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thedrifter
11-22-07, 05:06 AM
Some cooks find little time for their turkeys

JENNIFER HLAD
DAILY NEWS STAFF

Cooking a Thanksgiving meal for a large family can be a multiday event. There's the turkey, the stuffing, the potatoes, the biscuits, the pie.

So imagine feeding 2,100.

Pete Gante plans to help do just that today at the USO of Jacksonville. Last year, a team of volunteers fed 2,100 people. This year, they're preparing 1,146 pounds of turkey and expecting quite a crowd.

Gante said he doesn't mind all the cooking at the USO - after all, it is for a good cause, he said.

"It's just a way to give back," he said. "I came to this USO in 1963 when I was at Camp Geiger as a young Marine. ... The USO does so much for the Marines. I just want to give back."

A group of about 15 retired sergeants major and master gunnery sergeants helps prepare the food - slicing and dicing the turkeys cooked at Camp Johnson and Camp Geiger and making mashed potatoes, yams and other side dishes.

"The majority of us will go home with our families," Gante said.

But after all that cooking, Gante and his wife will dine with the masses at the USO.

Joe Popalis, on the other hand, has a lighter load. He will be cooking for a mere 200.

Popalis is the chief cook at Camp Lejeune's brig chow hall. He and four other cooks will prepare roast beef, turkey, ham, deviled eggs, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, corn bread dressing and more to serve for dinner today.

But since he'll be at work, his wife is tasked with preparing the dinner at home.

Popalis said he wouldn't mind cooking more turkey and mashed potatoes at home - he'll just be too late.

"It's in the blood, I guess," he said.

Christina Seymour worked to get her family's Thanksgiving dinner prepared Wednesday night so her sister could put it in the oven today - while she prepares dinners for other families.

As a worker in the bakery and deli at Piggly Wiggly on Henderson Drive, Seymour helped prepare about 15 turkey or ham meals Wednesday and 25 for today. The meals include mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes and dressing, she said.

Since she'll be at work today, she planned to get as much done Wednesday night as possible. But the menu won't be exactly the same as what she's been cooking at work.

"I'm from up North, and down South they do things a little differently," she said.

And she'll have a little assistance.

"I have a big family," she said. "They're all going to help out."



Contact military reporter Jennifer Hlad at jhlad@freedomenc.com or 353-1171, ext. 8467. To comment on this story, visit www.jdnews.com.

Ellie