21st Dessert Exchange, Picnic Edition, Sunday, 6/26 @ 3 p.m.

Let's meet this month at Caldwell Woods, somewhere in the parameters of Devon/Caldwell/Harts/Milwaukee (bordering Chicago and Niles); I will scout out a nice spot for us and detail the exact location soon. In case of rain or unbearable heat (over 90?) I'll have a nearby coffee shop/diner in mind to relocate.

All locations will be accessible by bus.

The basics, revised for picnic awesomeness:

1) Everyone should bring one chair to sit on. If someone has a card table or other appropriate outdoor table to place all the desserts, that would be preferable; if no one offers one up please bring a second chair to place your dessert. If anyone has those nets to place over individual dishes, please post so that others don't have to run out and buy them. I have two bug-repellant candles that I can bring, but if anyone has any other sticks/diffusers/etc that would be nice.
2) I’ll provide a cool and refreshing lunch, to be followed by the dessert tasting. If there are any vegetarians, please let me know!
3) I will also bring plates, cups, napkins and forks, but if your dessert requires serving utensils or spoons, please bring them with you.
4) Bring one recipe size of any dessert – no doubling or tripling of recipes necessary. Feel free to make whatever you like. (But just an FYI: some participants are vegetarians and/or don't drink alcohol, so just advise if your dessert includes those ingredients)
5) Bring one large or several small container(s) to transport desserts home
6) Avoid bringing ice creams, mousses, or items with frosting, glazes, or lots of chocolate chips since they may melt in hot weather.
7) Come hungry!

Participants and contributions:

Pie Lady - PIE! (attempting to make fresh mango)
Laura S
Cathy2
chouxfly

This sounds like so much fun, but I'll be driving my daughter to camp at that time. Have fun and stay cool.

Yay! I'm able to come to this exchange, and a picnic idea sounds fun. Not sure what I'll make yet.

Hi,

I plan to attend.

Regards,

Hi there - I notice there is no "edit" box in my original post. I wanted to add the LTH logo and Cathy's name. What gives?
Also, I want to get rid of those Facebook and Twitter logos in that post. I don't have accounts with them and I don't remember adding them.

All right, I found us a nice spot or three.

Bunker Hill woods, part of Caldwell woods.
From Touhy: turn south on Harts Road (at Gross Point Manor) and take the first left into the forest preserve.

From Milwaukee: turn east on Harts Road (just south of Touhy).

By bus: take the Niles Free Bus or #270 Milwaukee to Harts and walk 0.4 miles northeast. OR take the #290 bus to Harts and walk less than 0.1 miles. Both the #270 and #290 can be picked up at Jefferson Park Station, which connects with the Blue Line and UP-NW Metra.

To Our Exchange: walk 0.2 miles from the entrance of the preserve, just past the parking spaces. There are two picnic tables in a heavily shaded area on the right. Within 0.1 miles to both the north and south are shelters with picnic tables. We can move our party there if anyone prefers, but it's much sunnier. I don't know which would be better for heat and bugs, but we can surely walk 0.1 miles after we meet.

Rain Location: I have a location in mind, but I need to ask permission; I plan on doing this before the weekend's up. Or I spose we can go to Starbucks. Please offer suggestions to the type of location that we would be welcome in; I don't want to piss anyone off.

Anyone else interested? I'd like to have at least 6 for an exchange.

I haven't been able to attend the last several dessert exchanges, but I think I'd like to make this one.

I made my test pie this weekend and I must say it was pretty darn tasty. I just need to adjust a coupla things, but Mango Pie is my official entry.

Unless someone objects, I will continue to add rum.

I am looking forward to this exchange! It promises to be nice outside, (and dry!) so I am 90% sure we can stick to our outdoor plan.

I know I mentioned that I'd like 6 people for an exchange, but so what. 4 is a nice amount. My pie is a typical 9", not overloaded or deep-dish. So everyone takes home a quarter, and really, that's only 1 LTHer serving anyway. If anyone wants to bring a guest, you are welcome to.

Did I mention I am also bringing this too?:
http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/li ... ecipe.html

Even with four people, I'm sure it will be fun. Still not sure what I'm going to make, though. My husband might be joining us, as well, but he's going to see how his work goes in the next few days. See everyone soon!

HI,

Even if it were one other person, it is a go!

I will bring iced tea and ice. If this were August, I'd bring a tomato pie.

Regards,

Hi,

I will bring Indiana's State Pie: Sugar Cream Pie.

Regards,

Woohoo! That's one tasty dessert.

Has anyone else decided yet?

Hi,

I have 6-inch paper plates, soup-size bowls, napkins, cups, forks and spoons available (courtesy of Culinary Historians). Let me know if they are wanted.

I also can make some lemon soda.

I saw justjoan yesterday at Culinary Historians. She might drop in, because all you really need to bringis yourself and a dessert!

Regards,

I have plates, forks, and small cups, but I am indeed running out of napkins, so Cathy, that would be a big help. I don't know if we need bowls or spoons but feel free to bring them.

See you all there!

Where are the pictures of this fine event ladies???

toria wrote:Where are the pictures of this fine event ladies???

The ladies and gentleman forgot to take pictures.

I realized this after I pulled my car out of the parking lot.

It was a very serene setting under a canopy of leafy trees. There was a spindly spider who delicately made its way across the table. A few mosquitos attempted to dine on us, though few did. Pie Lady offered a light meal of a bean salad over mixed lettuces. A tangy fruit punch mixed with soda water quenched our thirsts.

It was now time for dessert.

Chouxfly presented croissants wrapped around 84% chocolate that was baked a few hours before. The crust was so crisp and delicate, it sent a lovely spray of crumbs onto your clothes with every bite. I sure hope our spider friend took advantage of such a unique feast.

LauraS brought a peach-raspberry crumble. She worried if there was enough sugar. It was perfectly balanced to appease those who "Dessert needs to be sweet" and "Not too sweet" crowds. She also brought fresh from the farmer's market strawberries and a lemon curd. You never can have enough dessert options.

Pie Lady made a mango pie with a lattice crust. It looked just like a peach pie. Mangos peak season is May to July with peach taking over in August. I think it is a good addition to the seasonal pie repetoire.

I made Indiana's Sugar Cream pie from a recipe in Jill Van Cleave's Neighborhood Bakery book. This recipe had you heat the cream and whisk it into the dried ingredients before pouring into an unbaked pie shell. My contribution came out of the oven about an hour before. It was best served a room temperature, which precluded making it much earlier. It was a vision of creamy white.

The next planned dessert exchange hostess is LauraS in August. If someone wants to host in July, please feel free.

Thanks Pie Lady for all your efforts, especially for finding a picnic grove so easy to find.

Regards,

Great descriptions and very interesting. I'll try to join these events at some point but due to a knee replacement will be out of commission for a while.

That was a really nice time, despite the bugs. I'm having my croissant for brunch.

I was thinking of making Cooking Light's recipe for Pound Cake with Lemon-Basil Glaze this weekend to get rid of extra basil and buttermilk. I thought I'd drizzle the glaze over 3/4 of the cake and leave the other 1/4 naked for dipping in Laura's lemon curd. I wondered if the curd would still be good in a week, and I found this article:

http://www.finecooking.com/articles/foo ... ethod.aspx

Not only does it provide a neat technique that I want to try, but details on freezing it. It doesn't freeze solid, so it's still spreadable I guess. I didn't know this was possible.

Sorry this is coming a little late, but I wanted to provide the link and additions to the desserts I made for last month's exchange. I was having an Ina Garten moment, so both recipes are from her first (?) cookbook.

Peach and Raspberry Crisp
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina- ... index.html

I used peach-a-rines because they looked better than the peaches. I thought they were much more like nectarines than peaches. The recipe seemed a little bare bones in terms of flavor, so I added a little cinnamon and an even littler bit of almond extract to go with the fruit. I also added some chopped up crystallized ginger.

Lemon Curd
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina- ... index.html

For this, I used Meyer lemons, just for fun. It definitely needed to cook a bit longer, but the flavor and texture were pretty much what I hoped for.

Thanks for a lovely afternoon! It was nice to be outside, with perfect weather for a picnic.

LauraS wrote:
For this, I used Meyer lemons, just for fun. It definitely needed to cook a bit longer, but the flavor and texture were pretty much what I hoped for.

Where did you find the Meyer lemons?

LauraS wrote:Lemon Curd
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina- ... index.html

For this, I used Meyer lemons, just for fun. It definitely needed to cook a bit longer, but the flavor and texture were pretty much what I hoped for.

It thickens up right nice after 8 months in the freezer! I just had the leftovers on banana bread and it was heavenly. http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/le ... ecipe.html