"Teamwork, Discovery, and Joy": Holiday Cooking at Covenant House

Covenant House invited our supporters to share your favorite holiday recipes, and many of you took the time to handwrite them on recipe cards and mail them to us — and for that we are so grateful. It means so much to our youth and staff to bring your family traditions into our houses because food is love at Covenant House.

We selected seven recipes for an afternoon of cooking and baking at one of our transitional housing sites for 20 young men, whose names have been changed (and chosen by them) for privacy. Follow along as we share some of the highlights from the experience.

While we preheated the oven, we got started on three no-bake dishes: Peggy’s cranberry relish and Mindy’s holiday appetizers. The residents split up the tasks based on their interests and the ingredients they really like. The dates in one of Mindy’s appetizers were wildly popular. It is a nut-free environment, so we modified the recipe and replaced the walnuts with goat cheese, and it was delicious! One of our youth chefs, Aldjanna, shared, “These dates are so good. I was surprised that I liked them so much. I plan to go to the grocery store and get more dates so I can make some more.” The celery stalks with cream cheese and olives were a pleasantly salty treat to complement the sweetness of the dates.

Cuevo took the lead in making the cranberry relish, which had such a well-rounded flavor between sweetness and tartness. We even caught some people drinking it from cups. “I enjoyed mixing all the ingredients for the cranberry relish. I knew I was going to like it based on what I was adding. I also ate one of the extra oranges from the recipe,” Cuevo told us with a mischievous grin.

Next, we moved on to the fruit cobbler and pumpkin pie recipes shared by Darlene and Tammy. Another slight modification was made with the cobbler. Darlene recommended a sugar-free option, but instead, we used some sugar, but not too much! The young people making this dish were intrigued. The free-form nature of spreading the fruit in the pan and using a cake mix was a lot of fun. Another youth chef, TJ, went in for seconds with this dessert. He said, “I never had a cake like this. It isn’t too sweet. We added peaches, mango, banana, and strawberries to our vanilla cake. I would definitely make this again.”

The pumpkin pie was a true showstopper. Daisy, a staff member whose husband loves pumpkin pie, joined the youth in the kitchen to help with this one. The pumpkin mixture was the perfect texture, and the color was so vibrant. We decided to make two pies because they were so beautiful, and we wanted to send some slices home with Daisy.

Our final two recipes were the banana bread from Moniquea and corn bread from Sandy. As previously mentioned, this is a nut-free kitchen, so we removed the walnuts and added some extra bananas for flavoring. Both breads paired nicely with Peggy’s cranberry relish. And both recipes felt easy enough to try again in the future. Diawleko shared this message for Sandy: “I made the corn bread. Thank you for introducing me to your recipe. It was my first time making it. Please send us more recipes.”

While the residents were working hard for many hours in the kitchen, the program supervisor was busy at his desk. They arranged all the dishes on the dining table and invited Matt upstairs to see their work. It was incredible to witness the pride on their faces for cooking these seven dishes, trying new foods, and feeling personally connected to the Covenant House community. Thank you for sharing a part of yourself with them.

We owe a lot of thanks to Cody, the direct service manager at the site, and his team for inviting us in for this kitchen takeover. It is extra special to know that activities like this truly add value to the overall well-being of the young people in our care. Here’s what Cody had to say about it: “Thank you for bringing this experience to us. I saw teamwork, discovery, and joy. Hope to see you again soon!”