Jyoti,

No precise address, though in the announcement there are driviing instructions and a map of the grove. Does your GPS allow you to give cross-streets? If yes, then consider either Elston and Forest Glen Drive or Cicero and Forest Glen Drive.

See you tomorrow!

Regards,

Recently back from the Mississippi Delta, I plan to bring some of the local treats: Kool-Aid pickles and hot tamales. Our Chicago source for Delta tamales has been unreliable lately but hopefully they'll come through tomorrow.

Go, Fighting Okra!

OK, got my goodie list:
* Grape/Thyme Jelly
* Doom Bars (shortbread+caramel+brownie+chocolate)
* Thai Cucumber Relish

Maybe some salsa cruda too

OK, that was last call to be included on the spreadsheet, not to stop y'all from posting more goodies and such - pens and blank tags will be available at the picnic itself. Gimme a minute here and I'll paste it in, you're on your own for stats, but groaning tables will be putting it mildly.

TWELVE HOURS AND 47 MINUTES TO GO!

If you notice an error here, it's probably too late - but PM Cathy2 and see if she can fix it - she's the brains behind this operation, I merely function as the calculator. However, as I said, pens and blanks will be available.

jygach wrote:Is there an actual address for this place?
Thanks.

Jyoti

Quoting myself from when someone (was it you?) asked the same question last year:

It's just North of the corner of Catalpa and Forest Glen. The address is approximately:

5400 N. Forest Glen Ave.
Chicago, IL 60630

In response to overwhelming popular demand, The Wife and I have decided to prepare The World's Greatest Cookie, V3.

Aack! Forgot to mention - don't forget to bring a serving utensil (preferably one you're not too attached to, though sticking your name on it helps) to dish out your lovely offerings...

I have yet to reply because many scheduling backflips would be necessary to find some free time tomorrow to drop by.

If I come, I will be bringing a big bowl of lacinato kale salad with ricotta salata.

Hi,

David - are you still doing your arty food thing?

Just a wee reminder: the Forest Preserve has rules specifically prohibiting glass beverage containers. Please don't ignore this, we want to come back to this grove (or any other in the Cook County system) next year. Plus it is a pain to clean up broken glass.

See you later today!

Regards,

gastro gnome wrote:I have yet to reply because many scheduling backflips would be necessary to find some free time tomorrow to drop by.

If I come, I will be bringing a big bowl of lacinato kale salad with ricotta salata.

A nametag has been made for both you and your salad.

Regards,

I have to update with some withdrawals, changes, additions. My guests from Indiana will not be able to make it. That knocks my count down to 4 or 5 (instead of 7). And also knocks out the biryani. To make up for the unfortunate turn of events I baked 2 loaves of bread, a pumpernickel and a rustic rye, and some hamburger buns (about 15); all using my “Oregon trail” sourdough starter. Also, It is confirmed that the cake is going to be zucchini, not rhubarb. I also added a Estonian barley sausage to the lineup. And I’m going to cut out the Banchan since I am bringing a lot already. I think maybe I’m overdoing it a bit. I’ll still bring dried squid though.

For the ease of your spreadsheet I’ll lay it out here for you.
1 Zucchini Cake
6 lbs of sausage: 1/3 Estonian Barley, 1/3 traditional fresh Kielbasa, 1/3 Wine marinated Kielbasa
A few Lbs of Bulgogi
Rustic Rye Loaf
Pumpernickel Loaf
15 hamburger buns
A dozen or so dried squids.

Sorry for the last minutet changes. Look forward to tomorrow, Now i need some sleep.

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

David - are you still doing your arty food thing?

Had to change plans due to trouble sourcing carnation water, plus The Wife thought the idea was kind of stupid, so I'm going to bring our now annual effort at perfecting the perfect cookie.

David Hammond wrote:In response to overwhelming popular demand, The Wife and I have decided to prepare The World's Greatest Cookie, V3.

What? No La Cucina Futurista? I'm crushed.

I am so sorry to miss all of you, friends, and the delights of the picnic table. I shall rely on detailed reports and pictures to provide me with vicarious thrills!

I just found out 30 min ago that I will be able to attend. No time to whip up anything home made, I'm going to look overthe srpeadsheet and see if there is anything glaring missing. PM me with ideas, I'll be headed to Costco in about a half hour!

I will be bringing some cheese and crackers, you can never have enough cheese, right?


edited to add crackers.

Sorry to weigh in late:

I'm coming with:

mangosteens
spinach and cheese pies
zaatar bread
makgeolli (unfltered Korean rice wine)

Mike,

Where did you score the mangosteens?

Wish I could be there, but it's not to be this year.

Best wishes to all.

Well just got home, or to work rather. Had a wonderful time seeing everybody and enjoyed my first tastes of racoon. (it tastes like pot roast...)Thanks Cathy. Everything was wonderful and the company was even better.

gastro gnome wrote:I have yet to reply because many scheduling backflips would be necessary to find some free time tomorrow to drop by.

If I come, I will be bringing a big bowl of lacinato kale salad with ricotta salata.

Not only was there not lacinato kale at the market, but the multitude of out-of-towners converging this weekend kept me from attending. I am sure everyone had a great time and I look forward to accounts and pictures.

Wow, I am SO glad I was able to attend this year

Incredible food, wonderful wonderful people, my big toe still hurts from kicking the ice cream ball but it was worth it! I'm full and happy, what more can a boy ask for?

Thanx to everyone who made the day so great. It was a wonderful way to jump in and attend that first-event.

Putting faces on screen-names was just as much fun as I thought it would be, but the extra bonus was discovering how enjoyable everyone is. Someone suggested that the picnic was like the best family dinner that you ever attended -- because the food is much better and there is no family, so you enjoy everyone there. The LTH picnic is the REALLY GOOD TASTE OF CHICAGO.

See you next year -- and before.

Hey all,

I just wanted to let everyone know I had an awesome time at the picnic. I came along with Matt (laikom) this year and enjoyed it very much. I'm now a memeber and I hope to see all you guys again.

Cheers.

Distinktif wrote:Hey all,

I just wanted to let everyone know I had an awesome time at the picnic. I came along with Matt (laikom) this year and enjoyed it very much. I'm now a memeber and I hope to see all you guys again.

Cheers.

Officially, welcome to LTH.

Great time today everyone. On a slightly negative note, one of the two portable chairs that I set up by the keg (a green one) seems to have walked off. So if anyone ended up with an extra chair, please PM me.

Hi,

You left it behind! I have it in my possession. I will be in Chicago tomorrow for the pie tour, please PM me with contact information.

Thank you for selecting the beer as well as thank you to the generous donor who funded it.

Regards,

I, too, wanted to thank everyone for sharing such wonderful food and company. I fell short on making all that I hoped to prepare and was distracted by family trying to reach me as they were arriving at O'Hare--but, Oh my, I really did enjoy all of the folks I had a chance to meet and hope to see you again before next year. The food was wonderful. If we want to try and ask for a recipe, do we contact the maker directly? Just Joan, I will be dreaming of your orange cake...I may have to conduct my own experiments and look to you for guidance...or let me know if you begin selling it!

Thanks again for all of your LTH warmth and kindness.

Cheers, NZ

JimTheBeerGuy wrote:Great time today everyone. On a slightly negative note, one of the two portable chairs that I set up by the keg (a green one) seems to have walked off. So if anyone ended up with an extra chair, please PM me.

JTBG, you never set it up, only set it down, and then abandoned it. Others watched out for you. No negative notes!

-ramon

LTH,

Seems I missed a wonderful event, perfect weather, imaginative and delicious food and the best of company, including the young Morowitz twins. Not to feel sorry though, while LTHers were feasting on haunch of porcupine, roulade of rino and delectable dishes designed to delight, I was munching Act II microwave popcorn straight from the Residence Inn room microwave during the wedding lull time between service and reception.

Nieces wedding brought a tear to our eyes, lovely, as did the food, her and her husband are vegans and the menu was styled accordingly. Actually, the vegan Middle Eastern offerings were quite good, my bride raved about the lentil soup and my mother was entranced by falafel and baba ganoush.

Looking forward to next years picnic, which I hope not to miss.

Eagerly anticipating the LTHforum Holiday Party

Enjoy,
Gary

I remember looking over the spread a couple of times and thinking, I've probably tried 40 things today, and I'm not sure I've had half of what's here...

I was particularly gratified to have the chance to try three semi-mythic foods, durian, mangosteen and Malort. Note that I did not say "particularly enjoyed." Nevertheless, if there was one indelible image of the picnic it was Mhays' husband setting up a durian table-- about 30 feet away from the rest of the party, and people venturing out into the field to go try it.

And often stopping 5 or 10 feet away and turning back.

(Actually, I found the durian itself not so bad, but as with some stinky cheeses, you have to get past the deeply offensive nose to get to the milder taste. Malort proved to be the opposite, appealing herbal bouquet hiding the licking-fax-paper aftertaste that lingered for several minutes. Mangosteens-- they were all right, I was not as entranced as others.)

Throw in Laikom's Estonian barley sausage and Justjoan's deceptively uninteresting-looking orange-cornbread bars (which everyone who tried then went around selling) and Will's prizewinning chili and Hammond's first successful cookie and Bridgestone's pate (I forget who actually made it) and Buddyroadhouse's elotes casserole and Ramon forcing a mojito on me out of the blue and... Anyway, as always, a wonderful event that draws together so many interesting people and their equally interesting food. Big, big thanks to Cathy2, picnic planner extraordinaire for a terrific event in every way.

I want to add my gratitude to Cathy for organizing a terrific event and to Mhays for organizing the ever expanding menu and to fellow LTHers for their great food and great company. I had to skip out earlier than I wanted to to work a friend's party. I don't think I have ever seen so much food - so much amazingly great food - in one place. Bite after bite, it was just non-stop groaning and sighing with joy. Mike's post reminds me that my personal moment of horror/amusement came as I watched a group of LTH-ers heading over to the durian quarantine area with the Malort. Durian with a Malort chaser - .