Plan: 2010 Heartland Gathering

[torakris]

I'm very interested in the bread workshop as I have never been able to squeeze it in during the past gatherings.

I also vote to stay local for the Thursday meal.

[prasantrin]

1. Bread workshop (morning)

2. Other activity (morning)

3. Thermomix workshop (afternoon)

4. Other activity (afternoon)

5. Other activity (overlaps both)

Thanks!

I'm in for #1.

Maybe #4 or part of #3, depending on how much of my personal stuff I get done.

Regarding dinners, for Friday dinner, ditto on Alex's range, but I'd go even cheaper on the wine. How much was last year's wine pairing at Bluestem? Neither I nor my mother partook in the pairings (although I think my mother had a glass of rose), and we got a $40 refund which would place the pairings at $20 per person. That's more like my range. (where's the "cheap" emoticon?)

For Thursday, I'd rather stay local or near local, too, but I'd rather do individual orders (like at Lidia's Restaurant last year) than family-style, mostly because of our experience at LTH (the food was good, but for example my mother and I had to share a single piece of shrimp in order to try one of the dishes because by the time the plate got around to our end, there wasn't much left). I care more about that than the type of food, but also excellent Cantonese restaurants are a dime-a-dozen where I live, and Szechuan is well-represented, too, so it's like everyday food for me.

Those are my thoughts about Thursday, but really, I'll do whatever.

[Darienne]

Oops. We are not wine drinkers either, and Ed cannot commit to any meals ahead of time. Not the best, but the best we can do. Sorry.

[chris a2]

I'm a #1, but not sure about afternoon activities.

[chris a2]

For the Thursday night dinner, I'd prefer doing Chinese/Sichuan at a local place.

My vote would actually be for family style rather than ordering individual dishes--Chinese meals are so much more enjoyable that way. We just need to make sure that we order enough of each one, to make sure no one gets slighted.

[prasantrin]

Just to clarify, my preference for individual ordering was also a statement of my preference for non-Chinese food. Of course if the Thursday meal were Chinese, it would have to be family style. I can't imagine Chinese food any other way (although I do know people who ordered family-style servings of dishes and then didn't share them with anyone else at the table, but that's another story).

[NancyH]

Since I suck at geography - can someone give me the parameters for the location of the "main event" Saturday. I'm looking for a hotel. Thank you!

[tino27]

NancyH -- I had to dig through the 2006 Event Planning thread, but I found a link to the Cohousing complex where the main event will be held on Saturday.

Great Oak Cohousing

[tammylc]

Thanks for digging that up, Tino. Nancy - Weber's Inn is the closest good hotel, and it's very near the venue. There's a cluster of hotels near the mall (State Street area) that are a 10-minute easy drive away. There is a conference in town, so some people have been looking further afield because of that. Ann Arbor is small enough that any Ann Arbor hotel is going to be within a 20-25 minute drive of everything. Another place to look is Chelsea, which is a small town just to the west of Ann Arbor and a quick 15 minute drive to the venue. We don't have many hotels in the downtown area, but Campus Inn or the Belltower will be convenient to Thursday and Friday night activities and Saturday morning shopping, and are only a 15 minute drive from the Feast venue. These are likely more expensive than other options, however.

Hope that helps Nancy or anyone else!

[Darienne]

Hooray! My official Ann Arbor Visitors Guide 2010 plus Downtown Map, plus Kerrytown walking map, plus Official Map and Guide arrived today.

Ann Arbor Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, 800-888-9487; www.visitannarbor.org; info@annarbor.org

DH has to be able to find the local lumber, hardware, etc, stores to keep him happy.

[tammylc]

Just some updates... I'm working with Grange right now to put together a menu for Friday night, so that's what we'll be doing for our Friday night dinner. Thursday night will be a Chinese banquet, those details also in progress of being negotiated.

Those of you who were at our last Heartland Gathering may remember our visit to the culinary archive at Clements library, and meeting the fabulous Jan and Dan Longone. I've contacted Jan about putting together a presentation on some piece of culinary history for either Friday afternoon or Sunday brunch. So stay tuned for details about that as it develops.

Earlier this year I put together a program for my cohousing community that was all about exploring our personal food history and how it impacts the buying choices we make. Along the way we did a taste-off of various foods (organic vs non-organic strawberries, fresh picked vs supermarket asparagus, grass fed beef vs factory farmed, etc) and talked about how the taste-cost-environmental-health spectrum played out across all those options. The goal wasn't to give people answers, but to help them consider different factors.

Does this sound like something people would be interested in? It got absolute raves from everyone in my community who attended, and I've been thinking that I would like an opportunity to do it again. I think it took about an hour or 90 minutes for us to work through all the pieces of it when I did it in May. This could a potential Friday afternoon activity or something early Saturday afternoon before we get too deep into cooking for the feast. Thoughts?

[tino27]

I definitely like the idea of doing a taste comparison as an early Saturday afternoon activity.

[white lotus]

Many thanks Tammy & everyone else putting in effort for the gathering. Tammy, the above mentioned program sounds incredible. All the events sound fabulous. Confirm Dance & I for all the tours, meal/eating events. Our daughter Masumi may be ariving from from Madison, Wisc. late Friday PM via Amtrack to attend the Saturday potluck. Like Dance, she is a veg but pretty handy in the kitchen & an accomplished tea youth as well. We will let you know after her travel plans are confirmed. Dance & I are so looking forward to coming.

[Darienne]

Just some updates...Thoughts?

No thoughts here... but thanks for all the work you have done. We'll try to fit in everything we can.

Thanks, Tammy

[tammylc]

Question for those coming in for Thursday night - Hong Kong Chinese banquet (lots of seafood) or Szechuan?

And for those who'd be interested in a Friday foodie field trip - Mexicantown in Detroit, or Dearborn, which is home to one of the largest concentrations of Arab Americans outside the middle east?

http://www.mlive.com/travel/index.ssf/2010/03/dearborn_discover_a_muslim_wel.html

[tino27]

I'm open for either style of Chinese cuisine, but my preference is for szechuan.

[Darienne]

1. Szechwan

2. Mexican Town

[tino27]

Hey everyone --

I've put together some preliminaries for this year's bread workshop. If you would like to attend or would like to remove your name from the list, please leave a post on this thread or simply PM me.

Bread Workshop

Friday, August 6th from 8:30 AM - 12:30 PM

Kitchen Area of the Common House @ tammylc's Cohousing community

Workshop Contents

* Pre-ferments and soakers

* Ingredients

* Baker's Percentages/Formulae (General bread recipes)

* Equipment

* General bread making technique

* Recipe: Rich Man's Brioche

* Recipe: Ciabatta

* Recipe: Focaccia

* Recipe: Potato Rosemary

Items To Bring

I am going to try and make this as interactive as possible, but I plan to bring enough equipment to do the entire workshop. However, if you are concerned about keeping your clothes clean, you may want to bring a kitchen apron.

Workshop Attendees

Darienne

LuckyGirl

Kerry Beal

Edsel

Chris A2

Alex

Bob (NancyH's +1)

Torakris

Prasantrin

Workshop Cost

$5, to cover printed materials and workshop materials. I will figure out with tammylc regarding payment options.

At the end of the workshop, all baked breads will be distributed to workshop participants (first) and then to anyone else who wants to partake.

If you have any specific questions, please feel free to ask.

[chris a2]

This sounds wonderful, Tino. I'm looking forward to it.

[NancyH]

Szechuan for Thursday dinner.

Edited June 28, 2010 by NancyH (log)

[Kerry Beal]

Who is still interested in the TMX workshop - just want to get an idea of numbers.

[tammylc]

I know that I've not yet gotten the final details to people, but I should have a few things finalized soon. So might as well start attaching some names to actual activities. Who's in for what?

Overall attendance:

tammylc

Sam Iam & Joyce (bringing a Vita-Mix)

tino27 (doing a bread workshop)

Kerry Beal (doing a Thermomix workshop)

Torakris

Alex

White Lotus & Dance

Chris Hennes +1 (shipping charcuterie, dish masters!)

Darienne +1

CaliPoutine +1

Edsel

ronnie_suburban +2

Chris a2

Boagman (dishes)

Luckygirl +1

Malawry

NancyH & Bob

Maybe

Lior

Fat Guy

+1 of Chris

jmsaul & kitchenchick

prasantrin

+1 of boagman

If you're on the list above, please respond for each of the events below.

Thursday night Szechuan Banquet at Chia Shiang ($25-$30 inclusive)

tammylc

Friday breakfast at SELMA (eating, not cooking - anytime between 6:30 and 9:30, $12-$15 donation)

tammylc

Friday morning bread workshop ($5)

tino27

Darienne

LuckyGirl

Kerry Beal

Edsel

Chris A2

Alex

Bob (NancyH's +1)

Torakris

Prasantrin

Friday afternoon Thermomix workshop (cost TBA)

Kerry Beal

Friday afternoon Foodie Field trip... somewhere (including stop at restaurant supply shop). (free)

tammylc

Friday night dinner at Grange (price TBD, probably $50-$75 inclusive)

tammylc

Saturday Afternoon Session on Organic/Locavore/Personal Food choices ($3-$5)

tammylc

Saturday Evening Feast ($20-$25?)

tammylc

Sam Iam & Joyce (bringing a Vita-Mix)

tino27 (doing a bread workshop)

Kerry Beal (doing a Thermomix workshop)

Torakris

Alex

White Lotus & Dance

Chris Hennes +1 (shipping charcuterie, dish masters!)

Darienne +1

CaliPoutine +1

Edsel

ronnie_suburban +2

Chris a2

Boagman (dishes)

Luckygirl +1

Malawry

NancyH & Bob

Sunday Bacon Tasting & Brunch (still being finalized, but I'm working on it right now... $20-$25, probably?)

tammylc

Edited June 28, 2010 by tammylc (log)

[Chris Hennes]

You can count my plus one and me in for:

Thursday night Szechuan Banquet at Chia Shiang (pending on-time arrival of flights)

Friday breakfast at SELMA (pending flights not arriving at 2am)

Friday night dinner at Grange

Saturday Evening Feast

Sunday Bacon Tasting & Brunch

[prasantrin]

At this point I'm in for:

Friday morning bread workshop

Friday night dinner at Grange

Saturday Evening Feast

Sunday Bacon Tasting & Brunch

Maybe for:

Thursday night Szechuan Banquet at Chia Shiang

Friday breakfast at SELMA

Friday Thermomix/Friday foodie field trip (one or the other, or neither, I'm not sure)

Saturday afternoon taste tests

Regarding the Thursday dinner (it seems Szechuan is a definite?), will there be enough options for pescatarians, vegetarians, or non-spicy food-eating people? I don't necessarily mean separate options just for them, but at least a good mix of dishes that will leave them as well a the omnivores satisfied.

Re: Friday pm outing, I vote for Middle Eastern. Then I can visit Shatilla Bakery without worrying about getting lost.

[tino27]

Here is what I'm in for:

Thursday night at Chia Shiang

Friday morning bread workshop

Friday afternoon Thermomix workshop

Friday night dinner at Grange

Saturday afternoon session

Saturday evening feast

Sunday Bacon Tasting & Brunch