Hammond,

I think that several of those are ours. Certainly we brought the chocolate cake and hence the plate it came on, and the boning knife to cut it (inappropriate as it may have been for that purpose), and the little black-handled wedge-shaped pie server thingie with which to serve it.

edit: actually I see our cake plate in front of me right now, let me confer with the wife, there may have been more than one chocolate cake I guess

edit edit: though the knife and spatula still sound like ours

JimTheBeerGuy wrote: and the boning knife to cut it (inappropriate as it may have been for that purpose)

Inexperienced bakers such as myself know that even the toughest cake will eventually yield to the pressure of a boning knife!

Could someone send me a picture of the two Burmese items.

LTH,

The LTHForum picnic is one of my favorite events all year, I am continually amazed at the talent, innovation, sheer deliciousness and effort that go into the absolutely stunning and diverse array. I remain in awe of not only the food portion, but the organizational abilities of Cathy, Mhays and The GP. Hammond and Carolyn remain unsung, but year after year they are the last to leave making sure the backend of the event is taken care of, from lost and found to the final sweep of the grove.

I have a few favorites, though enjoyed everything tasted, I only wish I could have tried everything. For example I somehow missed Ronnie_S’s sandwich, Laikom’s Niu Rou Main, Kenny Z’s flatbread and Trixie-Pea’s bo ssam.

Tied for over the top, and both delicious, Jazzfood’s Cavolo Nero and Crazy C’s smuggled on the hoof Jamon. Most surprising, as in never even heard of such a thing, Jygach’s pickled grapes, which I loved. REB and RAB’s BLT crostini was my wife’s favorite of the picnic, she was still talking about it on Tuesday, in particular the tomato jam.





Dansch gets points not only for taste but presentation most evocative of a Vietnamese street vendor and Steve Z took me right to Llano, Texas with his good-as-it-gets brisket. JimSWSide has mastered the art of wings, Hammond the art of the unusual and Gleam the art of just what everyone wanted but didn’t realize with the keg of Sprecher.





I was having lunch with Boudreaulicious at Elephant Thai when she got the inspiration for the Thai apple salad, don’t tell Ann, but I liked Jen’s better. Could have made a meal of Khaopaat’s sausages on Nicole’s buns, same with DRC1379’s Cochinita, Attrill’s spatzel fried in duck fat, not to mention the sausage off his cool homemade smoker, and m’th’su’s Harold’s chicken fried rice.



Laikom and his two buddy’s went wild with the jury-rig smoker, innovative design and terrific food. I know I am forgetting quite a bit, but my favorite of the day, and I am not sure who made it, was the red shiso drink.



Wonderful day, looking forward to next year.

Additional pictures may be found --> here

Enjoy,
Gary

G Wiv wrote:Laikom and his two buddy’s went wild with the jury-rig smoker, innovative design and terrific food. I know I am forgetting quite a bit, but my favorite of the day, and I am not sure who made it, was the red shiso drink.

Teresa (Mrs. Laikom) wants me to let you know that she is more than flattered! It was her lemonade, but I have to admit that i helped by growing way too much shiso in the garden! The LTH picnic is not one of our favorite events of the year, it's by far the favorite event! thanks to everyone for showing up with amazing food!

The 2 items that stand out for me were the 2 sorbets, and the habanero beer. I was also really glad to see Gwiv dishing out mapo tofu, which was damn good!

G Wiv wrote:Laikom and his two buddy’s went wild with the jury-rig smoker, innovative design and terrific food. ...

I thought the chuck roast that came off of that thing was especially delicious. It seemed like there was some kind of marinade which really brought out the beefiness, and there was terrific bark. With that chuck, Mike G's pastrami, and Steve's best-I've-ever-had brisket, cows were very well represented at the picnic.

Kennyz wrote:I thought the chuck roast that came off of that thing was especially delicious. It seemed like there was some kind of marinade which really brought out the beefiness, and there was terrific bark. With that chuck, Mike G's pastrami, and Steve's best-I've-ever-had brisket, cows were very well represented at the picnic.

That was David's chuck recipe. I'm pretty sure there was just a rub, no marinade. The couple previous times i'd cooked out with David he impressed me with the chuck, so i encouraged him to bring that to the picnic. Glad he did not disappoint! The chuck is always one of my favorites and i ate plenty at the picnic. It's also great sliced thin for sandwiches later.

laikom wrote:

Kennyz wrote:I thought the chuck roast that came off of that thing was especially delicious. It seemed like there was some kind of marinade which really brought out the beefiness, and there was terrific bark. With that chuck, Mike G's pastrami, and Steve's best-I've-ever-had brisket, cows were very well represented at the picnic.

That was David's chuck recipe. I'm pretty sure there was just a rub, no marinade. The couple previous times i'd cooked out with David he impressed me with the chuck, so i encouraged him to bring that to the picnic. Glad he did not disappoint! The chuck is always one of my favorites and i ate plenty at the picnic. It's also great sliced thin for sandwiches later.

That chuck was very good. The first time he brought it around in a slider form with some kind of sauce. I really didin't care for that all that much, but when he brought around the meat only, it really shined. The plain smoked chuck was one of my favorite bites of the day.

looks like it was a great time . i am sorry i missed it

We enjoyed the picnic, but will probably come earlier next year. We had problems finding the food labels and name tags.

My kids liked the food shaped erasers. They were also asking for seconds of Laikom's grilled dried fish.

I thought that the meat in the niu rou main was really tender. I also enjoyed the spicy sangria. The pickled grapes were very interesting. I was happy to see that Pucca made mochi. I had bought the ingredients to make it before, but never made it because it looked like the dough would be hard to work with (e.g. very sticky). There were too many good dishes to name.

Thanks to all of the volunteers who made this event a success.

One of the things that I think definitely worked was the idea of putting your creation on a tray and circulating with it. There was so much enthusiasm, pride, and joy of sharing of what the individual had created. Of course the same could be said of those who purposely tied themselves to one area to cook and present a dish at its peak goodness. The only suggestion I would have is to cut portions into smaller sizes. There were so many things I had to pass up because the size was too big and I didn't have a good knife to cut a smaller portion. Maybe next year I'll just bring a good knife!

razbry wrote:One of the things that I think definitely worked was the idea of putting your creation on a tray and circulating with it. There was so much enthusiasm, pride, and joy of sharing of what the individual had created. Of course the same could be said of those who purposely tied themselves to one area to cook and present a dish at its peak goodness. The only suggestion I would have is to cut portions into smaller sizes. There were so many things I had to pass up because the size was too big and I didn't have a good knife to cut a smaller portion. Maybe next year I'll just bring a good knife!

an eating "partner" works well too--one bite for me, one bite for him/her...

Hi,

There was a wine cooler bag left with someone to "keep an eye on." They did and you went home. Send me a pm with a little identifying info, then I will forward you to the person who is still looking after it.

Regards,

I brought home some of the leftover "chicken of the woods" mushroom salad. It was pretty good as a cold salad with raw mushrooms, but I thought it might benefit from cooking. So I melted butter and added a bit of olive oil and sauteed about a cup of the mushroom salad. Just great. The reason this seems worth noting to me is that last year, at the LTH picnic, was the first time I ever tasted a chicken of the woods mushroom (or, rather, just after the picnic, as Cathy2 shared a piece of hers, and I cooked it at home). This salad was only the second time in my life I've had this mushroom. So I now feel as though chicken of the woods is sort of the official mushroom of the LTH picnic. I hope someone brings some next year -- since I don't have the know-how to find my own.

Steve,

Your brisket was amazing!
Thanks for the long hours you put in smoking it. My taste buds are very grateful.

Jyoti

jygach wrote:Steve,Your brisket was amazing!

True, true.

I almost forgot to give props to one of the most impressive things. Of course i'm always a fan of anything BLT, but this stood out as great regardless! RAB + REB's BLT crostini was one of the items that I kept wanting more of. the balance of flavors was perfect! I was also impressed to hear that RAB cured the bacon himself!

shorty wrote:My kids liked the food shaped erasers.

Ellen, my bride, brought those for the kids. She thought they would go over well, happy to see they were enjoyed.

Hi- I had a really good time at the picnic last week. Next time I come, I am definately going to get there earlier. I missed out on the bear and camel! Next year, I am going to bring a dish that I can prepare the day before. I made taboulleh salad, and it tastes better when it is made a few hours before being eaten. I only make it when I need to bring something to a pot luck, because it takes me 3 days to eat a batch of it, and it tastes a whole lot better the first day, than it does the third day.

It was nice to finally meet Cathy2 and her mother. Her mother and I had a nice conversation about Antoinette Pope. I hope to see everybody at the picnic next year. Thanks, Nancy

Just a few random snaps of delicious things from the picnic...

Bo Ssäm


Cochinita Pibil


Mini Mother-In-Law


Jazzfood Food


SteveZ threatens to cut me if I mess with his brisket

RAB/REB,

Your tomato jam has really resonated with people. I think at least ten people have followed your footsteps.

Thanks!

Regards,

David Hammond wrote:I prepared "The Excited Pig":

John Mariani takes aim at me and other Futurist chefs who serve things like this. He also attacks Achatz.

David Hammond wrote:

David Hammond wrote:I prepared "The Excited Pig":

John Mariani takes aim at me and other Futurist chefs who serve things like this. He also attacks Achatz.

Stop with the artsy-fartsy stuff, David, and focus on creating the next Lucky Charms!

Geez, the guy (and his editors) can't even spell George Foreman's name correctly.