LTHChanukah,Kwanzaa,Ramadan,Christmas Festa/Hootenany;12/10

LTH Chanukah, Kwanzaa, Ramadan, Christmas Festa/Hootenany

On December 10th at 7:00 PM, LTHForum will celebrate another year of eating and talking about it. We’re holding this event at the formidable Klas Restaurant in Cicero.



We’ll be dining in the Zhivago Room, a cool old space with a fire place, hand-painted murals from Russian history, private bathrooms, and a former brothel, where we’ll set up our groaning board, featuring a lot of tasty Czech stuff:
• C2’s wild houby soup
• Utopenec: pickled knockwurst with onions and spices
• Topinka: Czech garlic bread
• Koprova: cream dill gravy
• Svickova: cream root gravy
• Jernice Czech herb/grain pork sausage
• Sulc: good old headcheese (“pork jello”)
• Pilsner beef goulash
• Carlsbad pork goulash in paprika style gravy
• Szegedine pork goulash in sauerkraut gravy
• Whole damn pig (probably quartered for cooking purposes)
• Jednohoubky herb cream cheese on sliced roll
• Chlebicky potato salad on sliced bread with garnish
• Veal hearts
• Dumplings
• Kolacky
• Strudel

I'm also contracting with a violinist to play some traditional Czech tunes.

We’re buying a keg of Radegast, so that everyone can have at least two glasses, and probably more (of course, there’s a picturesque little medieval-looking bar on the first floor, so people can buy other drinks, too). If you don't drink beer, now is an excellent time to start (it might be later than you think!).

Cost per person, which includes large quantities of everything above, room rental, tax and gratuity, is $45.00. Because we’re talking about several thousand $$$ here, we’re asking that people reserve a seat by paying in advance. Seating is limited to 75. You can send a check to me, pay through Brownpaper tickets or PayPal, or give a check to one of the moderators up until December 3rd.

To pay by check, make checks out to David Hammond and mail to 205 S. Scoville, Oak Park, 60302.

To pay through Brownpapertickets, go to: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2703

To through by PayPal:
1. Go to www.paypal.com to access your account or register to create an account.
2. Click on <send money>
3. Enter recipient's email: CAL60035@AOL.COM
4. Enter amount to be paid: $45.00 (per person)
5. Indicate currency: US dollars
6. Select Category of Purchase: Goods
7. In email subject line put “LTHForum Party” and your screen name; for instance, "LTHForum Party: Vital Information."
8. In the note box, put your screen name, your real name and information about guests you might be bringing; for instance, “Vital Information, Rob Gardner, bringing Sheila.”
9. Click <Continue> and send.

Vital Information and the Condiment Queen will be accepting donations of canned goods, packaged pasta and other items for the Oak Park Food Pantry, so PLEASE bring some good stuff if you want to help others eat nearly as well as we do.

Find out more about Klas at http://www.klaschicago.com/

Klas Restaurant
5734 W Cermak Rd
Cicero IL
708-652-0795

If you have questions about this event, feel free to post to this thread. When we have hit 75, this event will be marked as "closed."

Although this is far from my favorite type of food, I wouldn't miss this party for the world. Who is bringing the aluminum pole for the Festivus celebration?

stevez wrote:Although this is far from my favorite type of food, I wouldn't miss this party for the world. Who is bringing the aluminum pole for the Festivus celebration?

You don't like pork Jello!? Well, to each his own...

For those who haven’t been to Klas, you have a treat in store. For those who have been but haven’t seen the Zhivago Room, you have a treat in store.

Our Organizers and The House of Happiness


Stained Glass Windows in the Zhivago Room


The Zhivago Room’s Feast Mural

Rene G wrote:The Zhivago Room’s Feast Mural

I think I recognize GWiv in that mural.

stevez wrote:I think I recognize GWiv in that mural.

Excellent! Not many people recognize him in his wimple.

Hammond

JimInLoganSquare wrote:Mrs. JiLS and I are in, and enthusiastically! Can't get the theme from Dr. Zhivago out of our heads...

You mean "Lara's Theme," right? How come the guys always get all the credit?

Looking forward to seeing you and Susan,

Hammond

David Hammond wrote:

JimInLoganSquare wrote:Mrs. JiLS and I are in, and enthusiastically! Can't get the theme from Dr. Zhivago out of our heads...

You mean "Lara's Theme," right? How come the guys always get all the credit?

Looking forward to seeing you and Susan,

Hammond

Yes, correct as always, David; but it seemed like quite a leap from the Zhivago Room to Lara's Theme, so I fudged a bit. Anyway, Lara, Dr. Z and anybody and everybody else ought to get signed up for this event!

there's an old joke about a male and a female grizzly bears eating two tourist to yellowstone and the punchline is "the Czech must be in the male." it is

LTH,

Paid in full for two and looking forward to the party!

Nice of Hammond and Cathy to line up a few celebrity guests, I'm looking forward to meeting the Travelocity gnome.

Klas


Enjoy,
Gary

This will be my first big LTH dinner, but you can count me in (VI can vouch for me that I don't spray and sputter my food too much when I eat - at least I don't think I do). I will Brown Paper Bag tickets today. Looking forward to it!

I won't be able to attend, but what would be fabulous is if you all did a photo re-enactment of the mural!

ciao
leesh

Also note, as previously mentioned, we are collecting canned goods for the Oak Park Food Pantry. Please share with those who cannot eat as well as us--canned and packaged goods only. If you wonder what's best, good ideas include peanut butter, canned tuna, dry milk, and rice.

Rob

with pork jello, pork goulash, and a whole dam pig, do we really need the pork sausage? i found it to be nothing special--unless this is one not usually served there.

El Panzone wrote:with pork jello, pork goulash, and a whole dam pig, do we really need the pork sausage?

El P,

No such thing as too much pork.

Enjoy,
Gary

El Panzone wrote:with pork jello, pork goulash, and a whole dam pig, do we really need the pork sausage? i found it to be nothing special--unless this is one not usually served there.

El Panzone, I disagree with your question in principle...one ALWAYS needs more pork sausage. Here's the menu at the moment:

• C2’s wild houby soup
• Utopenec: pickled knockwurst with onions and spices
• Topinka: Czech garlic bread
• Koprova: cream dill gravy
• Svickova: cream root gravy
• Jernice Czech herb/grain pork sausage
• Sulc: good old headcheese (“pork jello”)
• Pilsner beef goulash
• Carlsbad pork goulash in paprika style gravy
• Szegedine pork goulash in sauerkraut gravy
• Whole damn pig (probably quartered for cooking purposes)
• Jednohoubky herb cream cheese on sliced roll
• Chlebicky potato salad on sliced bread with garnish
• Veal hearts
• Dumplings
• Kolacky
• Strudel

David Hammond wrote:• Utopenec: pickled knockwurst with onions and spices

Utopenec (drowned man), yesss! I recall Frank mentioning pickled sausage as a possibility and I’m happy to see it on the menu. A couple months ago I experimented with pickling some ring bologna and was pretty pleased with the results. I’d like to see how the professionals do it though. The current menu looks very nice, much more interesting than the original version.

Giovanna wrote:I'm looking at the menu and [SteveZ and] I want to ask....

I thought the menu was going to have duck on it?

Giovanna

We lost a few items (like breaded pork and duck...and, incidentally, stevez) when our menu for the evening was revamped (an improvement, I think you'll agree with ReneG). The focus is now more on "off-menu" items...it's because we're so special.

Hammond

Just PLEASE mark which dishes have mushrooms and which do not.

Lee
(sadly allergic to all but the most boring of boring domestic button mushrooms, and even to those in largish quantities)

leek wrote:Just PLEASE mark which dishes have mushrooms and which do not.

Lee
(sadly allergic to all but the most boring of boring domestic button mushrooms, and even to those in largish quantities)

C2,

When you meet with the chef on Saturday, could you bring a list of the menu items and ask the chef to identify which ones contain mushrooms? (Aside from your soup, I do not believe there will be many others).

David

Hi,

The following people have submitted their payments. If you paid and don't see your name then please PM me. If you don't see your name, haven't paid and still want to come, then please pay today!

Antonius + Amata 2
Beckman, Christie + Jim Vokypal 2
Borborigmy 1
Bruce + wife 2
Campagna, Juli bringing David Wigley 2
Cathy2 2
Daane 2
David Hammond + wife 2
dicksond 2
EatChicago + Le Petit Pois 2
edk + Kasia 2
El Panzone 1
Giovanna 1
Girlmoxie 1
Grisamore, David (Heidi) 2
Gwiv + Ellen 2
Helen Tartakoff 1
Jclifton Joshua and 2
JiminLoganSquare 2
Jonah 2
Josephine Hyde 1
Karen Carlson 3
Leek + husband 2
Lovely Donna 1
mhl 1
MikeG 1
M'thu'su 1
Paul SL 1
ReneG 1
Seth Zurer + wife 2
SteveZ 0
Tomato Lady 1
Vital Info 1

If you do not find your name here and you plan to attend, then please submit $45 per person via:

To pay by check, make checks out to David Hammond and mail to 205 S. Scoville, Oak Park, 60302.

To pay through Brownpapertickets, go to: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2703

To through by PayPal:
1. Go to www.paypal.com to access your account or register to create an account.
2. Click on <send money>
3. Enter recipient's email: CAL60035@AOL.COM
4. Enter amount to be paid: $45.00 (per person)
5. Indicate currency: US dollars
6. Select Category of Purchase: Goods
7. In email subject line put “LTHForum Party” and your screen name; for instance, "LTHForum Party: Vital Information."
8. In the note box, put your screen name, your real name and information about guests you might be bringing; for instance, “Vital Information, Rob Gardner, bringing Sheila.”
9. Click <Continue> and send.

Vital Information and the Condiment Queen will be accepting donations of canned goods, packaged pasta and other items for the Oak Park Food Pantry, so PLEASE bring some good stuff if you want to help others eat nearly as well as we do.

Find out more about Klas at http://www.klaschicago.com/

Best regards,

Cathy2 wrote:SteveZ 0

Thank you for at least keeing me on the list. I will be there in spirit (although celebrating the 85th birthday of an aunt elsewhere).

HI,

I went to Klas for lunch today to iron out some details. I was seated at the window overlooking their patio, when I got this warm fuzzy feeling:



The Chef is a Weber Smokey Mountain (WSM) guy! I learned every Tuesday he smokes sausages and meats for the restaurant on his WSM! Naturally, I advised them to check out the 5-Step to smoking success. One of the owners said the restaurant takes on a smokey odor every time the WSM is in use.

I left them a half pound of porcini mushrooms for our soup course. In response to Leek's allergy-related query, there are no more mushrooms present in the menu.

We are 50 people strong for this occasion and could probably accomodate a few more. So check your schedule and consider signing on.

Regards,

HI,

While there is no dress code for this party, please be assured some plan to dress in their finery to look like they belong at this party:



Me? Velvet skirt, pearls and vintage red velvet hat!

Regards,

Quite by accident the other day, I found out the feast mural at Klas is a copy of A Boyar Wedding Feast by Konstantin Makovskii. This link has a little more information on the painting.

The LTHChanukah,Kwanzaa,Ramadan,Christmas Festa/Hootenany is now in final launch phase.

There will be a pork-heavy groaning board set up in the brothel, featuring pig incarnate in many forms, including jello, the new LTH logoform.

There will be a violinist playing Czech tunes.

There will be a fire in the baronial Charles Foster Kane-type fireplace.

There will be a rollicking and ribald Czech party in the first floor Bavarian hunting lodge/George Washington room – and we’re invited! (Just say Frank sent you).

There may be Pdaane dressed up like Santa (oh, god, please let there be) – and he will find out who has been naughty or…uninteresting.

There will be a bevy of Grande Dames, led by the incomparable MsWiv, dressed to the nines, sashaying seductively.

There may be…dancing. It’s never happened at an LTH event before, so this will be a first.

And yes, Giovanna, there will be a keg of Radegast.

There will also be a raffle, and simply for the price of admission you may walk (or drive, or crawl) home with:

• GWiv’s legendary Chili Oil, available only at Little Three Happiness and GWiv’s kitchen
• C2’s semi-mythical Chex Mix – you won’t believe your mouth
• C2’s version of GWiv’s BBQ Sauce – we shall see
• Bruce’s Incredible Jars of Lard (DELICIOUS!!)
• Paul SL’s crossover classic, “Oy to the World,” by The Klezmonauts
• The culinary landmark, “Cooking with Cher” – featuring “If I Could Turn Back the Egg-timer”
• Priceless Gorilla Gourmet DVDs (a MikeG Production) – collect all one of ‘em!
• Something from Vital Information

If you have a food-related type item (e.g., a costly tin of French pate, a bottle of Thomas Jefferson’s wine, a booze-stained copy of Saveur) that you’d like to throw into the mix to make the raffle more interesting, go ahead, no one's stopping you.

If you have a food item that you’d like to donate to the Oak Park Food Pantry, YES, bring it on, the more the merrier.

If you haven’t registered yet…email me.

Logistics: around Klas, there is street parking and a lot in back; should be no problem finding a place. If you need to contact someone on the day/night of the event, contact me at 708-902-3969. If you want to come early, I’ll be there at 6:00.

Great job Hammond! (and all the Hammondettes, Giovanna, C2, the Klas staff, etc., who made this an extrememely well-oiled event.)

I'll update on the food drive in the food drive thread later, but needless to say, the haul only added to the pleasure.

My one regret: I missed the garlic bread.

Rob

An excellent meal, a good time!! Thanks to all who made it happen, particularly Hammy & C2, who I know labored long & hard.

Those happy little pig snouts and all that crispy skin certainly added to the festivity for me.

Here is a smattering of pictures that I think demonstrate more eloquently than my prose ever could the splendid elegance of the Klas Hootenany:

Whole Damn Pig


Elegant Dress, Excellent Cheer*


Music


Beer in Plentiful Supply



I only wish I had taken a shot of the enormous, roaring fireplace that David tended expertly. However, even without that picture, my joy is true and complete as the lucky winner of the primo raffle prize -- the jar of Duke's Mayo -- which I know will provide as many pimiento spread sandwiches as it does fond memories of last night's affair.

* Credit to Cathy2 for David's headgear. Cathy, it looked much, much better on you.

JimInLoganSquare wrote:I only wish I had taken a shot of the enormous, roaring fireplace that David tended expertly.

Jim,

Your wish is my command.


And speaking of Hammond, here he is with the piggy, which was roasted perfectly with nice crisp skin.


The party was terrific, Hammond and Cathy2 did a magnificent job of organizing, even down to the wonderful violinist, which set the mood perfectly.

The raffle prizes were fun, with The Lovely Donna winning a jar of Bruce C's home rendered lard, which should make Evil Ronnie almost as happy as a new pair of Ferragamos.

Lovely Donna w/jar of lard


In one of the funnier moments of the evening Cathy2 won Cooking with Bill

Cathy with Bill C's cookbook.


All the raffle prizes were hits, including PaulSL's CD “Oy to the World,” m'th'su's home made Thai chili jam, C2's BBQ sauce and chex mix and assorted others. Me, I ended up with the Cher cookbook, my dream prize. (really)

The first, of hopefully many, LTHForum holiday Hootenannies was simply wonderful, thanks to all for the very nice evening.

Enjoy,
Gary