Sweet Take on Hot Lunch
One of my favorite hot lunches was mock chicken legs. Cubes of pork and beef were put on a skewer, breaded and oven-roasted to look like chicken legs, then served with stuffing, mashed potatoes and ...
Hungry for 'Hot' Lunch
I recall as if it were yesterday, bounding down the painted cement stairs, half holding on to the concave handrail. It was worn away and decorated with patina from years of supporting miniature grimy, sweaty hands fresh from the playground. As I hit the bottom stair, a stationed nun points to the convenient bathroom door to the right. Rough granules spill from the dry soap dispenser on to my darkened palms and as I rub them under the faucet, they magically brighten before my eyes. As I walk towards the cafeteria, it hits me: that all-familiar smell reminiscent of an over-baked ziti casserole mixed with pencil shavings and lead—#2, if I’m not mistaken.
I think one of the most universally vilified meals in America over the years has to be hot lunch. Ask most folks about their memories of growing up and eating at school and the horror stories spill out about the dry, inedible, over-cooked mystery meat as if it were two steps from prison food. On a personal note, I loved hot lunch. I was always a ‘Good Eater’ as us Midwestern boys were often called and always looked forward to lunchtime. I think part of some people’s bad memories came from the uneasiness of being in school and the lack of control or choice over what was being served.
I grew up on 37th and Capitol and went to grade school at St. John de Nepomuc, a bohemian parish school a few blocks away. The school is long since gone, but the memories of racing down the stairs to the cafeteria in the basement of the school are still vivid. Other kids hung out on the playground as long as possible, but I was right on top of the lunch bell. The line was always too long as I anxiously waited to see what was being served. The menu was nothing fancy by today’s standards as mac and cheese, meatloaf, Salisbury steak and pork roll-ups were in a monthly rotation, but the food was homemade, very tasty and new to my fledgling palette. And the sides! The choices were seemingly endless to someone who was barely eye level with the counter—Jell-O, mixed fresh fruit, stewed tomatoes & zucchini, cottage cheese, the list goes on—thinking back, I actually think this contributes to my trademark fetish for salad bars.
At St. John’s they always had a garbage monitor who would look at the lunch trays as they were being dumped to make sure everything was eaten. And of course, they even shook the empty milk cartons, the signature hiding place of unwanted stewed prunes. Maybe I was a strange kid because in eight years I never failed an inspection at the garbage station—it was all in my stomach. One of my favorite hot lunches was mock chicken legs. Cubes of pork and beef were put on a skewer, breaded and oven-roasted to look like chicken legs, then served with stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy. Inspired by that hot lunch, I played with dessert: an ice cream ‘mock chicken leg,’ breaded in toasted coconut, and served with mango bread pudding, whipped cream and lime-caramel sauce. Even if you didn’t like hot lunch, I’m sure you’ll enjoy this dessert and there will be no need
to stuff your milk carton.Related Stories & Recipes