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dr.com 2011 Fall Picnic


leleboo

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Unfortunately, my odds are the opposite of monavano's -- I have an appointment at 1 on Capitol Hill and around 2-2:30 in Columbia Heights, and don't know that I'm going to be able to swing by Fort Hunt Park on either end. :( I'm still going to try, because this will be my final dr.com picnic living in DC. Fingers crossed that I'll get to see everyone!

My morning responsibilities have been moved to today, so I'm going to be able to come say hello right at the start. I'll contribute the bottle of wine that has just been begging for a cellar cull; sadly, I won't be cooking anything because my place is on the market and woe to me if i leave a bunch of dishes in the sink before a showing!

(If you happen to know anyone looking for a great condo on Capitol Hill, point them my way!)

Looking forward to seeing the early-bird crew tomorrow!

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Leftover picnic supply inventory:

I've got the tableclothes. We also have a boatload of leftover plates and cups.

We could use some more utensils and need paper napkins.

Will bring some beer and/or wine. Not sure what foodstuffs we'll bring.

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I will be there. +1. My +1 will bring a Weber grill, and will be grilling marinated veggies on the spot. Eggplant, summer squash, onions, portobellos, red bell peppers.

Any requests?

We are also bringing some bags of ice we have had in the freezer since Hurricane Isabel (we did not lose power).

Also bringing a few boxes of cookbooks and Gourmet magazines. Now that we are living gluten free, we don't need cookbooks oriented towards baking. Some of the cookbooks are ones I have never, ever cooked from. I am going to donate the rejects to the public library.

And two extra copies of Lucky Peach, David Chang's new food magazine. Somehow I accidentally ordered three.

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I will be there. +1.

We are also bringing some bags of ice we have had in the freezer since Hurricane Isabel (we did not lose power).

Could your ice be used in drinks??

I am bringing my huge white cooler, and I have so much on my plate today (non of it nurturing or nutritious vaariety) I would appreciate it very much if I don't have to run out to buy ice today.

Skipper

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Ilaine,

I swear I cook better than post. Do you have enough ice or should I go and get some more for tomorrow? I am stuck with a whole bunch of things that need to be done today, including the ice, because I don't want to be late tomorrow. skipper (zora hopkins)

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Cellar cull hasn't really been mentioned, but bring a bottle of wine (or two) that needs to be drunk - drinkable stuff, please :) Beer, sodas, etc. also welcome!

Napkins/paper towels and plastic utensils are needed.

And the list keeps growing....

Latest updates:

1000yregg

22209 +1 - Italian chili

Banco +3

Barbara, DameEdna - pumpkin cheesecake

ColdCountrySalmon- salmon for bbq and smoking

DanielK +2 - Mediterranean Orzo Salad, hummus + pita, cheese + crackers, water, soccer goals

darkstar965 +1(?) - TBD

FishInnards +1 - Drunken Noodles

flygirl

goldenticket +1 - cranberry/wild rice cookies (GF), sausages to grill, mac n cheese

Heather +1 - baked beans, brown or Yankee cornbread

hm212 +2 - dark chocolate fudge brownies

Ilaine +1 - grill, veggies to grill, ice

John William G +1 - jalapeno cheese squares, homemade Italian bread, maybe tapenade

JPW +3

kirite - quinoa, couscous

ktmoomau +1 - gluten free cake and lamb chili

laniloa - dessert

LaShanta +1

legant +2?

leleboo - wine

lperry

monavano +1 - bigos (Polish Hunter Stew), AKNB rosemary bread, plates, bowls, utensils, etc

Monica - beverages

Nena - wings

ol_ironstomach

Pat +1 - cookies and black-eyed pea salad

Rhone1998 +2.5 - brussels sprouts dish, beer

Scott Johnston, cucas87 +1 - deviled eggs, wine, dessert, salad

Skipper10 - stuffed cabbage, bread (maybe), cooler and ice

sparkycom

sphere777 - sesame noodles

TheMatt +2 - snickerdoodle blondies (GF), baklava (maybe)

thistle - camp stove, smoked meat (Boston butt, ribs), pound cake, drinks, napkins, utensils

Waitman, Mrs. B

weezy - lemon bars

zoramargolis - award-winning bbq sauce (maybe)

Just a reminder: Please note any dishes with ingredients that may be of concern (things like nuts, soy, onions, pork, dairy), as well as if they are vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, etc. Labels will be provided. Thanks!

Bring cookbooks and kitchen gadgets to swap!

Sunday, October 23. Noon to 6 p.m.

Fort Hunt Park, Alexandria, VA. Site C-002.

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Well, I tried a piece of my gluten-free snickerdoodle blondies and it seemed good to me. Hope they stay that way tomorrow! I made as many as I could with the flour I bought...that stuff be pricey! (Then again, I did get it at Whole Foods, so it's sort of required.)

I might also bring some baklava like I usually do because, well, I never buy it for myself!

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Well, it looks like it's me & a couple of 12 yr old girls attending, as both my husband & son are otherwise occupied ( & quite devastated to be missing the food & company), so unless someone has a huge amount of food to cook onsite, I'll be ditching the canopy (praying for no rain), bringing the small camp stove (side burner & small grill for warming/reheating) & losing the blackeyed pea salad (I think someone else mentioned one, too). I have 2 Boston butts out in the smoker, w/ a light dusting of salt, pepper, paprika, brown sugar, garlic powder (no commercial mix, so no msg or maltodextrose)-I'll pull these, & bring them unsauced, w/ Carolina vinegar sauce & Pork Barrel sweet sauce-gluten free (seems like the commissary was out of original). I'm also getting up early to throw on ribs-same light dust or just s&p? 2 of the racks will be foiled w/ the Pork Barrel sauce & the girls are baking the pound cakes in the morning- see you guys tomorrow...

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Veggies prepped.

All veggies are organic, from Whole foods, hand washed using Dr. Bronner's Sal Suds (not the mushrooms, just water for those) and are now sliced, resting in the fridge, in ziplock bags with Greek extra virgin olive oil, and sea salt. Nothing else. 20 large portobello caps, six zucchini, six yellow summer squash, six red bell peppers, two large red onions, four eggplants. Also, one extremely large butternut squash, as an experiment. Never grilled butternut squash before but it sounds good. Peeled and sliced into half moons. Some slices 1/4 inch thick, some 1/2 half inch thick, to see what works best.

To be grilled over Whole Foods plain lump hardwood charcoal. Ignited by propane so no lighter fluid taste or newspaper taste.

Nice clean, plain food, letting the ingredients speak for themselves.

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...Also, one extremely large butternut squash, as an experiment. Never grilled butternut squash before but it sounds good. Peeled and sliced into half moons. Some slices 1/4 inch thick, some 1/2 half inch thick, to see what works best...

Yum! I had leftover squash last year and grilled it on a whim. It gets tender in the center, and caramelized on the outside, sort of like roasting on steroids. I need to do some more!

We are again +1 and I'm going to bring Dorie Greenspan's sablés, de-glutened. It looks like it's going to be a beautiful day!

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I'm back off the list -- too many things have come up this morning that I can't get out to Virginia. Grr! I may try to reach Banco to see if he can take my cellar-cull items on his way out with the family, but not sure I'll get hold of him in time. Will miss you all!

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bringing the small camp stove (side burner & small grill for warming/reheating) & losing the blackeyed pea salad (I think someone else mentioned one, too).

I never even noticed someone else had planned to bring one when I changed from my generic "vegetable salad" to black-eyed pea salad :o. Sorry. It will be vegetarian and should be gluten-free as well. My only question would be about the mustard in the dressing, but google tells me that Grey Poupon is GF.

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Sorry I had to leave early, but just wanted to say I am stuffed to the gills. The grilled veggies, the pork, the dueling noodles, the salads, the desserts...oh so good. When my brain isn't in a food coma, I'll come back and talk details.

And, of course, a big round of thanks to goldenticket for organizing this!

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I was particularly pleased with the gluten free desserts, especially the brownies and the sables. Haven't had baked desserts since I gave up wheat. Have been so disappointed with gluten free bread that I thought that I would not like any gluten free baked goods. I was pleasantly surprised that these were all extremely yummy.

Also loved the Italian chili, the stuffed cabbage roll, the ribs, the smoked salmon, and my husband's grilled butternut squash.

After that -- three brownies, two sables -- with red wine -- Navarre something or other -- such a treat -- I was full and did not try anything else. Red wine and chocolate. Mmmmm.

A perfect day. Much appreciation to the organizers.

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What a great day for a great picnic. Mr. MV and I enjoyed chatting with DR members and their +1. So many great dishes! I was happy to get the chance to try Zora's bbq sauce to compare my efforts. I've got a bit of tweaking to do, but I'm close.

Loved the noodle dishes, lamb chili, the mac n cheese, cheddar jalapeno squares, pumpkin cheesecake... and more. I know I'll be requesting a few recipes!

Thanks golden ticket and all who helped make this happen. And thanks to the lovely member who donated the Pie and Pastry Bible. I'm drooling at the photos and really look forward to learning and baking.

And eating. B)

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+1!

This was only my 2nd DR picnic. But, since two dots define a trendline, can now make two observations.

1. I guess not so surprising that these picnics have way better food than virtually any other type of group picnic whether school, work or other organization.You know, given the common interest :D

For me: Polish stew, smoked salmon,fennel salad, stuffed cabbage,ribs, the breads, drunken noodles, Zora's 'Q sauce (NOW I get why it won the Post's contest!), and all those GF desserts, many of which even I, a non GF person, really liked.

Overall, just amazing really. All those other folks flipping dogs and burgers at all the other sites in Ft Hunt Park just have no idea. .

2. Loved putting more faces (and personalities) to avatars. Food knowledge, restaurant opinions and cooking genius all aside, DR.com attracts great, grounded and really nice people.

Thanks so much to Don, leleboo, others I know I'm forgetting, and, especially, golden ticket, for organizing this. It's a unique and very cool thing when such an interesting and valuable online community can also be a collegial and fun offline community.

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Thanks to everyone who came out and enjoyed the beautiful day and delicious food! Another great success, due, as always, to the wonderful community we have here!

Special thanks to Traveler from Cold Country Salmon for the very interesting and informative demo on hot smoking salmon - and the delicious samples of the finished product!

Some of you noticed the signs up around the pavilion about a Park Service planning process that is ongoing for Fort Hunt Park. Please take a minute to look at the information here, and consider submitting a public comment. The comment period has been extended through November 5. The current preferred alternative (Alt C) would removed several of the picnic areas, including Area C, where we typically hold the picnic. Alternative D would retain Area C.

Public comments do make a difference in these processes, so if you'd like to see Area C remain available for the current use, let the Park Service know.

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What a gorgeous day for a picnic! It was lovely to see old friends and meet a few new ones. Big thanks to the organizers.

Great food, as always, but for me that star of the afternoon wasn't a meat, sauce or dessert - it was Skipper10's amazing bread. Breakfast this morning was a huge chunk, toasted and lavished with cultured butter and Maldon salt. Simply outstanding.

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Thank you thank you! to the organizers! I had a wonderful time and the food was superb!

I'm hoping that whoever brought the fennel persmimmon slaw will post or link the recipe. I don't even like fennel and I loved this dish.

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I'm hoping that whoever brought the fennel persmimmon slaw will post or link the recipe. I don't even like fennel and I loved this dish.

This was a "what can I make with what's in the fridge?" dish that I created for a bbq I'd been invited to the previous evening. It was so well-received there that I bought three more fennel bulbs on Sunday morning and repeated it for the picnic.

The only "recipe" is for the lime vinaigrette, which is a standard French vinaigrette (shallot, Dijon mustard, oil, acid, salt) made with lime juice for the acid, and the lime rind zested into the blender jar. I used a combo of olive oil and grapeseed oil.

Other than that, it helps hugely to have a hand mandoline--it's almost impossible to shave the fennel that thinly with a knife. I also mandolined the Vidalia onion, soaked in water for a while, then drained and covered it with heated rice wine vinegar and some salt, and let it sit for about an hour. I used about 1/3 of the whole onion for the slaw I brought yesterday. I didn't want the onion flavor to overwhelm the fennel.

Cut off the top stalk part of the fennel bulb, then cut it in half lengthwise and cut out the triangular stem bit at the bottom of each half, and shave it into a bowl using the mandoline. I used four Fuyu persimmons for three medium fennel bulbs--Fuyus are the small flat kind to use because they are sweet and edible while remaining firm. Other larger (Hachiya) persimmons are too tannic to eat until they are soft, and then they are too mushy to use for this dish. I cut around the stem to remove it, then cut the persimmon in half lengthwise and run it widthwise through the mandoline into the bowl. Add the pickled onion, some salt and white pepper and some chopped cilantro and enough lime vinaigrette to lightly coat and toss well.

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This was a "what can I make with what's in the fridge?" dish that I created for a bbq I'd been invited to the previous evening. It was so well-received there that I bought three more fennel bulbs on Sunday morning and repeated it for the picnic.

The only "recipe" is for the lime vinaigrette, which is a standard French vinaigrette (shallot, Dijon mustard, oil, acid, salt) made with lime juice for the acid, and the lime rind zested into the blender jar. I used a combo of olive oil and grapeseed oil.

Other than that, it helps hugely to have a hand mandoline--it's almost impossible to shave the fennel that thinly with a knife. I also mandolined the Vidalia onion, soaked in water for a while, then drained and covered it with heated rice wine vinegar and some salt, and let it sit for about an hour. I used about 1/3 of the whole onion for the slaw I brought yesterday. I didn't want the onion flavor to overwhelm the fennel.

Cut off the top stalk part of the fennel bulb, then cut it in half lengthwise and cut out the triangular stem bit at the bottom of each half, and shave it into a bowl using the mandoline. I used four Fuyu persimmons for three medium fennel bulbs--Fuyus are the small flat kind to use because they are sweet and edible while remaining firm. Other larger (Hachiya) persimmons are too tannic to eat until they are soft, and then they are too mushy to use for this dish. I cut around the stem to remove it, then cut the persimmon in half lengthwise and run it widthwise through the mandoline into the bowl. Add the pickled onion, some salt and white pepper and some chopped cilantro and enough lime vinaigrette to lightly coat and toss well.

Thank you, ZoraM.

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Thanks to everyone who took part in this year's fall picnic! I had a great time meeting even more folks. You don't have to be a great cook to be an avid diner, but there's a lot of skill and delight in this community. Special thanks to goldenticket and danielk for their organizational efforts, and to Traveler for sharing his love of salmon fishing and preparation.

Some of you noticed the signs up around the pavilion about a Park Service planning process that is ongoing for Fort Hunt Park. Please take a minute to look at the information here, and consider submitting a public comment. The comment period has been extended through November 5. The current preferred alternative (Alt C) would removed several of the picnic areas, including Area C, where we typically hold the picnic. Alternative D would retain Area C.

Public comments do make a difference in these processes, so if you'd like to see Area C remain available for the current use, let the Park Service know.

A few specific tips on submitting comments. Remember that this isn't a referendum; the planners are looking for substantive arguments that relate to NPS core values and/or government directives, so you should justify your preferences in that light.

Also, specific to this particular project, I see that they're using NPS' PEPC system to manage the comments. If you are making arguments on multiple grounds, try to separate them into different paragraphs, or even consider submitting each one as a separate comment. PEPC is unable to assign more than one "classification" to a "concern", so if your comment touches on multiple areas - say economic, cultural, and social grounds - it runs a small risk of being tagged in one category (and measured only in that category), instead of in all three. The reviewers *should* slice-and-dice your letter into multiple concerns; having each paragraph or section address a specific category helps them do so.

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I was thrilled to be invited to the picnic and I wanted to thank everyone for making me feel welcome, for your kind words, your attention during my talk, and, most importantly, for the wonderful food you shared with me!

For me, great food becomes so much better with great community and I am so excited to be joining your wonderful community of food. I was only sorry my wife couldn't make it to the picnic.

My wife and I are putting together an idea for the Christmas season––"Give the gift of Salmon." I would be interested to know what you all thought. The idea is this: someone could purchase a share (22 lbs) or half share (11 lbs) of red/sockeye or king/chinook salmon (we still have plenty of each) then we will either deliver or mail the salmon to whomever they would like with a card. The recipient would receive it attractively boxed as a gift with a card. I have talked to a number of folks who are thinking about an alternative meal this Christmas and I think a salmon fillet might just be the thing.

Please keep in touch everyone.

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Sounds great to me-CCSalmon's talk about salmon fishing & smoking was a bonus to this picnic...I thought about smoking variables today-I'm smoking 6 racks of SLspares for a lacrosse tailgate tonight, & it's been windy, so I hope the ribs are tender enough. I MUCH prefer smoked salmon to ribs, so the idea of reserving some salmon to smoke appeals to me.

I can't believe I didn't submit an after action review of the picnic-while it seemed like attendance was slightly down from last fall, it was an excellent picnic! Weather was perfect, & my daughter was inspired by all the GF baking, to make a GF poundcake for her teacher today. My thanks go out to all the picnic organizers (past, present, & future) who put in the effort to make things work smoothly...

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So for the GF poundcake, after ascertaining that the teacher was not a vegan, we simply subbed Bob's Red Mill GF flour in our regular poundcake recipe (Camille Glenn- the Heritage of Southern Cooking). We had a few tense minutes, E forgot to spray the Dio de Los Muertos skull mold we used (50% off after H'ween), she tasted the raw dough & was kicking up a fit, I had heard that raw GF tasted quite 'beany'. It was a bit of a struggle getting the cake out of the mold, & then she sifted confectioners sugar over 1 side & realized her teacher might be sensitive to the cornstarch-she wasn't, & all the class got a taste of the cake & it was good.

Thank you also to the folks who brought books-I came home w/ Escoffier's Ckbk of Desserts, Sweets, & Ices & Biker Billy's Freeway-A-Fire (yes, I am a conflicted soul). & I loved the bigos & the jalapeño cheese squares-looking forward to the spring picnic...Thistle

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Recipe for the Jalepeno Cheese Squares please? :)

1 lb longhorn cheese (or mild cheddar)

1 sm can evap milk (3/4 cup)

1 sm can chopped green chilies

1 lb Monterey jack cheese with jalapeno pepper

5 eggs (beaten)

Grate cheese into large bowl. Add remaining ingredients and pour into a 9 X 13 baking pan. Bake at 350 until golden brown, about 30 to 40 minutes. Cut into squares. Serve hot.

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