May 2009 - Coconut Grove Sailing Club

CGSC’s First Annual Pig Roast
As the first annual CGSC Spring Pig Roast began, a gray sky
gave way to a cold northerly wind and spits of March rain.
What a lucky break - we had such a strong turnout for the
Pig Roast, I don’t think we could have handled the crowds
that come with inviting weather. A record 140 members and
guests bought tickets for the big feast. In fact, we had such a
surge in reservations Friday we had to close the list in order
to have enough room for the limited amount of door tickets
we had promised to sell. When this idea got started, running
out of food seemed a remote possibility.
We had reserved two whole pigs one weighing in just over
60 pounds, the other a svelte 40 pounds. After marinating them
in the club’s secret mojo sauce (thanks Chiquita Ramon and
Julian Stroleny) overnight, we put them on a pair of temporary
cinderblock cookers built on the club lawn under the cover
of darkness the previous Friday night. (Why the cloak and
dagger? The cooking committee decided at the last minute
that to avoid the taste of burnt grass on the pig, we needed
to dig up a teeny bit of the lawn. At this writing, it seems to
be growing back so I think the truth can be revealed.) From
there came a surprisingly quick five hours of cooking, with a
pair of nerve-wracking flips of the pigs themselves.
As you saw smoke coming up from these cinderblock
structures, with a huddle of cooks and official observers
staring intently at the process, how could you not want to
buy a ticket? Lots and lots of people did. Some of the fairer
souls took shelter upstairs during the party. Our toughest,
the children were running around completing the Pig Roast
scavenger hunt, while our Opti Team sat down to the special
coloring table, grabbed some crayons, and sketched out their
sailboats.
The Sushi Blues Band got fired up at 6, and that’s about when
we served the food. The menu: pig, pig, more pig and pig, plus
beans and rice, salad and some amazing fried plantains that
Chef Ricky should sell roadside. At one point, the chow line
stretched all the way to the parking lot during the rain.
The dancing started at sunset. And, we managed to eat
almost all the pig we cooked. Quite an achievement! We
had lots of help in all this including Hugh and his ever hardworking
kitchen crew but, four people require special thanks:
Vlad Stroleny was our pro pig roaster, as he had done this
before in the same type of cooker. And while I initially hit him
up for advice, Vlad soon came to volunteer not only the actual
cooking grates from his house but his entire day to engineer
the cooking. It was Vlad that saved us from over-cooked meat
by getting just the right amount of coals under our pigs, and
it was Vlad who made the call on when they were done. And
he brought along his two sons to help. Plus, he didn’t even
stay to eat. If you had fun at Pig Roast, thank him.
Randy Clee: aka Skillet came through again, supervising
the roasting of the pork ribs we bought to feed our overflow
crowd and carving the pigs once they were done. This was no
easy task, and Skillet worked hard to keep up with everybody’s
appetite. He also helped Vlad monitor the cooking all day. As
with the Fall Fish Fry, seeing Randy with a skillet in one hand
a beer in the other is a welcoming site.
Mike Lovelady: His posters have become signatures,
and his work for Pig Roast might have been the best yet.
(Yikes said Mikes cartoon pig.) Seeing a poster like that and
knowing the effort that goes into it really signals this is going
to be a special party. And Mike grabbed a shovel and some
cinderblocks to help build the cookers. An artist and a laborer
-thanks Mike!
Clare Hamm: She was Pig Roast’s top problem solver,
building a new grate for cooking the pigs (as did Dwayne,
taking a break from his dock-staff duties), digging a spot for
the cookers and generally making sure all went smoothly.
Plus, she brought her iPod so the cooking crew wouldn’t get
bored.
And thanks to everyone who showed up. Well get bigger
pigs next year. We might even hope for sunshine.
Doug Hanks
Entertainment Chairman
Want to volunteer to help at the next party? The Entertainment
Committee needs you. Marinating large barnyard animals not
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