Holiday Spirit at Central Baptist Village: Culinary Choir!

At Central Baptist Village the holidays are celebrated throughout all of December. We kick off the holidays with an annual Christmas Brunch early December for all residents and their families. We feature a buffet style lunch with different action stations and dessert table for attendees to enjoy! Then every Friday in December, we hold different Christmas Socials in various parts of our community. Because we have residents with different levels of care, we make sure our celebrations are more accessible by coming to them, making it easier for families and staff to spend some extra time with our residents for the holidays. It has now become a tradition that some of the managers and supervisors from the Culinary Department pull their talents together to form the "Culinary Choir" singing polish Christmas Carols for all whom attend the socials. It gives the Culinary girls, featured in the picture, a chance to bring some holiday cheer to all the residents they truly care for! 

Diversity Dinner at The Fountains at Franklin

For our monthly Diversity event, our team members were asked to bring a dish reflective of their heritage to our weekly Franklin Foodies Fan Club for a holiday luncheon.  The residents loved spending some time with our associates as well as sampling some culinary delights.  We had Iraqi, Hungarian and African American cultures represented, and all was delicious!

Cheryl Naftel, CDM| Director Dining Services | Morrison Community Living| The Fountains at Franklin

The Hospitality of The Italians at The Fountains at Bronson Place

To conclude this exciting and eventful year, it was fun to have a good old fashion Italian Dinner. The "Hospitality of the Italians" underscores what we do and live by at Morrison we deliver an enjoyable hospitable experience. Our themed dinner was cooked up with heart and soul, by Chef Paul and our honorary Cultural Ambassador for the month - Anthony. He is second generation Italian. He along with our entire kitchen staff were excited to serve up Caesar Salad and Marinated Mushrooms with Sautéed Zucchini, Beef Lasagna, Chicken San Remo with Alfredo Pasta as a side, Pesto Carrots, and Tiramisu to finish off this delicious meal! The meal was well received with the residents. They certainly enjoyed the ambiance of Italian music playing in the background as they dined on this authentic Italian cuisine. La bouna vita!

DavidAnsel | Assistant Director of Dining Services 

Annual Holiday Board Dinner at Smith Village

The Dining Services prepared a special meal for the Annual Board of Trustees Dinner.  

From hand-rolled sushi, 2 carving stations, a shrimp fireplace and over 15 homemade desserts, the residents and members were treated to a special night celebrating the Holiday Season.

As a special take home gift from Dining Services, the team prepared 350 handmade hot chocolate bags made with handmade peppermint spoons dipped in chocolate.  The guests and residents enjoyed the special gift we were able to provide after the Board of Trustees Holiday Party.

Art Youkerd | Director | Morrison Community Living

A Meal in the Life: Italy

Our Cultural Ambassador Kacie Karston and AMTIL a taste of Italian Culture

We dimmed the lights and set the tables for a candle lit Italian dinner at the Holland Home Terrace on December 20th. Our residents were greeted at each table with red linen roses, checkered table clothes and rosemary lemon infused water.

                                                                      Primi

Antipasti plate of Dry salami, prosciutto, mortadella, bellavittano cheese, marinated fresh mozzarella and flatbread crackers

Arugula and Italian Kale Salad with Grape Tomatoes with Herbed Balsamic and Parmesan

Segundi

Butternut Squash Ravioli with Sausage and Sage Butter Sauce* favorite dish of the night

Dolce

House-made Tiramisu

Bevande

Rosemary Lemon Infused Water

Italian music provided the finishing touch to the atmosphere for our glowing residents as they enjoyed the laid back evening of food, friendship and wines brought to share from the residents homes that seemed to compliment the evening more than we could have ever hoped for.

melindaslane | Director of Dining Services Chef- Breton Terrace

Our AMITL dinner for December was a big hit with the residents!  We transformed our dining room into an Italian café, complete with red checked table clothes and Italian music.  We had some prospective residents join us for dinner.  They were looking to move from another community, who's food wasn't up to their standards, so wanted to try our food.  They were so impressed with the meal and service, they put down a deposit that night!

Cheryl Naftel, CDM| Director Dining Services | Morrison Community Living| The Fountains at Franklin

AMIL is an event at Evangelical Homes of Michigan Saline residents are growing to love more and more each month.  This month we featured Italian in which Angela Ilievski utilized her knowledge and love for Italian cuisine and traditions to make the even even more of a hit!  We served the meal family style, in which the residents enjoyed while sharing fond memories of Italian meals with their own family.  They requested for the chicken picatta to be added to the main menu!  The residents are looking forward to next month's theme - Germany!

The Team at Evangelical Homes - Saline

 For this month's AMITL event at Cantata, we featured an Italian meal for our residents and staff. Our menu consisted of an Italian Wedding Soup, Spaghetti & Meatballs and Veal Parmesan. For dessert, Marissa, our new pastry cook, made an Italian classic tiramisu. Our residents enjoyed this traditional meal in our decorative red, green and white dining room. The whole building played Italian music in the background to to set the Italian atmosphere. In addition, Chef Jeff demonstrated how to make a Cannoli from scratch during his cooking demo. The whole experience was memorable for all and we cannot wait to experience next month's AMITL event!

Lesya Shoorgot | Service Manager

Strawberry Christmas Trees at Sterling Heights

Creativity in the Hands of RDs at Evangelical Homes – Sterling Heights

Every year at EHM SH, the RDs would decorate cupcakes and Christmas cookies for our annual open house party. Well this year, we found a new way to “jazz up” the dessert room! RDs found a recipe of brownie bites topped with a strawberry decorated with frosting shaped as a Christmas tree! It was a great addition to brighten up the holiday party platter. They were so popular, they were the first dessert that needed to be replenished! Residents, families and staff all complimented on how cute the trees were and they also enjoyed the surprise of getting a strawberry when they bit into the tree! Such a fun and cheerful way to incorporate fruit into the dessert table for the holidays. 

Submitted by Clinical Dietitians at Evangelical Homes - Sterling Heights 

Dao Tran |clinical dietitian|evangelical homes - sterling heights

Darlene's Cupcakes at The Fountains at Franklin

Today, for our Franklin Foodies Fan Club chat, one of our cooks, Darlene made some beautiful holiday cupcakes for the residents to enjoy.  They were so good, they asked her to make more for our Christmas Brunch.  It is nice to see our associates going all out to make our residents happy during this holiday season!

Cheryl Naftel, CDM| Director Dining Services | Morrison Community Living| The Fountains at Franklin

Holiday Party with a Subtle Healthy Twist

The winter holiday season is known for a time of overindulgence.  This year at Evangelical Homes of Michigan - Brecon Village, Chef Janet subtlety incorporated healthy options into the menu.  As Registered Dietitians we are often asked for tips on how to survive the holidays without gaining several pant sizes.  One tip offered is to scope out all of your options on the menu prior to choosing what you will have – this will allow you choose options that are not as calorically dense as others.  Chef Janet ensured several options were offered in each area of the strolling buffet.  Examples included a specialty grain bar featuring quinoa and wheat berries; another station presented desserts with an option of dark chocolate; grape salad tossed in a light dressing was offered in several locations; and shrimp was offered on the menu as well.  

Another common recommendation for limiting overindulgence at holiday time is limiting portion sizes - Chef and team had this covered as well with appetizer plates replacing traditional dinner plates, tapas-style offerings of all meals, and mini desserts.  One additional recommendation is to be physically active – this was covered by the strolling buffet across the entire main floor of the account. 

The Team at Evangelical Homes of Michigan - Brecon Village

Holiday Cookies from Maple Village

It's time for Holiday Cookies!!! These are just a few of the all hand made cookies we are creating here at Maple Village.  I spoke to one resident who ordered 2 dozen.  The day after delivery I asked if she was enjoying the cookies...She responded "I already ate 7 of them!  They're delicious!!!" She also told me when I delivered them to her, "There will be no sharing of these cookies-They're ALL for Me!!" 

    Stacey Manna | DDS |Maple Village Morrison Community Living

Candle Light Dinner at Church of Christ

At the Church of Christ Care Center, our team put on a wonderful Candle Light dinner. The residents and their family members loved the Christmas atmosphere, and especially the dish prepared for them. To start the Dining Services Team served a Loaded Potato Soup with Canadian Bacon and Cheese Crumble. The main meal served was Beef Burgundy with Mushroom Risotto, Braised Red Cabbage and Raisin, and a Seasonal Vegetable. To end the dinner Homemade Cranberry Apple and Walnut Pie was served Ala Mode style. Our dining services team worked hard and did a fabulous job in setting, prepping, preparing and serving this wonderful meal. 

Katrina Martin | Lead Cook | Morrison Community Living | Church of Christ Care Center

Holiday cheer at Fulton Manor

Happy Holidays from Fulton Manor,

We made fudge ( Vanilla & Chocolate ) Rum Balls and Truffles.  We boxed them up.  We donated to the kids food basket program. A great program that makes sack lunches for the kids to take home, so they have something to eat.

We gave them to all department heads, with a card.  We put on our holiday hats and set out to deliver our goodies.

Many of the people we gave them to had a little tear, because of the kindness of the donation to Kids food basket.

Jane Card |Assistant Director Dining Services - Fulton Manor 

Promotional Ideas for January 2016

Monthly
Get a Balanced Life Month
National Hot Tea Month
National Soup Month
Oatmeal Month
Cervical Cancer Awareness Month

Weekly
3-10 Feel Great Week
17-23 National Activity Professional Week
17-23 National Fresh Squeezed Juice Week
18-22 Sugar Awareness Week

Daily
1 - Ellis Island Day
1 - New Years Day
1 - Rose Bowl Game
2 - Fruit Cake Toss
2 - National Buffet Day
3 - Drinking Straw Day
3 - National Chocolate Covered Cherry Day
4 - Trivia Day
5 - Bird Day
7 - Orthodox Christmas
7 - National Tempura Day
8 - National English Toffee Day
12 - Bean Day
16 - Fig Newton Day
18 - National Day of Service
19 - Popcorn Day
21 - Squirrel Appreciation Day
23 - National Pie Day
24 - National Peanut Butter Day
25 - National Irish Coffee Day
26 - National Peanut Brittle Day
27 - Holocaust Memorial Day
28 - National Kazoo Day
29 - National Puzzle Day
30 - Croissant Day

Smith Village Jazz Event

Smith Village held a Jazz Marketing Event on December 2, 2015 for residents and prospects.  Guests were treated to heavy hor d’oeuvres complete with chocolate fountain and sweets table while enjoying a concert provided by an 11 piece band.

Art Youkerd | Director | Morrison Community Living

National Cookie Day Celebration

The residents at Sanilac Medical Care Facility enjoyed National Cookie Day with their personal favorite holiday cookies.  The cookies included homemade Molasses cookies, Stain glass windows, and Spritz cookies.

Happy Holidays
Billie Duvall, Director of Dining Services 

Superfood Cranberry celebration at Masonic Pathways

We celebrated the Superfood Cranberries at the Masonic Pathways in Alma!

Executive Chef Patrick Young and his culinary team created an assortment of Cranberry inspired appetizers, condiments and desserts for the residents to sample. The items included a Cranberry Smoothie, Cranberry Glaze Sauce for Ice Cream, Cranberry Butter, Cranberry Cream Cheese, and Turkey Wrap with a Cranberry Mayo and Chicken with BBQ Cranberry Sauce. 

The Executive Chef displayed a platter of Fresh Cranberries and offered Hot Cranberry flavored tea as he explained his creations to the residents. The Registered Dietitian Cheryl Coslow reviewed with the residents the benefits of Cranberries discussing the antioxidants to help fight off infection and disease and keep us healthy. A few of the residents even had a playful cranberry food toss with lots of laughter and cheer. 

The Episcopal Church Home Gingerbread House

Chef Eric Metcalf created this wonderful gingerbread house for the residents and our guests to enjoy!  

Great job Eric!

Herb and Spice game at Fountain at Bronson Place

This month's SuperFood featured are 'Herbs and Spices". We put a challenge to the residents and set up a display outside our Market area. Inside the basket are fresh herbs right from our own garden and tested to see if the residents could identify the herbs presented. Can you guess them all?

DavidAnsel | Assistant Director of Dining Services | Fountains at Bronson Place

AMITL at Cedars of Dexter

The Cedars of Dexter recognized the culinary contributions of Native Americans with a, Meal in the Life themed meal.

 It included:

* Butternut Squash and Apple Bisque

* Corn chowder with Amaranth and wheat berries, topped with cilantro

* Roast beef with butternut squash, toasted walnut and cress salad

* Broccoli with fresh cranberry relish

* Succotash

* Pan fried Canadian whitefish with seasoned maize coating, almond wild rice pilaf and green onions.

Caleb L Cook | Chef Director | Morrison Community Living  | The Cedars of Dexter 

Cedars of Dexter: Something light on the day after Thanksgiving!

So on the day after, and we are still feeling the effects of turkey and stuffing. So we featured something lighter at the Cedars of Dexter!

Pan Seared Scallops with sesame oil, house grown chives, black sesame seeds and a bok choy slaw.

Caleb L Cook | Chef Director | Morrison Community Living  | The Cedars of Dexter 

Native American AMITL from around the region

When Christopher Columbus "discovered" the new world there were 55 million Native Americans already living there and they were enjoying an amazing variety of foods unknown to the Europeans. Today, it would be hard to imagine Ireland without potatoes, Switzerland without chocolate, Italy without marinara sauce or anywhere without corn, the number one raised crop in the world, but all these foods were unique to the Americas at that time. At Fulton Manor we decided to feature some of these items in a healthy eating demo and our monthly wine and cheese party. First we demonstrated, for our PACE program, a healthier alternative to a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. The baked turkey is not so bad, it's all the calories and fat grams in the side dishes that do you in. So the dinner example we demoed was (with new world foods in italics): turkey breast medallion braised in white wine and low sodium stock, three sisters plus 1, corn, squash, beans & tomatoes sautéed in olive oil, wild rice pilaf and a fruit relish,pineapple, blueberries, cranberries, toasted pecans, flambé. For dessert we offered a gluten free, vegan pumpkin cookie. All the participants were given samples of the items to taste. At the appetizer party for our independent living residents in the main dining room we prepared some foods that Native Americans might have enjoyed, including some "wild" game. 

There was house smoked salmon, house smoked duck with cranberry relish and toasted pecans, corn fritters and rabbit stew in phyllo cups with horseradish cream. A surprising number of residents had fond memories of skinning rabbits in the back yard and not having anything to eat for two weeks except rabbit and squirrel. One resident claimed it was the best rabbit he ever had but it might have been the wine talking. We are still searching for a USDA inspected source for squirrel. 

Brian Brookman CEC | Executive Chef - Fulton Manor 

'A meal in the life"  this month at Masonic Pathways is celebrating "The Traditions of the Native Americans". We offered a variety of Native American foods campus wide in the community. The meal on November 20th consisted of Three sisters Soup, Catfish with Pinenuts, Creamy wild rice gratin, Hominy with Bacon, traditional Native American Fry Bread and for dessert an Indian Pudding. There were educational flyers posted for the residents, it was added to our communication channel for staff and scheduled into the daily announcements. The residents and staff enjoyed the meal and we received many compliments.  A very nice job by Executive Chef Patrick Young and his culinary team.

Jennifer Hudson CDM, CFPP| Director of Dining Services

This afternoon for "A Meal in the Life - Native American" we prepared various items for our resident's to try at an activity event here at Bay County Medical Care Facility.  

Our resident's are almost always willing to try new things and always let us know what they think.  Prepared was the peanut butter mousse, hominy casserole, and the salmon croquettes. The consensus was they enjoyed all three!

Submitted by Bay County Medical Care Facility - Essexville, MI

November was filled with Native fun at the Gilbert Residence. 

We began with a Native American Gathering, which included Native inspired snacks such Buffalo and Elk sausage, Bannock, Haupia, Tortilla and more. 

We followed that up with a Native American Dinner: Candy Salmon, Honey Apple Chicken, Wild Rice, Hominy and a Mixed Berry Crumble.

Through out the month we learned many things about the Native American people from their famous leaders to celebrations.

It has been fun and educational. We are really looking forward to next month and all we will learn and eat for Italy!

Teresa Clark

Director of Dining Services

Morrison Community Living

Gilbert Residence

his month for AMITL at The Episcopal Church Home we featured Native Americans by serving Roast sliced Mutton w/ Cranberry Sauce, "The Three Sisters", Roasted Acorn Squash, Cornbread and a Cranberry Jello Parfait. We created placemats with descriptions of a meal in the life for a Native American accompanied with pictures. Our tables were set with centerpieces resembling a campfire for the resident's to enjoy.

Natasha Jones Food Service Manager, RD LD Episcopal Church Home