Yesterday I was one of so many in our Jewish community who contributed in various ways to a home cooked Christmas Dinner for the Homeless in San Luis Obispo.
It is a huge undertaking by members of the Jewish community with support from United Way to help provide a delicious holiday meal, entertainment, and a much needed warm clothing package to hundreds of the homeless population who otherwise would go without.
Planning for this event begins early, with many Jewish affiliated organizations posting requests for volunteers and donations similar to this one from Congregation Beth David. Here is an excerpt from their monthly bulletin regarding the event…
Homeless Christmas Dinner Needs Elves
This December will mark the 18th consecutive year that the San Luis Obispo Jewish Congregations
have come together to provide our county’s homeless with an unforgettable feast and entertainment
on Christmas Day.
If you’ve not been part of this event in the past, please make a point to do so this
year. I promise you won’t regret it. For more than a decade now, the generosity of our community has enabled each homeless guest to leave the event well-fed, relaxed, smiling, and carrying off an
enormous winter clothing care package. The latter contains new sleeping bags, hooded sweatshirts,
jackets, socks, underwear and more. We’re expecting an unbelievably wet winter this year. Please help
us provide warm, dry clothing to those without shelter…
Our Jewish congregations have always
been instrumental in preparing home-
cooked food . We are in need of individuals
who can help cook …
In a world that seems it has gone topsy-turvy of late I found it so gratifying to see the overwhelming response in the number of volunteers and donors eager to help.
Because of them, this event goes off every year, and hopefully in a small way brightens the lives of those going through hard times, especially during the holiday season.
Note : To give you an idea as to how much food was prepared for the dinner the mashed potatoes I brought in the large foil turkey tin you see above was just one of 10 such pans delivered for the event!
Here’s my recipe, but for a much smaller amount…
Mashed Potatoes ( adapted from Mom’s Mashed Potatoes)
Bring 5 pounds of Russet potatoes, peeled and quartered, and covered with cold water to a boil in a large stockpot.
Add a couple of peeled cloves of garlic to the boiling water, a generous amount of kosher salt (potatoes need salt!), and some freshly cracked pepper.
Boil uncovered for about 30-40 minutes or until a sharp knife can easily pierce a potato. Drain and return the pot to the hot burner to dry them a bit.
Mash the potatoes until fluffy, with a few lumps. If you’ve cooked the potatoes long enough this should be fairly easy.
(When making large quantities such as the above photo I used an electric mixer with the whisk attachment. Do not over beat).
To the warm potatoes add lots of butter, a generous amount of kosher salt, freshly cracked pepper, some warmed whole milk (but not so much you make them too loose) , and one or two lightly beaten eggs.
Whisk a bit to combine and add a couple of spoonfuls of sour cream. Whisk until blended.
Taste for seasoning and add a little garlic salt if you like.
Mix well, and put the potatoes into a large greased ovenproof dish.
Dot with butter and bake uncovered in a preheated 350 degree oven for 45 minutes to an hour.
If you prepare them early in the day, cover well and refrigerate them until ready to bake.