Woodhull Pasta Night Still Going Strong
Aging like a fine wine, PTA Pasta Night at Woodhull Intermediate School is just as popular as ever, with a capacity crowd of more than 500 turning out for this year’s 10th anniversary event.
Volunteers turned the cafeteria and gym into an elegant Italian restaurant, complete with the red tablecloths one would expect to see. The popular night featured a homemade pasta dinner cooked by sixth grade teacher Andrea Frisenda and a crew of teachers, parents and friends. Proceeds generated by the event will be used to support activities on every grade level at the school.
Preparations for the massive undertaking began weeks earlier with numerous trips to local stores for the sauce ingredients, including large cans of tomatoes, olive oil and garlic. The night before the dinner, Mrs. Frisenda and her helpers cooked huge pots of sauce that were later used in more than 25 trays of baked ziti.
Sixth grade teachers trained and helped organize student waiters and waitresses, who wore black and white outfits, and had them moving quickly through the “assembly” line, while plates where loaded with hot food. “The students were so excited to be active participants in such an exciting evening,” Mrs. Frisenda said.
The dinner itself consisted of baked ziti, tossed salad, fresh bread, dessert and assorted beverages. Each year the sauce is made Mrs. Frisenda and her crew, who take delight in preparing the food. This year’s ingredients consisted of 3,360 ounces of sauce, 80 lbs. of ziti, 40 lbs. of ricotta, 40 lbs. of mozzarella and 30 lbs. of grated parmesan cheese.
“Everyone raved about how delicious the pasta tasted,” said Maryann Daly, SEARCH program chairperson, who makes a habit of helping out at the event. Maryann Sacher, who retired last June as a physical education teacher at the school, returned to pitch in, just like she’s done since the dinner’s inception. Even Mrs. Frisenda’s husband, Art and her oldest daughter, Jenn could be found in the kitchen assembling the many trays of food.
Principal Kenneth A. Card, Jr. said the monies generated from the night will be used to offset the cost of grade level trips planned in the spring. He tipped his hat to the volunteer teacher-chefs.
Mrs. Frisenda said that without all the volunteer assistance provided by teachers, support staff, parents and students, the night would be impossible to pull off. But, again this year, as for the past decade, everyone rallied to make the event a memorable one.
The Woodhull PTA raffled off 30 beautifully decorated baskets that were stuffed with specialty items and gift certificates donated by local businesses, including American Roadside, Atlantis Marine World, Canterbury Ales, Copenhagen Bakery, Cradle of Aviation, Dancin’ Feet, Danford’s Hotel and Marina, ESPN Zone, Governor’s Comedy Club, Herrell’s Ice Cream Shop, Huntington YMCA, Reinwald’s Bakery, White Post Farms, the Bartolomeo family and the Woodhull PTA itself.
As usual, the star of the night was Mrs. Frisenda’s sauce. “The sauce and pasta was molto bene,” Dr. Card said.
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