Hi,

Several people cancelled already making several people very happy to take their place. While there is still time to give your reservation to someone else, please note there will be no refunds to no shows.

If you just learned you cannot attend, then please PM the following people on the waitlist to offer your ticket and make financial arrangements:

Waitlist:

Michael Golden 1

Except for the last three waitlisters (they are lurkers whom I know how to contact), all are LTHforum posters. Once you have changed your reservation, then please advise David Hammond or I of the name of the ticketholder. We need this information for check-in and nametags.

If you give your ticket away to a friend, please advise us, too, to allow us to make changes.

Thanks!

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

While there is still time to give your reservation to someone else, please note there will be no refunds to no shows.

Just to clarify, when we say "give" we're assuming you're going to sell your spot.

I may need to avail myself of the carpool option (or try to) as well. I have a car but it does not have snows and does not move (at all) in snow. They are saying we may be getting some tomorrow. I am in the Logan Square area and right on the Blue Line if anyone is driving from anywhere along those areas. If the snow holds off, I can drive myself of course.

eatchicago wrote:Chocolate-sour-cream bundt cake will make it's third annual raffle appearance.

I regret to inform you that due to a minor kitchen mishap, there will be no bundt cake this year. I apologize to the eventual winner, whomever that may have been.

Looking forward to seeing everyone tonight.

Best,
Michael

ChanuKwanzaXmas Holiday Party Emergency!

My car went into the shop yesterday and did not make it out in time, so now I'm joining those who earlier were looking for a ride....

NR706 has kindly offered me a ride TO the party, but he is stopping elsewhere on the way home.... So I'm just looking for a ride Burbank to Evanston.

Anyone going my way? Please PM.... Thanks.

I've managed to come down w/ a sinus and ear infection. I am beyond disappointed.

we have two seats available. I've pm'd the first person on the list - but if i don't hear - i'll give them to whomever i hear from first.

UPDATE:

laikom will be taking our pair. sorry to miss this. I have a ton of stuff for the food pantry - i'll have to drop it locally.

Have a great time!
liz

Thanks so much kafein,
I'll be leaving from near Wicker Park (east village). If anyone wants to ride with us, we'll have a couple extra seats in the car. Or if anyone is already carpooling from here and can fit more, that'd work too!

one more ticket is now available - I've PM'd mods but msgs not picked up yet. With laikom's 2 in hand, I think we're into lurkers. Good luck and happy holidays - taking care of wife and baby under weather!

Santander, GypsyBoy and Rene G --

Your cancellations just allowed

KS and Susan S to attend.

Regards,

David Hammond wrote:The Raffle
For those who haven’t attended this party before, and who need a little guidance regarding the raffle, here are some examples of past raffle gifts:

In addition to my raffle contribution of Wiviott BBQ Rub I'm bringing two bonus raffle items, both a Salt and a Pepper Gift Box, compliments of The Spice House.

Thanks Spice House.

Enjoy,
Gary

I had to leave before dessert, but I can't say I feel deprived. Another great, well organized, LTH event. Thanks so much to everyone who worked so hard to make it run smoothly.
A few early photos that perhaps others with better cameras did not catch.
A partial view of the food pantry donations


A greatly coveted raffle item


Hard-working women take a moment for a photo (love the lobster necklace--not to mention the shirt!)


An enthusiastic fan of the jerk ribs


Thanks, everyone!!!

Yes, indeed -- a splendid feast in delightful company. Thanks to Cathy2, David Hammond, and everyone else who contributed to the festive and flavorful occasion.

The mrs. and I had a blast. As usual, the company was as good as the food! So glad we made it.

LTH,

Terrific party, great food, conversation, Chuck hit it out of the ballpark. Cathy and Hammond are the Fred and Ginger of party planers, a memorable evening.

Enjoy,
Gary

Great party, per usual. Many thanks to Cathy2 and Mr. Hammond for putting this together. Also thanks go to whoever donated the Olive Oil book (I'm not sure if the name of the donor was announced), which I was lucky enough to win in the raffle.

Incredible food, incredible new and old friends,
and my boys are totally digging Tres Leches Cake for breakfast!
(does that make me a bad mom or a great mom?)
Thanks to Cathy 2 and David especially
maybe the Rob & Laura of party planners...

I'm not sure which meal stuffed me more, in the best of ways, Saturday's holiday party or Sunday night's goose dinner at Mado. Regardless, my wife and I had a great weekend of food and company. Sheila and I appreciate the hard work of Cathy2, Hammond and others to make this event happen. We are especially pleased to have taken home a big haul for the food pantry. On Saturday AM, the Oak Park Food Pantry processed approximately 150 orders--an order can be anywhere from one to eight people. To give some perspective, a year ago, we were typically processing about 75 orders on a Saturday. The donations from LTHForum participants will go a long way towards helping th Pantry meet its increased load.

Thanks!

PS
We really lucked out this year on the raffle prize of local food!

PPS
Sheila was especially, especially pleased that her name tag said Sheila. She thanks who ever paid attention to that.

Great party, as always many more people that I'd like to chat with than I got the chance to, big prop/kudo/thingies to Cathy2 and M.C. Hammond for probably the smoothest one ever.

Particular highlights were the roast piggy and the greens-- oh man, does Chuck know a thing or two about getting deep bacony flavor into pot likker, right up there with the ones I had at Arnold's in Nashville.

LTH,

Looking through the pictures I was once again reminded of what a wonderful Holiday Party we had at Chuck's. Thanks again to all, in particular Chuck, Cathy and Hammond.

Hammond, Chuck



Cathy2



The pig was both delectable and irresistible.

Abagail Berg-Hammond



The nose knows. (16 LTHForum bonus points if you guess on whose plate the piggy nose was residing)



Additional pictures may be found --> Here

Enjoy,
Gary

What a wonderful party! Great food, great new friends, and great conversations! This was our first LTH event and we felt very welcome and right at home. We plan on attending more events in the future.

Many thanks to all those that organized this event!!!

Happy Holidays to all!

It was indeed a great party. Thanks to all who organized and attended -- and to Chuck and his stellar crew, who worked so hard to make it so great. I agree that the food was fantastic and it was only surpassed by the company, which was warm and wonderful, as usual. It's a very busy day at work, so I'll come back later to caption some of these images . . .


Pretty sweet of Chuck to talk up the forum the way he did . . .



. . . and he seemed pretty excited to have us there



Cathy2, Giovanna and Hellodali prepare the raffle



REB & RAB peruse the buffet line



r2g, berryberry and gastro gnome get their grub on



The Laikoms



DBigg, happyeater, fifille and half of germuska



Panther(s) in the Den



happy_stomach & yours truly (thanks, Mrs. Terrasini)



aschie30 & Cinny's Mom



Mrs & Mr JiminLoganSquare and Mike G



Assorted hoi polloi



The Beverators with JimtheBeerGuy in the background



Tarte Tatin, jimwdavis, guest of jimwdavis & Giovanna (clockwise from front left)



David Hammond and Chuck pose with piggy



Chef Chuck goes to work



Stagger beams proudly over his plate



Cathy2 claims the snoot



Happy Diners



Some of the Oak Park contingent



Susan S and guest (possibly?)



It's a party



The sdritzes and the LynnBs (left to right)



edc & guest (right) and 2 people I didn't get to meet



Whole lot of eating going on



My plate (clockwise from bottom): Jerk Ribs, Jambalaya, Super Caesar, Smoked Piggy, Mac & Cheese, Greens, Enchiladas Verduras and Cochinita Pibil in the center



David Hammond kicks off the gift raffle



A coveted prize, Juicy Erotica (won by me!)



No he's not a pig, he just plays one at parties

=R=

The dinner was excellent as was all the company.

And it is an evening that I'll be enjoying for a month as I bought a huge chunk of British Stilton from Chuch and I'll be savoring it nightly.

Hi,

Chuck was selling cheese? There are so many things happening at these parties. Some I will never know. Some I learn later from reading them here.

Regards,

jlawrence01 wrote:The dinner was excellent as was all the company.

And it is an evening that I'll be enjoying for a month as I bought a huge chunk of British Stilton from Chuch and I'll be savoring it nightly.

I like the Stilton straight, of course, but I've also been looking at recipes that will allow me to use it in different ways. Last night, Stilton salad dressing.

Chuck is an outstanding host.

I'd like to add my own thanks and bravos to Cathy and Dave, to Chuck and his staff for a great party and to all the LTH'ers for their great company.

It dawned on me as I was purchasing this year's copy of Juicy Erotica for the raffle that there is no Juicy Erotica Vol. II. Given all of the writing talent on this forum, perhaps it's a project to take on? A literary companion piece to the food porn poster?

We had a lovely time. Thank you Chuck's for hosting and providing a wonderful meal. The big surprise of the evening for me was how much I liked two of the leaf-based dishes: caesar salad and cooked greens. In fact, I went up for seconds on both, exclusively. (As far as the meat goes, the suckling stole the show.) The best part of the evening was seeing our LTHer friends and catching up. And last but not least, the gift exchange was as enjoyable as ever. Thank you for the wine, honey, and sorghum. We hope you enjoy our beer and chocolate truffles.

Apparently, Mrs. JiLS and I are going to make a habit of going to these things. What a wonderful night, and what an amazing menu, diverse yet executed with verve, skill and care throughout. Even, as Saint Pizza noted, the salad, which was fantastic. I was particularly pleased with our raffle prize, too; that Italian quince jam is a memory from summer 1985, when an 18-year old JiLS ventured off to Rome, alone, and fought with his hotel table mates each breakfast for the quince jam filled pastries. So, there, a personal note. It was a very fine party.

Mike G wrote:Particular highlights were the roast piggy and the greens-- oh man, does Chuck know a thing or two about getting deep bacony flavor into pot likker, right up there with the ones I had at Arnold's in Nashville.

Perhaps second only to the glow of wonderful conversation was my greens stupor. I had always read about how folks loved their greens. I clearly had never had greens before Saturday night. Jaw-droppingly good. I have no choice but to try to learn how to cook some greens that can live in Chuck's green's shadow. The jerk ribs were also stellar.

Thank you to the party planners who made this event seem easy. I'm sure it wasn't. That's a testament to them and all their hard work. As usual, the company outshone the food by a nose.

Thanks all for a joyous and delicious year.

Hi,

Those who contributed to making this event happen, we thank:

- Chuck Pine, his wife and staff who provided an exceptional meal. Chuck should really teach his method of running a buffet, because nothing gets that stale, crusted-over, tired look under his watch.
- Gary Wiviott, who gently asked his friend Chuck to shutdown his restaurant for the evening.
- JimTheBeerGuy, who very carefully selected the beer for our event. The smaller keg was his personal brew, which included hops I collected from a neighbor's fence.
- Mike G who hooked up his CD player to play the collection of food music selected by NR706.
- Mike G who designed the LTHforum cards. Please pass these onto like-minded people as the gift that keeps on giving.
- Vital Information for giving us the opportunity to spread holiday wealth of food by facilitating our contributions to a food pantry.
- Dobra/cookie monster for her gift of cookies to take home.
- Fifille, Giovanna and Hellodali who were our Padma Lakshmi, Carol Merrill and Vanna White of the Foodie Gift Raffle. They helped check gifts in, then kept the gifts quickly circulating during the raffle. Of course, those who brought all those gifts were simply peaches! Great, imaginative gifts is definitely a highlight.

David Hammond and I thank all the LTH people who enthusiastically embraced the idea by signing up and paying early! The waitlist evaporated with those who cancelled having their spots swept up by someone else. There was only one no-show due to a very last minute cancellation, which is phenomenal. Yes, we were 101-people strong. Ultimately if you didn't come to the huge LTHforum table to share your enthusiasm and knowledge in our internet village, life wouldn't nearly be as fun and interesting!

See you next year!

Regards,

To chime in with everyone else - superb on all fronts.

Thank you!