‘People-to-People’ China Trip: A Huge Bon Voyage Picnic
Posted on 15 July 2007 under Picnics
On Tuesday, Mary’s 17-year-old son John will leave with a couple dozen other high school students to be Student Ambassadors to China with People To People International. Founded by President Eisenhower in 1956, the purpose of the now-private program, “is to enhance international understanding and friendship through educational, cultural and humanitarian activities involving the exchange of ideas and experiences directly among peoples of different countries and diverse cultures … Today, President Eisenhower’s granddaughter, Mary, serves as President and Chief Executive Officer.”
Yesterday, we attended the Bon Voyage Picnic and Final Meeting for the group headed to China. (Note: There are many similar groups around the country headed elsewhere.) The location for this picnic was simply amazing. The fact this sits on private property makes it even more interesting.
One of the first things I noticed (of course I noticed it!) was this immense pot of corn-on-the-cob. You can get a good feeling for how large this aluminum pot is, once you realize the pot contains full-size cobs of corn! I haven’t seen a pot this large very often, and it’s fun to find one in-use. Once this thing started boiling, the smell coming from it was maddeningly-good. The owner of this place kept an excellent eye on this pot as the corn was boiled, and when finished, the corn was about as perfect as could be. This is a great way to prepare corn for dozens of guests in a fairly short period of time.
Before you click the link to go to the rest of the eleven photos in this post, I need to warn you: most are as large as I could make them for this blog (72 dpi, 425 pixels wide). I did this because, with anything smaller, I doubt you could really appreciate the beauty of this location. If you have dial-up, click the link to continue reading the rest of this post, then go cook an omelet or something before coming back.
Looking at the pot and the temporary assemblage for using it in this way, it’s easy to see it can be taken just about anywhere … that is, if you have a vehicle larger than, say, a MINI Cooper, that can hold the pot itself! I have no idea where the owner of this place came across this particular high-velocity lp-gas burner, but it was a noisy beast that performed this job quite well. Even with the massive pot’s cover askew like this (it really wouldn’t fit down inside the inner area of the pot like it should have), the water boiled-up in seemingly no time at all. The jet itself was powered from a standard 20 lb LP-gas bottle, using a hose longer than what you’d find on a “standard” grill. While probably an actual cooking grill of some kind, the grate the pot is sitting on could very-well be a sidewalk grate for a vent over a city subway.
If you’ve been looking at the brickwork behind the pot in that previous photo, you’re probably thinking the house was right there. Actually, the house is a few hundred feet away. This building appears to be an old park building for events, and is quite unique.
If you look through the left-hand glass door, you can see through the doors on the other side as well … and I think that’s the corn pot on its grate. Even if it’s not, that’s where it was located.
This pavilion is also located on the property, a short distance from the other building. I firmly believe these folks bought a public park adjoining the house they live in.
Inside that first building, the one next to the pot of corn, the family had placed a custom-built steam table on one of the benches under the windows on one side. The heater portions of this steam table had been bought at-auction from a now-defunct restaurant in Belleville, where this picnic took place.
Another serving table from that same restaurant equipment auction held desserts and other food items for the picnic. Note that, with the kids heading off to China, someone thought to bring fortune cookies. (I know, I know, fortune cookies are an American invention, but it’s still a fun thought!)
This third table, in the picture below and also from the auction, is lined inside-and-out with stainless steel. Lining this with a plastic or vinyl tablecloth and filling it with ice creates a great presentation for food items that should be cold. I was able to slam frozen globs of ice chunks against this thing to break them up so they would be useful, without causing any damage to the table itself. The inner stainless steel well is the right dimensions for restaurant-grade food bins that you see in hot bars and salad bars.
A lot of food + a lot of people + decent weather + a wonderful location = a great picnic!
The final meeting prior to the kids leaving on Tuesday afternoon was held in the same location.
I’d like to point out more of the wonderful creativity of the owners of this home and its pavilions. The condiment table for the day was a decorated wheel, intended for the storage and transport of industrial electrical cable.
The many intricate decorations on this table are easily missed …
Mary, John & I would like to thank the Suliman family for opening up this part of their home for such a comfortable location for this picnic! We hope and pray all the Student Ambassadors have a safe, educational and culturally-productive trip to China!
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16 July 2007 @ 8:01 am Posted by Shawna
Okay, I’m only asking this because I see the picture of corn-on-the-cob here…….
How do you go about cooking a mass amount of corn-on-the-cob on the grill? We want to grill a bunch of it, but have no idea how to properly do it (without burning it to a crisp!!)
16 July 2007 @ 8:33 am Posted by LunaPierCook
The way I grill corn-on-the-cob is rather simple. I follow the same procedure someone has laid out in pictures on this web page. Taking this into mass production it becomes obvious it’s a time-intensive process. You could probably do one of the following:
1) Have a dedicated larger gas grill and dedicated cook for this one item, starting a couple hours early … or …
2) Pre-grill it, then peel, husk and rinse them, all ahead of time (i.e., the day before). The day of the event, again with a larger gas grill, load the prepped cobs into loose aluminum foil packages, and reheat them on upper warmer racks in the closed grill (set for the lowest-possible heat) away from the grill’s grates (i.e., using indirect heat). This might take an hour or two, but you can then head off and do other things.
16 July 2007 @ 9:02 am Posted by Shawna
Oh good gracious. Perhaps we will just cook it the “regular” way….in a giant vat of hot water! LOL.
16 July 2007 @ 9:08 am Posted by LunaPierCook
Ummm … I would!
16 July 2007 @ 9:12 am Posted by Shawna
Thanks!
17 July 2007 @ 9:52 pm Posted by Roberta
Thanks for sharing, my niece is on the plane now to China.
20 July 2007 @ 12:32 pm Posted by KIMBERLI -LONG BEACH, CA
wonderful pictures! Bon Voyage to the young travelers and God Speed
What a wonderful and wonderous opportunity for them.
20 July 2007 @ 1:44 pm Posted by LunaPierCook
Thanks, Kimberli! I did receive word they arrived as planned in Beijing yesterday, by way of Shanghai. They’re a great group and deserve a great time!