style kitchen of a big church, but the House had a very different feeling. The kitchen was sort of like a home kitchen but with 3 of every appliance, 3 sinks, etc.

As part of our volunteering, we were given a tour of the building. We also saw a drawing of the planned highrise Ronald McDonald House that will be near the new site of Lurie's Childrens' (Memorial) Hospital in Streeterville. The staff are excited because they will be able to host many more people there than they can now. The Deming house is in a gorgeous old Lincoln Park mansion, but families are turned away for lack of space. There are several other RMcD Houses in the Chicago area that serve other hospitals.

EvA,

How many people were involved in providing food for your shift?

Regards,

EvA, thanks for sharing your experience. If you needed help and it worked with my schedule, I'd love to join you. There is one nearer to me, so I'll check into their needs as well.

Cathy2 wrote:EvA,

How many people were involved in providing food for your shift?

Regards,

Hi Cathy,

We were a large group of 6 adults and 4 kids/teens (3 families). We split the cost of the meal. Usually, I believe, RMcD House wants a maximum of 10 people--with more volunteers, they might overwhelm the residents. Some of the residents are happy to talk, but others, as you might imagine, want to eat quickly and quietly and get back to their child.

Marmish wrote:EvA, thanks for sharing your experience. If you needed help and it worked with my schedule, I'd love to join you. There is one nearer to me, so I'll check into their needs as well.

Hi Marmish,

Please do check at your local House. There are regular volunteers who cook often, but I was there for a one-time visit and have not signed up again as of yet. I'm available for menu consults!

EvA

We cooked on Sunday at the Ronald McDonald House affiliated with Loyola. The house was at full capacity of 72, although we saw only maybe 16 or so of the guests while we were there. We were asked to cook for about 35. The kitchen consists of two U shaped areas, each with two kitchens for a total of 4 work spaces. There are two common use refrigerators for everyone, and two dedicated to guests in specific room numbers for personal use. There is also a pantry that appears to be available to everyone as well as what appeared to be lockers that could be assigned to families. There was a somewhat random assortment of baking dishes and pots and pans. They could use some larger sized equipment but we were definitely able to make do with what was there.

My husband, a friend and I cooked chicken cacciatore with red and yellow peppers, mashed potatoes, salad, and two kinds of cookies, peanut butter and oatmeal raisin. I wouldn't normally have chosen peanut butter due to possible allergies but had a free tub of dough from a fundraiser program.

The guests that we did interact with were very nice and thanked us profusely for cooking. We enjoyed ourselves and would definitely like to cook for them on a regular basis. In fact, we were tossing out menu ideas before we even finished the first meal! EvA, I'd love to see you post your suggestions as well. We talked about a taco bar night similar to a meal I did for 45 at work: carnitas, a Chipotle knock off chicken recipe, lime cilantro rice, assorted other toppings. My friend checked for a grill and talked about doing kabobs in the warmer weather. Eggplant parmesan and veggie lasagna.

I didn't take any pictures, but here's a pic of the same recipe I made at home:

Your meal sounds terrific, Marmish, and it looks like you had a good experience. It sounds as if you did a dinner rather than lunch. I'm curious--how long did you have to wait for an open slot for you to volunteer? My menu thoughts were for serving a smaller group and for lunches. Also I had to take into consideration who my cooks were. I didn't know the other families cooking with us, and I had some fairly young kids helping in the kitchen. I think you were wise to cook a familiar dish because you were working in an unfamiliar kitchen with whatever equipment and tools were there.

Another group I know did a hot dog bar with mac & cheese one year and did a stir fry another. Lasagna is a good idea, as is the taco bar. Pizzas might be fun and good old reliable spaghetti and meatballs would work too. I think it's important to think about leftovers that the families can reheat later in the microwave.

EvA wrote:Your meal sounds terrific, Marmish, and it looks like you had a good experience. It sounds as if you did a dinner rather than lunch. I'm curious--how long did you have to wait for an open slot for you to volunteer? My menu thoughts were for serving a smaller group and for lunches. Also I had to take into consideration who my cooks were. I didn't know the other families cooking with us, and I had some fairly young kids helping in the kitchen. I think you were wise to cook a familiar dish because you were working in an unfamiliar kitchen with whatever equipment and tools were there.

Another group I know did a hot dog bar with mac & cheese one year and did a stir fry another. Lasagna is a good idea, as is the taco bar. Pizzas might be fun and good old reliable spaghetti and meatballs would work too. I think it's important to think about leftovers that the families can reheat later in the microwave.

We did do dinner. My friend went to culinary skill and my husband is good at "grunt work and washing dishes." His words, not mine, as I think he does very well in the kitchen! I scheduled pretty far in advance, but judging from the schedule on the common fridge, they didn't have many meals prepared for them this week. Maybe one weekday lunch plus weekend meals. I tried to get a sense of their needs when I called to pick a day, but the person I first spoke to wasn't communicating much information. We work at a school very close to the house and could do weeknight dinners pretty easily, but they didn't seem interested in having us and steered me to a Sunday. Not really sure why, or if it was just that particular person. I didn't think to ask when we were there.

I think it would be great to have an LTH group that cooks at Ronald McDonald House. Anyone interested?

My friend and I are already looking at a March date. Which house were you thinking and when? I think there are 4 in the Chicago area.

I can do any of them. I'd be glad to join you in March.

I'd certainly be more than happy to help.
I think mostly it will depend on the location, so please keep me up to date.

I think that the Lovely Dining Companion and I might be free (depending on exact date and location) and would enjoy contributing.

I'd love to join in, too, if my schedule permits.

Do I read this correctly? Do you purchase AND prepare the food, or is a budget provided. I've cooked for homeless shelters before, and bought the groceries as well, but that's a different set-up from a Ronald McDonald House.

Giovanna

Giovanna wrote:I'd love to join in, too, if my schedule permits.

Do I read this correctly? Do you purchase AND prepare the food, or is a budget provided. I've cooked for homeless shelters before, and bought the groceries as well, but that's a different set-up from a Ronald McDonald House.

Giovanna

When we cooked at the Lincoln Park house, we purchased the food.

EvA wrote:

Giovanna wrote:I'd love to join in, too, if my schedule permits.

Do I read this correctly? Do you purchase AND prepare the food, or is a budget provided. I've cooked for homeless shelters before, and bought the groceries as well, but that's a different set-up from a Ronald McDonald House.

Giovanna

When we cooked at the Lincoln Park house, we purchased the food.

Yes, we provided all the food.

I'm leading a group from our temple again to cook this Saturday at RMH North. This time it's for dinner. I'm trying to decide on my menu, and I'm open to suggestions in addition to those already in this thread. I'm waiting to hear who my kitchen folks will be, and it's likely once again that there may be kids. What would you cook for 25-30 people (plus the 10 people in the kitchen eat too)? You have at most 2 hours, I think.

I'm thinking about how to make pizzas for this many people in a kitchen with 3 standard stove ovens. Saturday pizza night just sounds cheering to me. I would want to bring in the dough already made, I think, and I'm also worried about baking pans. Any ideas on where to get dough and how to bake them? I'm afraid that disposable aluminum pans would result in pretty lousy crusts. I think toppings are easy, and I can get the other families helping to bring their own toppings. We could do an antipasto salad and some chocolate dessert plus fruit (I was struck last time how eagerly people ate the fruit we brought. Perhaps others didn't bring fruit?)

Another thought is meatloaf, which I could mix up at home before we arrive. Marmish's chicken looks great, but I'm wondering about sauteing 50 pieces of chicken. I want to include everyone who comes to cook, so it's not right to do all the work in advance, but I don't want 2 hours of Top Chef like rushing to produce a meal either.

I've made manicotti for larger groups from the Cooks Illustrated recipe using no-bake lasagna noodles. I believe it's available on the America's Test kitchen website for no fee. It's cheese manicotti and then I make Italian sausage/peppers on the side - so it can be vegetarian friendly. What I like about the technique is that you can have an assembly line of people putting the manicotti together (you roll them up in softened noodles) and it doesn't take too long to assemble or bake. Even less time if you made the sauce ahead of time.

lighthouse wrote:I've made manicotti for larger groups from the Cooks Illustrated recipe using no-bake lasagna noodles. I believe it's available on the America's Test kitchen website for no fee. It's cheese manicotti and then I make Italian sausage/peppers on the side - so it can be vegetarian friendly. What I like about the technique is that you can have an assembly line of people putting the manicotti together (you roll them up in softened noodles) and it doesn't take too long to assemble or bake. Even less time if you made the sauce ahead of time.

Nice menu, but they eat a lot of pasta, so I was trying for something a bit different. By the way, the recipe is not free.

I cook in a volunteer kitchen for 10-15 with a team of 3-4 people a few times a month. We've done pizzas once. I believe the person who bought the groceries that time got the dough from TJ's, and we brought our own pizza pans.

The group I cook for loves comfort food, so I make a lot of very hearty dishes. This past weekend, we made a very meaty chili and Captain Nancy's corn pudding, with a fruit salad and thumbprint cookies for dessert. The weekend before that, we made enchiladas and for dessert cinnamon-sugar tortilla chips. I think the next meal will be fried rice, potstickers, almond cookies and fruit.

I like making stews, but I have to be very mindful of the time with less than two hours and often inexperienced volunteer cooks. Last month, we made a chicken curry dish and were late serving because the chicken took longer than expected. I've also had to do some menu reconfiguring in the last year because of rising food costs. Mainly, I've been trying to cook less meat, which does not go over well with the people I'm feeding.

Thanks for the good ideas, H_S. Please, folks, keep 'em coming. I'm thinking now the pizza idea just won't work.

If I were doing pizza I woud do a Sicilian style crust in sheet pans with a variety of toppings. I think you could make the dough ahead of time.

Hi,

For thin crust, I borrow RAB/REB's idea of using Taza Bakery's flat bread for a pizza base. The bread is inexpensive (4 pieces for $2). Assemble and bake-off plus easy to customize.

Regards,

Thanks again for the good suggestions. Because it's taken a while for me to connect with the other families who are cooking, and because there are 3 kids participating plus my teenager, I've decided to keep it (fairly) simple. Keeping the comfort food idea in mind, we are going to do meatloaf, Capt. Nancy's corn pudding (thanks for the idea, H_S), homemade cole slaw, rolls and butter, fruit salad, and chocolate chip bar cookies. I'm going to mix up the meatloaf at home and bring it to the RMH kitchen so we can make a few free form loaves in baking pans and pop them in the oven.

For the experienced Capt. Powers corn pudding cooks out there, if we are cooking for 25-35, how many batches of the corn pudding would you make? I was thinking 3. Thanks!

Our cooking stint last night at RMH went well, and my menu worked nicely, I think. Thanks again for all the suggestions. The corn pudding was a hit, not least with my own family. I encourage folks to call the House and offer to fill in on odd weeknights that they might need cooking--it is such a well-run place and, for those of us who like to plan and cook meals, a great way to help others by doing something we love.

EvA wrote:For the experienced Capt. Powers corn pudding cooks out there, if we are cooking for 25-35, how many batches of the corn pudding would you make? I was thinking 3.

EvA wrote:Our cooking stint last night at RMH went well, and my menu worked nicely, I think.

Sorry, I just saw this. I usually making one pan of corn pudding per 10 people, which might be slightly much, but people always want seconds, and sometimes I have kids who will only eat the corn pudding (and dessert, of course)! I hope you were OK with three batches.

It sounds like a neat project. Before I became a team leader a few years ago for the project where I cook, I used to try to give time to a few kitchens around town and make a point of learning about organizations unfamiliar to me. Now, though I love my project, I've gotten in kind of a rut and made excuses about working too many shifts, just not having time, etc. to get around. You've inspired me to give Ronald McDonald House a try. Thank you.

happy_stomach wrote:

EvA wrote:For the experienced Capt. Powers corn pudding cooks out there, if we are cooking for 25-35, how many batches of the corn pudding would you make? I was thinking 3.

EvA wrote:Our cooking stint last night at RMH went well, and my menu worked nicely, I think.

Sorry, I just saw this. I usually making one pan of corn pudding per 10 people, which might be slightly much, but people always want seconds, and sometimes I have kids who will only eat the corn pudding (and dessert, of course)! I hope you were OK with three batches.

It sounds like a neat project. Before I became a team leader a few years ago for the project where I cook, I used to try to give time to a few kitchens around town and make a point of learning about organizations unfamiliar to me. Now, though I love my project, I've gotten in kind of a rut and made excuses about working too many shifts, just not having time, etc. to get around. You've inspired me to give Ronald McDonald House a try. Thank you.

I actually ended up making 4, which was plenty. One thing about RMH, as compared, say, to a soup kitchen, is that people trickle in and often help themselves to leftovers later. Visiting hours at the hospital go through dinner, and families will stay with their kids. The result is that when you are there, you may only see a portion of those who actually end up eating your food. So thinking what makes good leftovers (like meatloaf) goes into making a good meal there.

I am doing my annual cooking at Ronald McDonald House in a few weeks--again a Saturday night dinner--and once again, I'd love ideas for dinner that can be prepared start to finish in 2 hours or less with helpers of unknown cooking-skill level, including kids. (Last year, I ended up with a family of vegetarians who looked on cluelessly at my meatloaf preparations.)

For those who would like to volunteer to cook for this worthy cause, I want to point out that RMH now has their volunteer meal calendars for all Chicago-area houses on line here.

We had a successful dinner on Saturday night of oven-fried parmesan chicken (modified from an old Sara Moulton recipe); roasted potatoes; steamed broccoli; rolls & butter; and, a big hit, an ice cream sundae bar, served by one of our volunteers.

I continue to be impressed with everyone associated with Ronald McDonald House, staff and volunteers. There are cooking slots open still for the last few months of serving meals at the Lincoln Park House prior to the move to Streeterville when the new Children's (Lurie) Hospital opens there.

Let's put together an LTH cooking team!