Those of us with kids might want to bring along a change of clothes for them, if the mud puddle situation is comparable to last year....

I will be attending with Mrs. Datchineseguy!

We'll bring a pan of pot stickers!

Looking forward to my 2nd LTH Picnic

Sorry everyone, Mr Foodie1 and I wont be able to attend.... he's got the flu and I'm starting to pick it up myself. Have a wonderful time!

i'm sorry to miss the picnic. i had a great time last year but i've got a fresh cold and scratchy throat, so think i'll chill out at home today. justjoan

Now THAT was a picnic. Bless you all who brought whatever you brought. I tried to try everything and everything I tried was great. Thanks too to those bringing supplies, setting up, cleaning up, writing it up, photographing it, memorializing it in any form whatsoever. It was a great time and we are so pleased we could make it.

Wow!

But way too much food, I wanted to taste everything, and very nearly did. All of it was very good, even the crisco beans

Thankee all for a wonderful time. Must nap now.

My Highlights:

Crown roast of roo (a little stringy, but very beefy)
The cheese table
The dragon turds (note -- technically they should be Wolf unless Habanero, but still awesome)
Romanian Garlic Dogs
Lots and Lots of Salsas
Puerco in Mole
Fruit Ices

And certainly not least, the company we keep, including several very friendly dogs (somebody please give that shi-tzu something meaty so she'll stop eating napkins) -- I'll have to remember to bring mine next year, although she's the type that walks in front of moving people to get them to trip and drop things.

This was my first LTH picnic and what a spectacular event. In addition to the usual warmth and friendliness of all the LTH members I was awed by the dazzling array of food. I just wish the event could be spread over a few days so I could truly savor every dish!

Thank you everyone and a special thanks to all the behind the scene workers who helped coordinate this event.

Jyoti

Ramon wrote: I dread the thought of eating with everything smelling of bug spray ...

Oh yeah? And how did the stench from the port-a-pottie grab ya?

Seriously though, what a great bunch of people. We had so much fun seeing all of you again. Everyone is SO nice!! We're going to try really hard to make the next Burt's Pizza (etc.) event.

Thanks to the grillers! My Chicago dog & Gary's chicken was tasty! I loved the giant mushroom, the tomato tarts, the 'roo, the pine nuts & feta pasta salad, the lump crab & corn salad, the cheese array, the porcine cookies, the nutty crust for the blueberry pie, and last but NOT least, the pecan pie that was out of this world!

Now that is what picnics should be all about!!

It was great seeing everyone today, and my wife made special note of how friendly everyone, since this was her first time at an LTH event (not that I had given her the idea that everyone wasn't nice or something - although coming home with bite marks and scratches after previous events may have given her something to ponder).

Everything was fantastic, and I really couldn't name a favorite, although I have to say my highlight was, after years of wanting to, trying for the first time the homemade "liquor" that Louisa had made. Thanks Louisa!!!

It is almost 9 o'clock, and I have not eaten since 4 pm, and yet I am still insanely full. This may be the first time I have skipped a dinner in years...

I promise a real post soon, but in the meantime thanks to all--it was superfabulisticcalifragicwonderful.

Initial photo dump here. here.

We're home, mess from last night's cooking spree cleaned and settled in for enhanced digestion (which we sorely need).

Everything was excellent, but mostly I really appreciated the thoughtfulness of others. From Gypsy Boy and his wife doing online research, Dobra going back to her bakery for some gluten-free cookies to Leek finding us first and ensuring they got first dibs on hummous - it reminds me of the goodness and kindness of people, even strangers.

A friendlier gathering would be unimaginable. Bravas and bravos all around; I hope to toast the thriving community at many picnics and shared tables to come.

My special shout-outs / shouts-out go to Kenny for the remarkably savory tomato tarts, Louisa for the decadent snack of fine parmesan and artisanal honey, and Veloute for the fork-tender pork costillas (please post recipes here!) Hats off to everyone who cooked, grilled, smoked, poached, braised, and deglazed their way to our collective food nirvana.

Okay, here come a gazillion photos, but first, a Lost and Found item:



If any of this is yours, PM me and we'll figure out how to reunite you.

* * *

What an amazing, remarkable event. Okay, I always say that but really, talk about a feast of just one amazing surprise after another, I'd rather come to this than Charlie Trotter's anniversary dinner. Amazing, diverse food-- I probably tried 40 different things-- and the chance to meet and talk to many interesting LTHers-- great to meet for the first time Mhays, Santander, Cookie Monster, Kennyz, ViewsAskew, and many others. Some highlights:


The world's largest Will Special.




Dragon turds.


Kennyz's deservedly-praised-above tomato tarts.


Ronnie Suburban's duck and pork pate was a stunner in looks and taste. I brought some of my homemade French sourdough bread, with no particular use in mind-- once I saw this stuff, I parked it next to Ronnie's pate. It could find no higher purpose.


A real showstopper was Nr706's crown roast... not of lamb, but kangaroo.


Maybe the best thing of all was M'thu'su's pulled pork in mole he brought back from Oaxaca, seen here next to Veloute's also excellent costilla in chile arbol (I think) sauce.


D4v3 manned the sausage grill...


GWiv worked a couple of smokers...


Kanin borrowed one to prepare pappadums.


Trixie-Pea's tamale and chili dish in homage to the Mother-In-Law was great comfort food.


Leek takes the first bite of Gypsy Boy's beans.


Rene G whips up some Freddies as a light in-between snack.


The definition of torture.


My first thought-- Oh God, it's balut. No, tea-boiled eggs or something like that.


Another amazing Jazzfood salad prepared on an entire table of banana leaves-- this one with crab, avocado, mango and grilled asparagus.


Many wonderful desserts like Mhays' mystery-ingredient apple pie.


David Hammond again tried to claim the title of world's greatest cookie. (As my wife said, "It doesn't have chocolate, how can it be the world's greatest cookie?") I have to say, I think cookies don't need bacon, and bacon don't need cookies. Just my opinion.


A big year for LTHbabies.




An idea pops into Trixie-Pea's head.


Liam and Lucantonio found strange creatures in the woods.


Liam tries to create an iconic image to rival his brother's at last year's picnic.


As last year, the piñata (sponsored by the Ramons) was a high point of the kid part.


Luc, let the force guide you!


The suspense gripped the adults, too.


The final blow delivered.


Liam displays his booty.


The kids get ready to play "Sharks and Lifeguards" with a parachute as the turbulent sea.


The party's over, kid.

Thanks to all, great to see you all. See you again next year!

Looks like a great time. I truly regret not being able to attend

The food...wow... yes I missed out as I seem to miss out on a lot of things lately. You see... when I go out of my "box" to do something with other people, I get injured. I am actually dealing with a really bad shoulder injury and I was in bed most of the day yesterday.

The food looked fantastic. Bacon on a cookie... I'd try it! Just like garlic chocolate (something Binko made a year ago). Sounds weird but sometimes it just works. And I think there's a sang: "bacon makes things taste better" and thats from my mom. She has a deviled eggs and potato salad recipe that'll knock your socks off. I'd feel bad though because I don't really cook, I just eat and I know what things are supposed to taste like. I always go above and beyond to get the best in my stomach Most of you apparently have kids too, that is awesome. Any women available for starting a family?

Mike

Next year I won't be a newbie and I'm DEFINITELY planning to join you. Looks like a great time was had by all.

Just a quick reminder, we have a thread for picnic recipes here

I love this picnic: even though we arrived late and I missed a lot, and even though I went through the food with extreme discipline (no more than a couple bites of anything, systematically working my way from one table to another) I went home too stuffed to eat even GWiv's incredible chicken...at least until after I'd collapsed on the couch for an hour or so. What amazing food! I brought quite a bit home, and am looking forward to taking a pass on cooking for a couple days. Highlights: Ronnie's pate, Sonofabitch stew, Josephine's beef tenderloin, eatchicago's mint ice cream sandwiches, Jazzfood's salad, Louisa's cheese selection...I think I scared some people with a spontaneous "MMM!" after a bite of GypsyBoy's beans.

Still, my favorite part of the picnic was Sparky's bedtime roundup (all in one breath): "I played bodyguard and servant for this other kid, and then we played sharks and people and lifeguards just like at school except at school it's just sharks and lifeguards, and I got tangled up in the parachute and so did the bigger kids and one of them said 'I knew I'd suffocate!' and I got a fly with big red eyes and another fly with really big eyes from the pinata and I really liked the honey candy and wasn't the little doggie cute and my stick was a bazooka and it could shoot fire..."

He did eat, but obviously has very different priorities than Mommy.

There was such an astounding range of excellent food here, that it seems wrong to focus on just one two exceptional contributions, so I’ll mention the three that I found myself thinking about when I woke up this morning.

The classic pate brought by Ronnie-suburban was superb, subtly seasoned, with good texture provided by ground meat pitched against the pistachios. I easily could have eaten a lot more of this delicious paste (though I may well have eaten a quarter pound). I ate it without mustard; no need to mess with the pure flavors.

Pucca’s tea-eggs, though conjuring memories of balut (not for me a bad memory), were a very good example of how tea can be effectively used as a seasoning agent. I’ve had tea in other dishes (tea-smoked duck, etc.), but the personality of the tea in many of these preps is so mild that it’s very easy to lose the flavor in a dish with any other strong tastes going on; egg is a good platform for the dialed-back tang of tea.

The caponata thrown into the mix by jygach, being a stew, was maybe not as photogenic as either of my first two fond food memories, but I had several helpings and appreciated this outstanding representative of the vegetable world. Many of the foods at the picnic tended to be somewhat heavy on the animal protein, and it was good to balance all that with this flavorful blend of veg, meticulously cut into small pieces, and looking quite beautiful right before it went into my mouth.

I thought a number of dishes here went way beyond restaurant quality, fine reflections of the joy LTHers take in making and sharing good stuff.

-ramon

The company was exceptional, the conversation great, and well the food speaks for itself. Thanks to everyone for welcoming me and my damn food intolerance with open arms. It's days like yesterday that make the whole thing bearable. Kudos to the organizers for a job well done!

By the way Mhays, That really was the best tongue I've ever had!
Veloute

I always excel in categories with almost no competition!:)

Overdue round of thanks - C2 for all the administration and the extraordinary culinary effort, the pit crew for artfully keeping hot food hot, Velute and ViewsAskew for rescuing Sparky from his record-setting full-body puddle encounter, the Ramons and Josephine for making the kids happy, and happy_stomach for allowing sweet little Rooster to be run like a greyhound. Ronnie, please tell me that charcuterie are negative-calorie foods...

It was a real pleasure to meet so many of you that I'd only known as cyberghosts and as always it's great to see old friends.

Can I ask who brought or made the rolled flaky dough filled with meat that was in the appetizer section (brought much later in the afternoon)? It reminded me of my London breakfasts that I had at a pastry shop every day, and would love the recipe or to know where to get it.

I'll add my thinks to everyone for making the 2nd LTH picnic a smashing success. It was great visiting with everyone. The food was exceptional, as expected from such a dedicated group of food enthusiasts.

I had breakfast this morning at Patty's and both Patty and her sister were regretting not having made it to the picnic.

borborigmy wrote:Can I ask who brought or made the rolled flaky dough filled with meat that was in the appetizer section (brought much later in the afternoon)? It reminded me of my London breakfasts that I had at a pastry shop every day, and would love the recipe or to know where to get it.

If I'm not mistaken, that was burek from GNR nominee Deta's

Thank you to everyone for such a great event. As always, people were warm, friendly and generous. I love seeing the creativity and energy poured into making this such a delicious success. I have come to think of these picnics as being the world's best buffets! I'm sorry I couldn't stay longer.

What a fantastic time that was yesterday. It was so great getting to hang out with everyone and, of course, the food was simply spectacular. I tried to taste a little bit of everything but there were times I was feeling so full, I almost couldn't. But everything I did eat -- and that was quite a bit -- was delicious. As great as the quantity of food was, the quality far surpassed it. My only regrets are not being able to eat more and not being able to meet everyone who was there.

I also really want to thank everyone who contributed to the event -- especially those who organized it. It would not have been nearly as wonderful as it was without such a great, collective effort. As a group, we have an awful lot to be proud of. Thanks again, LTH, for providing one of the major food highlights of my 2007.

Below are a bunch of images from throughout the day (in no particular order). I've filled in as much information as I could. In some cases, I didn't know what exactly the pictured food was -- or who brought it. In other cases, I wasn't sure of exactly who was in the pictures. In any case, if you see a picture that could use some more caption info, please just pm me and I will gladly fill it in. Same goes for any errors, etc. . .


Kennyz's delicious tomato tarlets



d4v3, germuska and GWiv (left to right) mind Cooker Row



germuska's delicious Chicken Tikka



An immense Will's Special, aka Homer Simpson's dream sandwich, provided by mhl



Delectable caponata from jygach



Villamickey's tasty dragon turds



Roasted pepper and onion medley



nr706's gigantic stuffed mushroom -- delicious!




Veloute's awesome Costillas de Puerco en Chile Guajillo y Chile Morita



Very tasty Tortilla Espanola



Really wonderful smoked pork butt in Oaxacan chile paste by m'th'su



Overwhelmed but in a good way



Excellent cole slaw



I didn't try this dish, which seemed to be some sort of chili . . .



. . . served over cornbread. It looks excellent and I'm bummed I didn't try it



GWiv's delectable buttermilk-brined, hot-smoked chicken



Tea leaf eggs from Pucca



Really nice pepperoni-type sausage with that good, white mold



Terrific Baylor watermelon, provided by stevez. I'd never had one before and this was a real treat.



Really nice-looking pecan pie from Mrs. JoelF



Succulent beef tenderloin provided by Josephine



Delicious Issan Thai sausage and accompaniments from Thai Grocery and Ramon



jazzfood's mise



After covering the entire tabletop with banana leaves, jazzfood and sister, Vikki, assemble the installation/salad



An artist at work . . . jazzfood applies the finishing touches



A glorious salad of avocado, hearts of palm, grilled corn and asparagus, mango, lump crab topped with toasted pine nuts and pine nut vinaigrette



LTH's tasty homage to The Freddie, provided by Rene G



Lengua a la vinagreta from Mhays



Sphinx pie from Mhays. Another one I wish I'd had room for.




Delicious blueberry pie by Mike G



Roasted corn



Cathy2's sonofabitch stew. I thought this was really delicious even though I was a bit scared by the ingredient list.



Louisa Chu brought an excellent assortment of cheeses . . .



. . . which included this raw cheese from France, which was warmed on the smoker. Amazing!



mhl, germuska and happy_stomach, among others, take in the pinata festivities



jazzfood and amata watch the kids taking their whacks



cookie, Josephine and gleam, to name a few, enjoy watching the kids, as well



The ubiquitous jazzfood, along with Mike G and King's Thursday, watch the candy fly



Louisa Chu and stevez enjoy a chat



Cathy2 (left) checks the agenda



Dobra and friends



JoelF enjoys the moment



Annie Chu carefully prepares an exotic libation



nr706 and friends

Again, a wonderful day. I can hardly wait for next year's edition.

=R=

It was a wonderful day and great to get caught up with old friends and match up usernames with new faces, as well. I wish I could have eaten more! Everything I had was delicious, including both of the tortillas espanolas, and particular highlights were Mike S's Oaxacan pork, which was especially delicious inside a tortilla from Amanecer Tapatio (who brought those??), and the warm raw cheese from Louisa and Annie Chu. Louisa and Annie, could you list all the cheeses you brought?

Ramon and Josephine and Ellen, thanks for keeping the kids entertained with pinata, parachute, and plastic thingies. Thanks to Cathy for all her organization, to the grillers, and to the photographers who've posted their great photos in this thread.

see you next year...

P.S. who brought the Senegalese bissap? That was great, too.

Amata wrote:P.S. who brought the Senegalese bissap? That was great, too.

My friend Nikki, who was visiting for the weekend; when we realized there was time before the wedding she was attending, she decided to come along to the picnic and whipped up the bissap with hibiscus leaves from the Rogers Park Fruit Market. She lived in the Gambia for a couple of years where she learned the recipe.

Nikki also brought Percy, who hopefully was as good a party guest when I wasn't looking as she seemed to be when I was.

I quite enjoyed meeting a number of people whose screen names I didn't even recognize along with several whose posts I'd admired from afar but was pleased to meet in person. Not to mention all the great folks with whom I've already enjoyed sharing other LTH events.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to the big event, but special thanks to Cathy2 for being the primary driving force.

Nikki and Percy (Persephone):

Truly a terrific event, enjoyed meeting people for the first time, chatting with old friends and every morsel of goodness that passed through my lips.

Thanks Cathy2, an absolute dynamo of a woman, and everyone who participated, Ellen and I are looking forward to next year.

Of the hundreds of pictures I took here are my two favorites, SaintPizza and JimTheBeerGuy's child, spoon in hand, and GypsyBoy's beans with the LTHForum logo reflecting on the Crisco sheened surface..

The rest of my 2007 LTHForum picnic pictures may be found here and 2006 picnic pictures here





Enjoy,
Gary

Great pictures Gary! I'd say that my favorite part was the reflection of an LTH nametag in the pooled oil atop those beans but I think it should be obvious what my favorite part is.

Not even the dismal performance of the Bears today can dim the joy I still feel from yesterday's picnic. Well, not for long anyway. What an amazing event! I loved so many things the tea leaf eggs, the special libation provided by Louisa Chu, the World's Greatest Cookie v2, the incredible pecan pie, the pate, the enormous stuffed mushroom, the Isaan sausage with all the fixins (especially the Thai peppers, yum!)... oh man I ate so much food.

My photography skills are not so great and I had a misconfigured setting on my cameraphone resulting in lower resolution pictures than intended, but here are a few more.

You know it's a good picnic when you got this many grills and smokers working:



Quite a spread. And this was only one of several tables!



Thanks to everyone for a great day!