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Wedding food


fryguy

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I'm planning the menu for my wedding, and I've just hit the wall. While I'm not cooking everything, I am overseeing it all, including the rehearsal dinner, the reception, and the main meal. I've looked through every cookbook I own and every site on the internet, and I'm drawing blanks. Feel free to comment on anything.

For the rehearsal dinner, I was originally planning on fettuccine carbonara, but I don't think it would go over very well. I would still like to do some sort of pasta here, mostly because pasta's a layup.

For the dinner after the ceremony, here's what I have:

Herb-Roasted chicken

Mashed red potatoes, possibly southern-style green beans also

Cake

For the actual reception, I was thinking just some pastries, and little bites of food would be nice, so here it is, so far. This is also the part that I'm having the most trouble with. Neither family is very adventurous when it comes to food, so I'm trying to keep it simple, inexpensive, but still good. Also, things that can be made (very far) ahead are good in my book. There's lots of freezer space where I'll be cooking, and if I can freeze something 3 or so months in advance, it's a lot less work for me and the people that will be helping me.

Profiteroles with banana mousse

Chocolate-dipped strawberries

Sugar cookies, decorated with our wedding colors, initials, etc

Spinach & artichoke dip with toasted baguette

Shrimp cocktail (I'm not totally commited to this one)

I would like to do one or two more hot or cold hors d'ouevre at the reception.

Any comments would be greatly appreciated

Stressed Larry

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I feel like there was a wedding reception thread a while back....

A couple of ideas that went over really well at our reception for snacks

- Fancy chicken salad (herb mayonaisse, sliced almonds, etc.) in endive spears

- Flavored foccacia / flatbreads

Anita Crotty travel writer & mexican-food addictwww.marriedwithdinner.com

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Two things:

Can you give more info on numbers?

When I read, "While I'm not cooking everything..." I about fell over. Just how much cooking are you planning to do? In the run-up to my wedding two years ago, I made one meal for extended family (about a dozen or so) and that was it; the thought of cooking both rehearsal and wedding meals obliterates my consciousness.

But, hey, if you're game, I'll happily try to give suggestions!

Chris Amirault

eG Ethics Signatory

Sir Luscious got gator belts and patty melts

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Instead of shrimp cocktail, since you are wavering, try this heirloom recipe. The convenient part of it is that it can be multiplied ad infinitum. (Resurrected from the old RecipeGullet.)

Pickled Shrimp

Submitted by: fifi

Keywords: Appetizer, Easy, Shrimp, Snack, Hors d'oeuvre

This recipe is at least 50 years old. I remember eating it at my Aunt Audrey’s house where we went every Christmas Eve. She was old enough to be my father’s mother so there is no telling how old it is. My sister got this recipe from her before she died and it has been handed down in my family ever since. It is truly terrific and I find it fascinating that this was around so long before recipes like this were trendy. Think of it as a very early escabeche. I have no idea where she got the capers back then but she did use them. I remember wondering what the heck those things were.

2 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined

3 medium sweet onions, thinly sliced

12 or so whole cloves

6 or so bay leaves

1-1/4 c salad oil (Canola or other light vegetable oil, NOT olive oil)

3/4 c white or cider vinegar

1 large clove garlic, finely minced

1-1/2 tsp salt

2-1/2 tsp celery seed

2-1/2 tsp capers and juice

Boil cleaned shrimp. Do not over cook. Arrange shrimp and onion rings in layers in a glass bowl or jar.

Sprinkle with cloves and tuck in bay leaves as you go.

Cover with marinade made with the last 6 ingredients.

Let stand in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight. Can be kept for 3 days in a jar with a good lid.

Pretty served in clear glass.

Notes:

I tend to increase the cloves, bay leaves and capers. I think it makes it better.

I have marinated blanched asparagus in the left over marinade after eating all of the shrimp. Fabulous. You could do other vegetables as well and serve on top of greens as a terrific salad, including the onions.

Fresh shrimp are always best but you could get pre-prepared shrimp from the grocery and it would probably still be good. At least that might inspire you to make this.

Linda LaRose aka "fifi"

"Having spent most of my life searching for truth in the excitement of science, I am now in search of the perfectly seared foie gras without any sweet glop." Linda LaRose

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Wow, I can't believe you are doing your OWN wedding catering. That's amazing, with everything else you will have going on.

I did a friend's very casual wedding last July, and I needed to make most everything in advance and haul it two states away. I made a really sensual fruit platter with champagne grapes and figs and star fruit and strawberries, etc. with a cream cheese/whipped cream dip that was a big hit. I made some filo "cigars" filled with a mixture of walnuts and feta cheese that I froze and popped in the oven right before the reception. I made some savory palmiers with puff pastry and some onion confit that I also froze and prepared right before the reception. I made chicken sate skewers with the traditional Thai peanut dipping sauce. Proscuitto-wrapped shrimp. Bruschetta spread with aioli, then topped with sauteed shiitake mushrooms and melted manchego (assembled and broiled right before the reception). A "too-easy-terrine" that I make by mixing cream cheese and feta and parmesan in the FP, layering it in a loaf pan lined with plastic wrap with purchased olive tapenade and sundried tomato tapenade unmolded and served with sliced bread. Everyone loved it.

It was a good menu for a casual wedding and reception of about 25 people.

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We're not 100% on numbers yet, but we're figuring on ~50.

My fiancee and I will be going to her parents house in TN (where the wedding will be) to get some planning and whatnot done in March (the wedding's not until Memorial Day wknd), so I'm planning on cooking anything that's do-aheadable then. I will have a few aunts to help out with day-of and day-before things so I'll can get everything else done for the actual event.

Thanks for your suggestions so far :biggrin:

Larry

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ok-

i did my own reception years ago as well. do not panic and put as many people to work as you can :biggrin: .

50 people

end of may

tennessee and semi-non-adventerous eaters(one of the women i work with is from morristown, tn and we have coached her through a few new adventures)

plenty of sweet tea

maybe bbq instead of pasta for the rehearsal dinner? there probably is a place fairly nearby known for it's bbq and with the sides it can be a fun local thing.

dinner looks good

reception - i'm guessing the 50 will be at the reception not at the dinner.

deviled eggs - usually overlooked but loved by most non-adventurous eaters

baked filet thin sliced and served on small pieces of baguette and daubed with a mustard horseradish sauce or some herbed cheese

small quiches but keep it simple - ham and cheese, bacon and onion

wrap the shrimp with some local smoked bacon

cheddar biscuits filled with local ham

small filo tarts(you can buy these in the freezer section) fill with chocolate mousse and top with a cherry or some raspberries

congratualtions, enjoy and remember the wedding is one day - the marriage is for your lifetime (22.5 years later and i still haven't killed him though he isn't retired yet :wink: )

Nothing is better than frying in lard.

Nothing.  Do not quote me on this.

 

Linda Ellerbee

Take Big Bites

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Fryguy,

Best of luck w/ the wedding!! I just did my best friends wedding last month, and I have to tell you that both the groom and bride are both Food and Wine Top 10 Best New chef award winners!! So the pressure was on. I was in a kitchen w/ 4 burners, and only had 2 helpers with me, and they weren' really skilled, so I will give you the full rundown.

I have to start by saying that we spent about $80 on one of those food saver things, and we did prep work all week. We would prep something, and everything went into a food saver bag, which really saved on space in the coolers that we had, and was very easy to organize. We did the whole menu for about $1200 wholesale prices, which we bought through the school that we work at. The Sous vide cookery was awesome, great on cleanup (you happen to spill some water, easy to clean up....). We also shelled out $100 to rent two alto-shaams (hot boxes), which proved invaluable too. We had about 85 guests, and then about another 2 dozen meals to dish out for the bartenders, waitstaff, band and photographers. We had a big braising pan w/ boiling water, and most of the stuff stayed in teh warm water for at least 1 hour, if not 2, to ensure that the food was going to be hot.

After the ceremony, of which I was a groomsman (crazy, I know, like I didn't ahve enough going on), we did a bunch of passed apps , some of which I can't remember right now (we had a keg of Sam Adams :cool: ), as follows:

1. shrimp shu mai (steamed over what else, water!! passed in the bamboo steamer that we steamed them in)

2 Shrimp Cocktail w/ fresh ho'rash cocktail sauce

3. fresh nime chow w/ peanut sauce

4. fried polenta squares

5. Foie Gras balantine on brioche w/ smoked sea salt

6. parsnip chips w/ parsnip puree, parsnip brunoise, caviar

7. House cured gravlax w/ blini, creme friache and caviar

8. Green and Black olive tapenade puff pastry sticks

We then did an antipasto that we plated family style for the first course. We set this up hours in advance, and pulled it out to come to room temp about an hour before service, when we started the passsed stuff:

green salad w/ balsmac vin

toasted almond salad w/ lemon and brown butter dressing

roasted endive

roasted peppers

hot sopprosatta

sweet sopprosatta

proscuitto

mortadella

fresh mozz

grilled garlic baguette

pickled golden beets, asparagus, and carrots

garlic and parmesan creme (like a custard) w/ red onion

Roasted onion and creme fraiche dip w/ chives

house made potato chips w/ lemon zest/parm/pasrsley

Then, for dinner we did as follows:

Pumpkin braised lamb shanks w/ gremolada mashed

We did these the monday before the wedding, and then vacuum packed them individually. We vacuumed the batch of mashed pots, and the braising liquid was done in a seperate package (that had the vegetables for the dish in it as well) Very easy to plate. Scoop mash in center of plate, plop the lamb shank straight up (very falic), sauce on top, sprinkle of gremolada, send it out!!

Cod en papillote

We made these up in about an hour on the day before the wedding. Layer of a corn polenta that had been poured into a sheetpan and then cooled to set and cut into squares, a plethora of vegetables that had been julliened really quick on a japanese mandoline ($20 at almost any asian market), the fish, a ladle of a simple wine and fish stock herb broth (could go w/ straight wine), salt, and then package. We baked them in a 400 degree oven for a little bit, and then let them sit in the hot box, grabbing them one at a time when we needed to plate them. Cut them on top w/ a pair of siscors, and a sprinkel of herbs, send it!!

Lemon marinated Chix w/ potato Torta , rstd red onions

For this, we took bnlss skinless chix breasts and brined them for 24 hours. We took them out of the brine, and mixed them w/ diced lemon zest and kosher salt. On the day of the wedding, in the morning, we took the chix out of the marinade, and rinsed them quickly off w/ cold water. We baked them off last minute, after searing them earlier in teh day. The torta was kind of like a pomme anna (layer upon layer/ w/ butter and salt in between, baked, cooled, cut into triangles, or whatever shape you desire, hey, it's your wedding!!) We put the onions on the plate (which had been roasted during prep time, then flashed in the early afternoon, and held in teh hot box till needed) We finished w/ a wild mushroom fricasee that we had of course made, and vacuum packed. Cut the bag, and sauce!!

While there was adecent amount of prep work to do, w/ had it all planned out, so it only took about 2 hours a day for m-th, 4 horus on fri, and then all day on saturday to get ready and set up (although it wasn't stressfull, it was easy breezy, I swear, lots of Sam Adams... what??? I had to check to see if the keg was good..... :blink: )

We did have one vegetarian, and we did some of the corn polenta soft and warm, we thinned some of the spare pappillote polenta w/ some cream, then some of the leftover roasted endive on top of that, some mush fricasee on top of that, and then a small salad of mizuna w/ lemon vinaigrette.

For dessert, we of course did cake, and tuxedo strawberries. This was a hit, everyone loved the food, and it was so simple. Sous vide was by far, the est idea that any of us had (it was my idea.... :raz: )

I know that we of course, went over the top, but different parts of this would be easy to duplicate for someone w/out an industrial kitchen. If you have anyone in the kitchen who has a clue as to what to do, then it should be a breeze.

Let me know if you need more details, or if I can help out in any other way.

Tonyy13

Owner, Big Wheel Provisions

tony_adams@mac.com

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well that sounded like a party I should have been at.....but for my backyard wedding....my co-workers made for me

chile rubbed pork loin sliced thin room temp

fillet of beef sliced thin room temp

grilled chicken" "

orzo salad with scallion raisins and pine nuts

tossed salad

sliced grilled veggies

assorted breads

we of course had shrimp cocktail cheese boards with salami etc and a couple of bruschettas with toasts....white bean with pesto traditional tomato and onion confit

Fruit platter butter cookies and cake

BUT if I was doing it myself smoked turkey, ham, pasta( hot or cold), quiche, asst breads, sauces( chutney, mustard) tossed and fruit salads

Tracey

congratulations

The great thing about barbeque is that when you get hungry 3 hours later....you can lick your fingers

Maxine

Avoid cutting yourself while slicing vegetables by getting someone else to hold them while you chop away.

"It is the government's fault, they've eaten everything."

My Webpage

garden state motorcyle association

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...My fiancee and I will be going to her parents house in TN (where the wedding will be) to get some planning and whatnot done in March (the wedding's not until Memorial Day wknd), so I'm planning on cooking anything that's do-aheadable then.  I will have a few aunts to help out with day-of and day-before things so I'll can get everything else done for the actual event.

Thanks for your suggestions so far  :biggrin:

Larry

Dude, you gotta' be kidding - I'm in TN and my kids' wedding is, would you believe, Memorial Day weekend!!!

So are her parents in East or West or mid-TN????

:biggrin:

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I just catered a wedding party and the most popular appetizer were the blini.

I made the blini in advance (Martha Stewarts recipe) and froze them. Defrosted them on the day, and at the party, briefly reheated them in the oven, and topped them with smoked salmon, creme fraiche, chopped chives & spring onions, and some salmon roe (caviar would be even nicer but we were on a budget).

The trays could not be replenished fast enough, everyone loved them.

congratulations on your wedding!

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Cookeville.

...My fiancee and I will be going to her parents house in TN (where the wedding will be) to get some planning and whatnot done in March (the wedding's not until Memorial Day wknd), so I'm planning on cooking anything that's do-aheadable then.  I will have a few aunts to help out with day-of and day-before things so I'll can get everything else done for the actual event.

Thanks for your suggestions so far  :biggrin:

Larry

Dude, you gotta' be kidding - I'm in TN and my kids' wedding is, would you believe, Memorial Day weekend!!!

So are her parents in East or West or mid-TN????

:biggrin:

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