crackers

Oh no...I've been getting plenty of help from cucas87, Scott Johnston, Goldenticket, JG, Ol_ironstomach, and everybody who has stepped up to offer rides, bring supplies and fill in gaps. Plus, the foundation was laid with the excellent organizational skills of hillvalley, mktye and Zora at the previous picnics. However, it would seem that a certain amount of smoke is being blown in a certain direction in an attempt to curry such favor as necessary to allow a certain amount of select delectibles to be transported from the picnic to a certain person who will not be attending. If you can't commit, you must forfeit.

Last bump, but please continue to post what you'll be bringing. How is everybody's prep going? Wine and Beer: If you plan to drink wine and/or beer, please bring a contribution of same or similar. Some people are bringing water, but feel free to also bring your own water bottle. Site Rental Fee: We will have a voluntary contribution box to help defray the $145 fee that Jacques has been kind enough to front. $2 per mouth should cover it. If, by some miracle there is an overage, it will be applied to the next picnic site rental or donated to the Food Bank or some other charity of Don Rockwell's choosing. 1.Beverages Wine Barbara JPW - Virginia wine Melgold Scott Johnston Starfish txaggie/cjsadler Walrus - red wine ZoraMargolis Beer Barbara Crackers Ol_Ironstomach Pat Tweaked JPW ICD: Belgian beer- Hoegarten or Leffe blonde. Home Brew ferment everything mdt - keg of mild Non-Alcoholic Anna Blume: concentrated syrup cucas87: water Danielk: soda laniloa legant: water rvanrens: water Scott Johnston: Diet Coke / ice Other: Jacques Gastreaux: [evil] Martian Pig Slop from Hell sparkycom: potent potables 2. Appetizers, Salads and Condiments BrettAshley01: watermelon or fruit salad clayrae: chilled fruit soup Crackpot Gourmet: Bloody Mary gazpacho cucas87: mojito salad (vegan but alcoholic) ferment everything: homemade gouda Grover: Inari sushi legant: Miracle Whip (for bacon tasting) mktye: sun-dried tomato mayo, arugula (for BAT sandwiches) mushman: Greek cucumber salad Pat: farro salad with tomatoes and herbs pidgey: curry lentil salad rkduggins: sage potato salad (vegan) rkduggins: corn and wild rice salad (contains chicken stock) Scott Johnston: deviled eggs (curry and plain); Vermont NY 2 yr. sharp cheese SquidsDC: spicy cole slaw, mayonnaise, maple syrup (for bacon tasting) StephenB: deviled eggs ZoraMargolis: mulberry, Queen Anne cherry, and crabapple-mint preserves 3. Meat and Main Courses (non-vegan/non-vegetarian) AGM: a lamb bbq4me: ribs ICD: Cuban picadillo Ilaine: grandmother's fried chicken or smoked piglet Jacques Gastreaux: smoked pork butt legant: ribs rvanrens: some kind of meat squidsDC: marinated chicken pieces Thistle: NC style Boston butt Tweaked: blood sausage 4. Vegetable Dishes Anna Blume: escarole pie with pine nuts demvtr: vegetable dish TBD holdtheline: vegetable dish TBD – maybe mushroom duxelles sandwiches melgold: pasta frittata with veggies and cheese Scott Johnston: roasted vegetable tort (vegan) ZoraMargolis: fresh fava bean mousse 5. Baked Goods and Desserts Barbara: Michel Richard's chocolate mousse dome cake BrettAshley01: crackers or pita chips cjsaddler / txaggie: mini hot pepper jelly and cream cheese biscuits. Crackpot Gourmet: crepes (?) cucas87: some kind of light dessert ICD: buns for Cuban picadillo mktye: sweet and savory focaccias, sourdough and rye breads, another sweet Pat: cheesecake, berries, loaf of white bread, creme de menthe brownies Paula: cupcakes, cookies (?) RaisaB: TBD (or hohos and little debbies) sparkycom: gougeres Thistle: poundcake Tweaked: madelines txaggie/cjsaddler: cookies 6. Bacon-tasting clayrae - Trader Joes assortment crackers: Neopol Smokery organic fruitwood smoked bacon (nitrate free/low sodium) Crackpot Gourmet: buckboard bacon ferment everything: homemade smoked JPW legant: scrapple, tomatoes, lettuce, wheat toast Ol_Ironstomach Pat: Whole Foods and also turkey bacon Pete/Paula: Wegmans Scott Johnston Walrus

Currently we're expecting between 90-100 people! The weather dodos forecasters are calling for comfortable temps in the low 80s, a moderate breeze, and 35% chance of a shower. I'll take it. agm +1 (or +2?) Anna Blume Barbara bbq4me +1 Black Sheep +2 bookluvingbabe +1 (tentative) brettashley01 cjsadler clayrae crackers +3 CrescentFresh Crackpot Gourmet cucas87 DameEdna DanielK +1 Demvtr +2 Drone Escoffier ferment everything +2 Grover Gubeen ICD +3 Ilaine (+3?) Jacques Gastreaux +1 Joe H (+1?) JPW +1 ladi kai lemoni laniloa legant +4 LuvTeddyBears8 (+1?) mdt melgold +1 mktye+1 mushman Nutty Buddy ol_ironstomach Pat +1 Paula Pete pidgey +2 Raisa +5 Rkduggins Rvanrens +1.5 (+?) Scott Johntson sparkycom SquidsDC Starfish StephenB synaesthesia thistle +3 Tripewriter tweaked txaggie Walrus Zoramargolis

LOCATION: C-2 (see map below) DIRECTIONS: From Downtown Washington, DC: Take 14th Street Bridge south towards Virginia). Take Exit for Mt. Vernon/National Airport; continue past National Airport, through Old Town Alexandria; Fort Hunt Park is 5 miles south of Old Town Alexandria; exit to the right at the sign marked "FORT HUNT ROAD/FORT HUNT PARK". Beltway from Maryland to Alexandria, Virginia: Take very first exit after Wilson Bridge (Mt. Vernon Highway); this will put you on South Washington Street; continue for 5 miles; exit to the right at the sign marked "FORT HUNT ROAD/FORT HUNT PARK". NOTE: George Washington Memorial Parkway, Mt. Vernon Highway, and Washington Street, are all the same road depending on where you are at the moment. Beltway from Virginia to Alexandria, Virginia: Take Exit 1 North; go to the first traffic light and take a right on Franklin Street; go about 3 blocks and take a right on South Washington Street; continue for 5 miles; exit to the right at the sign marked "FORT HUNT ROAD/FORT HUNT PARK". [/b]

I got some this evening and will be bringing it. I told the owner that we were doing a bacon tasting at a picnic and she said "I hope you win!" I told her that at a bacon tasting, we're all winners. This bacon is fruitwood smoked, organic, nitrate free and low sodium. Sounds way too healthy for me, but I'll try it with an open mind and a closed mouth.

Welcome Simon!

The park rules say no distilled spirits. So I trust everybody will be exceedingly ...um...respectful. The [evil] Martian Pigslop from Hell special ingredient comes in a thermos bottle. But don't go looking for it. I will have it hidden somewhere for my own personal consumption. Did I mention it is evil?

Here is a map of the walk/run around the park: a 1.25 mile circuit. There are changing facilities a few feet across the parking lot if you want to change from running clothes to drinking clothes.

Please take a moment to review the Picnic Do's and Don'ts.

That's a pretty strong statement coming from a local restaurateur. Besides the wings, what else have you had at Old Ebbitt recently that you think should be avoided?

Bump. Below is our current picnic list. drinks: Remember, if you plan to drink wine or beer, please bring a contribution of same or similar. Some people are bringing water, but feel free to also bring your own water bottle. gaps: We're still light on chocolate cheeses and pies, but given how much bacon will be grilling, I suppose we'll survive. Anything else anyone can think of??? labels: In order make things go more smoothly for us by having printed food labels ready to put on the dishes, please post in this thread by noon on Friday that you'll be coming and what you plan to bring. Otherwise, we'll have blank labels for you, or you can make up your own. If your dish has any non-obvious ingredients that might be an issue for medical or other reasons (e.g. nuts, alcohol, meat, eggs) please consider noting that to Goldenticket or adding it to your label. supplies: Paper goods, cutlery, etc. are taken care of already. I'm hoping to have fewer leftover paper goods to bring home than I came with. For a change. Right now, for instance, we have about 1,000 napkins and 300 forks! If you have last minute questions, feel free to post them in this thread or PM me or Scott Johnston. 1.Beverages Wine Barbara JPW - Virginia wine Melgold Scott Johnston Starfish txaggie/cjsadler Walrus - red wine ZoraMargolis Beer Barbara Crackers Ol_Ironstomach Pat Tweaked JPW ICD: Belgian beer- Hoegarten or Leffe blonde. Home Brew ferment everything mdt - keg of mild Non-Alcoholic Anna Blume: concentrated syrup cucas87: water Danielk: soda laniloa legant: water rvanrens: water Scott Johnston: Diet Coke Other: Jacques Gastreaux: [evil] Martian Pig Slop from Hell sparkycom: potent potables 2. Appetizers, Salads and Condiments BrettAshley01: watermelon or fruit salad clayrae: chilled fruit soup Crackpot Gourmet: Bloody Mary gazpacho cucas87: mojito salad (vegan but alcoholic) ferment everything: homemade gouda Grover: Inari sushi legant: Miracle Whip (for bacon tasting) mhberk: Famous blackened chicken salad mushman: Greet cucumber salad Pat: farro salad with tomatoes and herbs rkduggins: sage potato salad (vegan) rkduggins: corn and wild rice salad (contains chicken stock) Scott Johnston: deviled eggs SquidsDC: spicy cole slaw, mayonnaise, maple syrup (for bacon tasting) StephenB: deviled eggs ZoraMargolis: mulberry, Queen Anne cherry, and crabapple-mint preserves 3. Meat and Main Courses (non-vegan/non-vegetarian) AGM: a lamb bbq4me: ribs ICD: Cuban picadillo Ilaine: grandmother's fried chicken or smoked piglet Jacques Gastreaux: smoked pork butt legant: ribs rvanrens: some kind of meat squidsDC: marinated chicken pieces Thistle: NC style Boston butt Tweaked: blood sausage 4. Vegetable Dishes Anna Blume: escarole pie with pine nuts demvtr: vegetable dish TBD holdtheline: vegetable dish TBD – maybe mushroom duxelles sandwiches jm chen: vegetable side dish TBD melgold: pasta frittata with veggies and cheese Scott Johnston: vegetable dish TBD ZoraMargolis: fresh fava bean mousse 5. Baked Goods and Desserts Barbara: Michel Richard's chocolate mousse dome cake BrettAshley01: crackers or pita chips cjsaddler / txaggie: mini hot pepper jelly and cream cheese biscuits. Crackpot Gourmet: crepes (?) cucas87: some kind of light dessert ICD: buns for Cuban picadillo jm chen: coconut turnovers mktye: assorted baked goods Pat: cheesecake, berries, loaf of white bread, creme de menthe brownies Paula: cupcakes, cookies (?) RaisaB: TBD (or hohos and little debbies) sparkycom: gougeres Thistle: poundcake Tweaked: madelines txaggie/cjsaddler: cookies 6. bacon-tasting clayrae - Trader Joes assortment crackers: Neopol Smokery organic fruitwood smoked bacon (nitrate free/low sodium) Crackpot Gourmet: buckboard bacon ferment everything JPW legant: scrapple, tomatoes, lettuce, wheat toast Ol_Ironstomach Pat: Whole Foods and also turkey bacon Pete/Paula: Wegmans Walrus

Cucas87's Mojito Salad is watermelon-based. And very, very tasty. We're having a picnic on Sunday. If you want to bring rain gear, by all means toss it in the car along with the sunscreen. That will only ensure the rains stays away.

Non. We'd just polished off charcoal grilled butterflied leg of lamb with mint-rosemary sauce, roasted carrots, tossed spring greens salad, and lemon rice. The tart was plenty rich without any additional creme! I did use Chantilly cream on top of some blueberry shortcakes I made earlier this weekend, but alas, no photos.

Currently we have the following who have let us know they are coming: agm +1 (or +2?) Anna Blume Barbara bbq4me +1 Black Sheep +2 bookluvingbabe +1 (tentative) brettashley01 cjsadler clayrae crackers +4 CrescentFresh Crackpot Gourmet cucas87 DameEdna DanielK +1 Demvtr +2 Drone Escoffier ferment everything +2 Grover Gubeen ICD +3 Ilaine (+3?) Jacques Gastreaux +1 Joe H (+1?) JPW +1 ladi kai lemoni laniloa legant +4 LuvTeddyBears8 (+1?) mdt melgold +1 mhberk +1 mktye+1 mushman Nutty Buddy ol_ironstomach Pat +1 Paula Pete Raisa +5 Rkduggins Rvanrens +1.5 (+?) Scott Johntson +2 sparky.com SquidsDC Starfish StephenB synaesthesia thistle +3 Tripewriter tweaked txaggie Walrus Zoramargolis

First fresh strawberry tart of the season. Using Julia Childs' creme patisserie recipe for the base.

Suicide Bridge would be a classic choice for hard crabs. However the Narrows is not a crab house and doesn't do hard crabs at all. The Narrows if the far better choice for cuisine though - ask for a table overlooking the water on the enclosed back porch. For a full day, if you haven't been to St. Michaels, that would make a fun day trip destination. The Crab Claw there is another good hard crab experience.

You make your foccacia and pita breads without baking them in an oven?

You're volunteering, right?

By my estimation, 901 people have registered as new members in the last year. 901! And only three of you have signed up to join us at the picnic (Rkduggins, synaesthesia and Nutty Buddy being the three intrepid ones.) Not to belabor the point, but if you're lurking out there, on the fence, hesitant, just a tad shy... please join us! We have a welcoming committee of 75 friendly members waiting to stuff you silly with food and drink.

Wine and Beer: Please bring a bottle of wine if you expect to be drinking wine, and same for beer. We can't expect a handful of people to supply enough wine for 75 thirsty people for an entire afternoon. Just not gonna happen..not even with starfish coming. [note to self: remember to invite Joe Riley! ] By now you've brought all the plonk to past picnics that you had mouldering in the back of your cabinets, right? and Jake and JPW sure did have fun pouring it out onto the grass, didn't they?!..so no mas! Bacon: In addition to hoping we get more bacon for sampling, maybe someone(s) can also bring BLT fixins? If for some reason you can't decide until the last minute if you can come, or what you will bring, or you change your mind, or what you wanted to make was a huge disaster and you need to sulk into Whole Foods for a peach tarte, no worries, we will have blank labels waiting for you!oh yeah - more cheese! and something fruitish!

With a little over a week until the picnic, it's time to start doing some serious planning. If you have come to a decision or tentative decision about what you are bringing, let cucas87 know by post or PM. She will compile a list shortly so you can gauge where there might be a gap. Donations: Jacques Gastreaux was kind enough to front the $145 fee for the picnic site rental. Once again we are asking for voluntary donations to spread the cost among all of us who will be enjoying ourselves. The donation jar will be at the sign-in table. $2 per mouth should cover it. And please also consider bringing contributions to the canned food collection for the Capital Area Food Bank, being spearheaded by synaesthesia. Timing: Some people who can't stay the whole time have asked when prime "eating time" is going to be. The food will go out on the tables starting before noon, and reinforcements will arrive all afternoon. Generally, the early birds get more worms, particularly the worms at the bottom of the evil Martian Pigslop from Hell. We have yet to come close to running out of food. Unfortunately, once again it doesn't look like there will be any jello molds or even anything containing Miracle Whip (and we have the nerve to call this a picnic ). I hope people aren't so disappointed by this that they decide not to come. Equipment: There are no grills at the picnic site. If you have something to grill, bring whatever you need to do that. There is also no running water, except in the nearby bathrooms. I'd suggest bringing a water bottle or two for yourself. Coolers and ice have come in handy if you have those to spare. Folding chairs are always a good idea. There will be picnic tables set up under the pavillion, but if you want to eat under the trees, there are bark chip/pine needles around the site, and not all that much grass. Playpens and strollers are also a good idea if those work for you. Cameras are fine too - just no face shots on the internet without permission. Sunscreen, insect repellant and aspirin are always in style. I have hand disinfectant left from the last picnic that I will bring, and a basic first aid kit. If you are planning to be there to help set-up, please shoot me a PM so I'll know how many strong backs we will have to move tables and stuff.

wrongo bongo

I didn't remember to ask for a menu, but I seem to recall that it was not exactly the same preparation as what Meaghan described with the tuna. (?) It was a beautifully plated informal abstract arrangement of bright oranges, deep reds and spring greens.

I believe ol_ironstomach is taking care of the bacon grilling logistics. If he needs help I'm sure he will be asking though! Between bacon sizzling on the griddle, and lamb roasting in the caja china, folks down wind are going to be drooling so much the lower regions of the Potomac River may rise a foot or more.

I wish I had the menu in front of me because what Ruta puts together on the plate is so complex, yet melds so perfectly together, that it is hard to remember all the components separately. Salmon seviche was amazing - the tiniest pristine nasturtium flower petals adding a peppery bite. Also ordered the ricotta dumpling with favas, artichokes and shavings of white truffles, raviolini with cuttlefish, and a skate dish that was surrounded by a pool of vegetable puree as deep green as the late spring forest and delicate almond foam. A tart of fresh local strawberries finished us off. I meant to ask for a burger to go, but was so transported by the delicate parade of sensual delights being placed in front of me, that I forgot all about asking. Even though we were technically sitting in the "cafe," all the dinner components were from the first and second courses of the restaurant's menu. That is my new ideal way to experience Palena.