Will this be the first Xmas party to not be sold out?

Alas, my husband will not be able to attend tomorrow night. Would anyone like to buy his ticket? Thanks so much.

Helen Gunnarsson
helengunnar [at] gmail.com

HelenG wrote:Alas, my husband will not be able to attend tomorrow night. Would anyone like to buy his ticket? Thanks so much.

Helen Gunnarsson
helengunnar [at] gmail.com

Boooo!

Hi,

I have a Concord Grape Pie in the oven for the raffle.

See you all later!

Regards,

Hi,

Helen has her ticket settled with Boudreauliciious.

There are two other people who cannot attend, there are two tickets available.

Regards,

Octarine wrote:Will this be the first Xmas party to not be sold out?

What we did not sell was to capacity, which if we did it would have been a very tight room. At 66 people last night, there was room for the raffle table and food pantry donations. If there were more people, those tables would have disapeered for diners. I cannot imagine how the raffle would have been handled, if there were 85 people. Maybe a chain of people passing presents to their recipients?

At Ed's Potsticker House, Chuck's, Tre Kronor and Avli, there was capacity limitations with the first three sold out. Three places we never came close to reaching their capacity was Sun Wah, Manny's and Klas. (edited in Sun Wah)

Everything worked out for the better last night.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:
Everything worked out for the better last night.

Yes it did, in no small part thanks to the work that Cathy2 and David Hammond put in to organize the party. Louie went all out with the menu and was generous with the wine! Thanks to all for a great Holiday Party. I'm about to enjoy the homemade bagels that I won in the raffle. Thanks Chouxfly!

Great time last night. Thanks, everyone, for coming out. I thought Louie and company really threw down. The food and hospitality at Avli were both outstanding. For me, a few of real stand-out dishes were the enormous stuffed shrimp appetizers, the gigandes, the fried zucchini & skordalia, the warm dakos salad, the peas-artichoke-potatoes, the succulent, fatty pork loin and the crispy-tender braised leg of lamb.

Again this year, Cathy and David Hammond did a great job of putting together a wonderful holiday celebration. Thanks again, to both of you.

I also have to thank Louie again for his enthusiasm and notable generosity. The gratis tastes and highly discounted bottles of wine were very nice and the gift bags for each and every guest -- containing Greek olives, olive oil, lentils and mountain tea, were just above and beyond. He really went to bat for us and we are truly appreciative.

Our car's trunk and part of our back seat are full with the food and other donations we collected for the West Deerfield Township Food pantry, which we will deliver on Monday. It's always great to see the LTH community come together for a worthy cause, especially this time of year.

Happy holidays, to everyone!

=R=

p.s. Steve gave me one of the bagels he won in the gift raffle, which were masterfully baked by Chouxfly. I ate it this morning and it was spectacular.

ronnie_suburban wrote:Great time last night. Thanks, everyone, for coming out. I thought Louie and company really threw down. The food and hospitality at Avli were both outstanding. For me, a few of real stand-out dishes were the fried zucchini & skordalia

The zucchini and skordalia were amazing. It's definitely in my 10 best bites in Chicago this year, nevermind notions of primacy and recency.

Now, I wonder if Louie will share the recipe.

ronnie_suburban wrote:I also have to thank Louie again for his enthusiasm and notable generosity. The gratis tastes and highly discounted bottles of wine were very nice and the gift bags for each and every guest -- containing Greek olives, olive oil, lentils and mountain tea, were just above and beyond. He really went to bat for us and we are truly appreciative.

Concur. I was knocked out by the gift bag.

Made the Mountain Tea after dinner tonight.

The Wife thought Louie had said to boil the leaves/stalks for five minutes, but that didn't sound right, so I just boiled water and poured it over half-dozen leafy, buddy stalks in the tea pot. Left it in there about 10 minutes. It was a slightly sweet brew, very pleasant and much more interesting than the usual late night decaf teas we usually have.

Louie did our people proud (as I knew he would). All that was missing was the dancing

The fried zucchini and skordalia and the pork loin were among my favorites. And I can't wait to make something delicious with the Greek lentils in my goodie bag. Many thanks to Cathy and David for a fantastic and lovingly-organized evening.

ronnie_suburban wrote:p.s. Steve gave me one of the bagels he won in the gift raffle, which were masterfully baked by Chouxfly. I ate it this morning and it was spectacular.

D'awwww... you're too kind. Glad you enjoyed it.

The Wife thought Louie had said to boil the leaves/stalks for five minutes, but that didn't sound right, so I just boiled water and poured it over half-dozen leafy, buddy stalks in the tea pot.

David, don't you know The Wife is always Right?

Louie did say to boil it for 5 minutes. It reminds me of the Turkish way of preparing cay (and they have mountain tea too).

The gigandes and Creten beef stew were my particular favorites, and I was amazed by the generosity of the gift bag!

Chouxfly wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:p.s. Steve gave me one of the bagels he won in the gift raffle, which were masterfully baked by Chouxfly. I ate it this morning and it was spectacular.

D'awwww... you're too kind. Glad you enjoyed it.

Can I get the recipe?

lemoneater wrote:

The Wife thought Louie had said to boil the leaves/stalks for five minutes, but that didn't sound right, so I just boiled water and poured it over half-dozen leafy, buddy stalks in the tea pot.

David, don't you know The Wife is always Right?

Louie did say to boil it for 5 minutes. It reminds me of the Turkish way of preparing cay (and they have mountain tea too).

The gigandes and Creten beef stew were my particular favorites, and I was amazed by the generosity of the gift bag!

Normally, I'd be in full agreement, but the tea I brewed using regular methods came out good, and as the directions on the packaging indicate, one should "Boil first the water and add afterwards the herb. Leave it covered far from fire."