Your neighbor's recipe: They’re called 'the cookers'

Lunch is more than a meal for two longtime cooks at St. Ambrose Catholic School.

It's all about the children, say Linda Ude and Joannie Carpenter, both of whom have been working in the school cafeteria since 1990.
"Those little faces" keep bringing them back every year, Ude said.

The St. Ambrose students have even bestowed a special status on Ude and Carpenter. They're "the cookers," and they have special aprons, gifts from the kids, that proclaim their titles.

The women's ties to the job involve not only the present St. Ambrose students, but other children as well, including the children they themselves once were.

"We went here too," Ude said. "It's a legacy."

The school presently has classes through sixth grade, but in the past has had eight grades, and, "We both graduated from here" as eighth-graders, Carpenter added.

There's another set of children who also have played a part in the women's choice of work.

"My youngest son was starting kindergarten and I was looking for a part-time job," Ude said of her decision to work at St. Ambrose.
"My children were here and I had subbed a few times," Carpenter said.

"My boys and her girls were here and that's where we wanted to be," Ude added.

The school cafeteria has seen its share of changes in the past 18 years, the women said.

"Paperwork," Ude said. "Online and paperwork."

Another change for the school, which is a participant in the government commodities program, is a new requirement that orders have to be made at the beginning of the year, Carpenter said.

The cooks also must adapt to any changes in nutritional guidelines.

"We have the standards we must go by as far as portion size," Ude said.

Menus are subject to government analysis on a routine basis.

"It's pretty strict," Ude said. "We don't fry anything.

"I don't think we're doing them a disservice," she said of the children and the food they are served.

"It's not hard. You just have parameters."

The cafeteria feeds 60 to 65 students a day, a number manageable enough that the cooks have the time to make homemade yeast rolls on occasion.

In addition to working at St. Ambrose, Ude and Carpenter do some catering, along with Maggie Luedeman and Georgiann Coons, for events such as graduation parties and wedding receptions.

Carpenter, whose husband is John, has two daughters, Jessica and Jennifer, and a granddaughter, Claire Urbanski. In addition to working at the school, Carpenter is a receptionist for Dr. Charles Calhoun.

Ude's husband is Stan, and she has two sons, Jordan, who lives in Carmel and is getting married in September, and Brennan, who is finishing up at Purdue University.

"I like to do crafts and knitting," Ude said.

"I'm always making some little thing that somebody's going to have to take."

Carpenter's daughter Jessica was visiting her mother Tuesday, and said of attending St. Ambrose, "I loved it (but) I only got to go through sixth grade."

"It's not the food," Ude was quick to say, laughing, of the fact that seventh and eighth grades are no longer offered.

Ude and Carpenter both spoke of the network of family and friends that make St. Ambrose so special to them.

Besides, Ude said, "Where (else) can you work with your best friend? They'll have to take us out of here feet first."

 St. Ambrose Catholic School recipes:

Cheese Straws

3 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 tablespoon salt

4 cups grated cheese (cheddar or American)

½ cup butter

1 cup water

½ teaspoon pepper

 Sift dry ingredients. Add cheese and mix well. Cut in butter until crumbly. Add enough water to make dough stiff. Roll out ¼-inch thick; cut into strips, approximately 4 inches long. Bake in convection oven at 325 degrees for 12 minutes. Bake in conventional oven at 350 degrees for 12 to 14 minutes. Makes 50.

Cheesy Dip for Raw Vegetables

5 pounds American cheese, shredded

3 quarts mayonnaise

1½ cups relish (sweet)

1 cup sugar

Mix well in blender. Refrigerate until serving. Makes 100 servings.

Joannie Carpenter's recipe:

Chicken Roll-ups

Chicken breast

Cream cheese with chives

Dot butter

Salt and pepper

Bacon

 Spread chicken breast with cream cheese. Dot with butter, salt and pepper. Roll breast and wrap with bacon. Bake at 350 degrees 30 to 40 minutes.