Master List:

Screen name Dish type Dish Name # of Guests
Cathy2 Salad Potato salad 3
Octarine Chinese dish of tofu crepe with shiitake and bamboo shoots 1
Glennpan other Pinata 3
Ronnie Suburban Main Sausages 1
Julie Suburban 1
Laura 1
Mamagotcha Main "enchilasagna" with smoked chicken and green chilis. 1
Chouxfly 1
Nr706 Appetizers Some sort of critter 1
Toria (and Frank) Main Asian noodle dish 2
Pudgym29 Beverages Beer and Soda pop 1
Irisarbor (and Frank) dessert "Famous" Kugel 2
fifille supplies tablecloths 1
Cynthia Salad Tashkent Carrot Salad 1
razbry Dessert Vidalia Onion Shortcake 1
Giovanna Appetizers mushroom pate from Molly Katzen's Enchanted Broccoli Forest 1
Giovanna Beverages Beer 0
kalamazoogal Side Ratatouille’s Ratatouille (Thomas Keller’s Confit Biyaldi) 1
Coop Dessert Apple Pie Ala mode ice cream. 1
Cathy2 Beverages Soylent, Bitter Lemon, Sour Lemon soda 0
Irisarbor (and Frank) Side Famous Kugel 0
Laura Dessert Honey Cake 1
Laikom Beverages red schug from "L'as du Falafel" in Paris 1
Terese dessert Basque cheesecake from San Sabastian 1
Fropones Freshly fried falafel 1
Fropones +1 1
Laikom Main turkey shawarma on the spit 0
Laikom Bread Lavosh 0
Laikom Sides grilled and fresh veggies, and a yogurt sauce 0
justjoan Beverages Fruit punch 1
justjoan Dessert caramel pretzel blondies 0
SueF Appetizers Artichoke Dip Slab Pie 1
JoelF Dessert FRozen Pina Colada Pie (alcohol) 1
David Hammond 1
Carolyn Main Tamale boats 1
RAB Condiment Made from homegrown vegetables 1
REB + crew Condiment 3
Chowpoodle 1
DiverseDancer, Carey Schug Appetizers multiple varieties signature hummus, unusual veggies and other dipping items . Possibly a goat feta dip 1
fifille Supplies tablecloths 1
jazzfood SIDE shishito peppers and exotic shrooms... and some tuberoses para mi corozon. 1
pairs4life bread leaning towards baking bread but I am reserving the right to change my mind 1
mhl appetizers Will Special 1
BR 1
borborigmy side Albanian dish called pastiche (an oven baked pasta dish with milk, butter and feta) 3
soft-boiled 2
Arlund (husband Harry) dessert 2
Robin Marks Dombeck appetizer goat cheese stuffed dates 1
Robin Marks Dombeck dessert semolina cake 0
DanaJake family main Polish Sausage 6
JennyIL dessert pie 1

I'm bringing lemon ice and strawberry ice from Ava's Italian Ice.

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edc

edc wrote:I'm bringing lemon ice and strawberry ice from Ava's Italian Ice.

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edc

Great!

FYI - I am printing nametags and food labels in the morning.

Getting a little more optimistic about the weather: 11-2 is listed as rain free on the Today Weather app.

JoelF wrote:Getting a little more optimistic about the weather: 11-2 is listed as rain free on the Today Weather app.

I don't mean to be discouraging and forecasts can be wrong but here's what I'm seeing . . .


Hourly Forecast for 19.0922 in 60630

Again, hopefully it works out a bit better than this forecast.

=R=

Mike Caplan, Meteorologist at Fox 32
3 hrs ·
Fingers crossed. New computer models tonight are coming in with lower rainfall totals. Still healthy. But somewhat less ominous. I’ll have an update in the morning. Have a good evening.

Cathy2 wrote: {edit} If you are bringing any plastic cups, plates or fork-spoon-knives ... if you have leftover from parties you can never imagine using again, bring!

I quote this because I will have a short sleeve of clear PETE 1 16-oz cups, but we could well use more clear, less-than-12-oz. PETE 1 cups.
Lest you wonder why I am being so surgical, it's because the frequently-mentioned red, Solo® PS 6 12-oz. cups do not recycle and they don't give you a good glimpse of the beverage therein.
If you actually have the audacity to bring the red Solo® cups, I will glare at you semi-continuously.

Hi,

Yesterday, I called the Forest Preserve inquiring if our location tended to flood. They advised no, but it did they would find a new location.

They called this morning to advise there was no flooding at Forest Glen.

It does not mean the adjacent field is not soggy. If we keep close to the pavilion, we will be fine.

I will be there, so please keep me company!

If you start here, you will find pictures from our first picnic where it rained the night before. The puddle of water in field became an asset for these kids ... getting them home was probably not a treat.

Regards,
Cathy2

I was hoping to grill/cook but the weather caused me to change my mind. So I think I'll bring some vegan Nhu Lan sandwiches . . . and let's see how quickly I can do a cherry pie . . . starting now.

Are canopy tents allowed this year?

I realize they were against the rules previous years, so unlesss they have changed I don't think I can do the shawarma on the spit. I'll need to cook it somehow on a covered grill instead.

laikom wrote:Are canopy tents allowed this year?

I realize they were against the rules previous years, so unlesss they have changed I don't think I can do the shawarma on the spit. I'll need to cook it somehow on a covered grill instead.

10x10 tents.

Ron and Mamagotcha are each bringing one.

Ron will be grilling, too.

FYI - I have lots of plastic forks and spoons. A lot less plastic knives.

Knives will go to serving dishes where people may want to cut a smaller portion.

My grill is pretty much spoken for. There's no additional capacity there. Sorry.

It seems that tents no larger than 10 x 10 have always been allowed, however it may come down to interpretation of the rules. See my applicable post above.

=R=

If you just read this and wish to come, please do.

Cathy2 wrote:If you just read this and wish to come, please do.

Rain or shine, we'll be there.

Kugel is taking a while to set up
Will leave as soon as it’s done
Sigh

Hey Laura (irisarbor's daughter here) - the honeycake is a no go since i lost track of time. I'll bring some plastic knives let me know if there's anything else needed and i can drop by the store. thinking of buying some fancy cheeses and doing a makeshift cheese board.

Hi,

The worst weather of the day was on the drive home. You cannot beat our luck on a good weather break in the middle of rainy period.

I was about to congratulate ourselves on nobody forgot anything, until I found a purple jacket with a famous logo on it. Please let me know if it is yours. I will be at Chief O'Neill's for a program Monday night and can bring it with me.

Thanks all for coming and making merry.

Regards,
Cathy2

it was a stellar collection of eats and enjoyable company as well at today's picnic. for once, i wasted no time worrying about rain- and we did pretty well weatherwise. i left earlier than intended, due to a sore back and a sick cat waiting at home for me ( he seems ok now, happily). i know i missed some great grilled food, but got to eat more than i should have, starting with some ravishing desserts. pairs4life's life changingly good bread and japanese milk rolls showed up just in time for me to grab a last great bite (or 2). thanks to everyone for all their imaginative and delicious choices. and hats off, once again, to cathy for organizing. i've promised to organize some recycling bins for next year's picnic....

Thanks to everyone for a fantastic picnic once again. Sadly I had to leave early, but at least that meant this time I could actually walk without going into a food coma.

Everything I had really was delicious, and my fiance was in awe of both the food and how nice everyone was.

Whomever brought the non-meat ban mi - where in the world did you get that from? I think I can now happily become a vegan.

Also the dessert that I believe had dates and chocolate and looked like a blond brownie, whomever made that I would absolutely love to have that recipe.

And several people expressed interest in my fiance's pastiche dish (the Albanian pasta with feta dish) and if your still interested she can become a member of lth and post it here or send it to them.

Can't wait until next year's picnic now.....

borborigmy wrote:Thanks to everyone for a fantastic picnic once again. Sadly I had to leave early, but at least that meant this time I could actually walk without going into a food coma.

Everything I had really was delicious, and my fiance was in awe of both the food and how nice everyone was.

Whomever brought the non-meat ban mi - where in the world did you get that from? I think I can now happily become a vegan.

Also the dessert that I believe had dates and chocolate and looked like a blond brownie, whomever made that I would absolutely love to have that recipe.

And several people expressed interest in my fiance's pastiche dish (the Albanian pasta with feta dish) and if your still interested she can become a member of lth and post it here or send it to them.

Can't wait until next year's picnic now.....

possibly the blondies you liked were the ones in the white box?? no dates, but blobs of caramel might have confused you....the recipe is from smitten kitchen. the only changes i made were to add the peel of an orange to the blondie, and cut back a little on chocolate chunks and sugar (but i can't tell you how much, i didnt record it) and i added an extra large pinch of salt to the caramel. https://smittenkitchen.com/2019/08/salt ... -blondies/
i would love julie's pastiche dish if it's not too much trouble....and i enjoyed meeting her and eating a dish from her homeland.

borborigmy wrote:Whomever brought the non-meat ban mi - where in the world did you get that from? I think I can now happily become a vegan.

That was me - they came from Nhu Lan on Lawrence just west of Rockwell (they have another location at Lawrence/Sheridan). And yes, a few of us were discussing today about the first time we had the lemongrass or ginger tofu banh mi from Nhu Lan, and how we were convinced that they had given us pork or beef. You definitely don't miss the meat.

BR wrote:You definitely don't miss the meat.

I thought your order was mishandled, because it was just like bulgogi. I brought home the last sandwich and still could not believe it was not meat. It seems to be more like meat than any impossible burger.

Regards,
Cathy2

Definitely my impression, too.

I'm so sad I could not come, but staying home was the right call. Chouxfly brought me some treats and I love seeing the photos. But I missed you all and will be better about being careful to ration myself around the holiday party so I don't miss that.

My favorite bites were Ronnie's sausages (now I want to try to make some too!) and the lovely Basque cheesecake, but everything I tried was wonderful.

Thank you, Cathy2, for all your hard work!

mamagotcha wrote:My favorite bites were Ronnie's sausages (now I want to try to make some too!). . .

This time around, all I did was buy them and grill them indirect over Royal Oak lump charcoal on my Weber kettle at the picnic. But I like to think that after this many years of making them, I do know my way around a sausage. In any case, here's the roster, in the order in which I cooked them:

Romanian pork and beef Mititei from Fresh Farms on Touhy (cevap-like, not cured, not encased)
Pampanga Longganisa from Fresh Farms on Touhy (sweet, small, encased)
Hot Italian Sausage from Nottoli & Son on Belmont (encased, not cured)
Homemade 100% Veal Wieners made by Andy's Deli on Milwaukee, via Fresh Farms (cured, encased, emulsified)
Smoked Grill Sausage made by Andy's Deli on Milwaukee, via Fresh Farms (cured, encased)

I actually selected and brought even more to the picnic but as things began to wind down, I realized that it would have been wasteful to cook any more of them. I'll throw them in the freezer or take them to work and grill them there.

On the plus side, I really enjoyed cooking on-site. It felt good being able to turn out hot food throughout the event. And hopefully, some of the sausages were new for those who tried them. In the days before the event I thought carefully about everything I was going to need to do it correctly and I put together a really nice travel kit. I don't think there was anything I needed that I forgot to bring. I do enjoy the challenge of provisioning and outfitting.

On the downside, that was a lot of gear and supplies to gather, pack up, transport, unpack, set up, break down, pack up, transport, unpack and put away. And, my plan kept me tethered to the grill for most of the day, so I didn't get to socialize nearly as much as I wanted to. I think I'll do it again in the future but I don't think I'll make it an annual tradition.

If anyone has pictures, I really hope you'll post them. If you need any help with that, please just let me know here, via PM or email. I got so wrapped up, I completely forgot to take any pictures.

Thanks, to everyone who came out and contributed. And a big thanks to Cathy2, for once again, wrangling a great event. 14 years in, our weather luck ran out a bit today but it barely ended up mattering. Another great edition in the books!

=R=

Here are a few images by Jazzfood . . .


laikom's Turkey Shawarma


Butter Rolls by pairs4life


Ancient Grain hearth bread by pairs4life


Ratatouille by kalamazoogal


per Jazzfood: dry braised exotic shrooms w/blistered shishito peppers

=R=

The gray skies could not rain on our parade (or picnic)! LTHers did NOT disappoint with another spectacular gathering. Deliciousness abounded. My one and only true regret is I did not have the opportunity to sample Laikom’s luscious looking Schwarma. Otherwise my tummy was quite happy. And thanks to all for welcoming our friend Robin Marks Dombeck to the picnic. She brought Tahnini sesame seed blondies and a candied orange Kafka with shredded fillo, cheese, honey and pistachios. She loved the food and the great conversation. Everyone was so wonderfully welcoming. KalamazooGal (Celia) and Coops (Peter).

Here is an array of photographs I took at this past Sunday's LTHF Picnic. I took more, but this is a sufficient selection. Enjoy the images.

pudgym29 wrote:[color=#800080] Here is an array of photographs I took at this past Sunday's LTHF Picnic. . .

Thanks for posting, Steve!

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