Planning our wedding dinner: 4 courses + cake

Originally Posted by mafoofan

Click to expand...

Thanks for the thoughts. I would have thought that a braised shortrib would sit better than a quickly grilled steak. We figured that since it's slow-cooked, cooked through, and *****, the meat would stay moist in the worst case scenario. What do you think would work better?

.

actually, my post wasn't clear - I meant that the slow cooked, ***** meat would be among the meats that woule survive any delays better, and is a better idea in my opinion (also, I just like the taste better)


and I wouldn't suggest that not having wha your family might expect would be rude. not at all, I meant that thinking well on what food you would serve pays off.

To merge you desire to do something more interesting with the shell fish soup and merge Chinese...hand stuffed crab wontons, broth can either be clear or thickened/creamy. Just an idea.

While you will never find a bigger fan of foie gras than me, I would think twice about serving it. As odd as it seems, many people are not hot on it.

The whole menu strikes me as being unbelievably rich, especially for what might end up being very hot day. This would be pretty gluttonous in the dead of February. In 90% humidity, it may provoke actual nausea. It's always tempting to overdo things for a wedding-- after all, you only be doing this a few times -- but more isn't always more.

Also, if you do have actual vegetarians attending, you need actual non-meat/poultry/fish food and I don't see any.

Bite-sized Peking Duck is a fantastic finger food. We always do that at our Christmas party. Again, have a few veggie things, and keep it light and easy to eat. No peel'n'eat shrimp, not too much that's loaded with melted cheese.

Ask the chef-- suggest that he go lighter, go for what is coming into season, and maybe what is local to Maryland and/or the Tidewater. Remember-- your guests have to drive home after this is all over. If you are intent on the short ribs, make sure you have lots of veggies and maybe a lighter soup-- a good game consommà , for example. I like the idea of rockfish. Maybe that would work as the only non-veggie main dish.

Anyway, congratulations, if I haven't already said that.

I wouldn't hold it out as a model, necessarily, but at our wedding (early October, on an old power yacht on the Hudson), we did birds of some sort-- game hen, I think. There was also a pasta thing for vegetarians or semi-observant Jews. I can't totally remember the rest, but I'm pretty sure there was a decent salad, and the cake was customized to have sour cream fudge on one layer (for me), and some sort of disgusting pink thing on another (for my wife). A touch of childhood. Our guests appreciated that.

Another trick, if you don't have a heavy-drinking crowd, is to have the caterers do a soft drink bar and buy your own wine and beer. We probably went through a total of two cases of wine and a few six-packs for 100 people. And you don't want to know what a full wine and spirits bar would have cost per head.

Originally Posted by Piobaire

Click to expand...

To merge you desire to do something more interesting with the shell fish soup and merge Chinese...hand stuffed crab wontons, broth can either be clear or thickened/creamy. Just an idea.

While you will never find a bigger fan of foie gras than me, I would think twice about serving it. As odd as it seems, many people are not hot on it.

Originally Posted by Concordia

Click to expand...

The whole menu strikes me as being unbelievably rich, especially for what might end up being very hot day. This would be pretty gluttonous in the dead of February. In 90% humidity, it may provoke actual nausea. It's always tempting to overdo things for a wedding-- after all, you only be doing this a few times

-- but more isn't always more.

Also, if you do have actual vegetarians attending, you need actual non-meat/poultry/fish food and I don't see any.

Bite-sized Peking Duck is a fantastic finger food. We always do that at our Christmas party. Again, have a few veggie things, and keep it light and easy to eat. No peel'n'eat shrimp, not too much that's loaded with melted cheese.

Ask the chef-- suggest that he go lighter, go for what is coming into season, and maybe what is local to Maryland and/or the Tidewater. Remember-- your guests have to drive home after this is all over. If you are intent on the short ribs, make sure you have lots of veggies and maybe a lighter soup-- a good game consommÃ

, for example.

Anyway, congratulations, if I haven't already said that.

This is excellent insight; thank you. We will have to make sure the meal is not too heavy. I think keeping the portions balanced will help. I think we'll swap out the creme brulees for something cold and fruity, maybe a granite.

I noted earlier that we do not have an alternative to the foie gras yet. However, the fish counterpart of the shortribs is rockfish, native to Maryland. We like a flaky bass better, but rockfish is the better choice if we want to stay regional.

On the likelihood of hot weather, how about some cold food with a little spice? Gazpacho and seviche, for example. Lots of pungent flavor that will cut the fat of the main dish, but not too rich.

Originally Posted by Concordia

Click to expand...

On the likelihood of hot weather, how about some cold food with a little spice? Gazpacho and seviche, for example. Lots of pungent flavor, not so much fat.

Ceviche! That's an idea.

Originally Posted by Concordia

Click to expand...

On the likelihood of hot weather, how about some cold food with a little spice? Gazpacho and seviche, for example. Lots of pungent flavor, not so much fat.
That is a good point. We were married in the end of November, so foie gras and other heavy food was on point. I love ceviche, that would be a great choice. As far as drinks, we served Champagne only, which raised the cost per bottle, but eliminated waste.

We are praying that the weather will be kind to us. By 6 in the evening that time of year, it should be around 70 degrees outside.

Have you two both been to Peru, or did you learn about ceviche somewhere else?

Originally Posted by GQgeek

Click to expand...

Have you two both been to Peru, or did you learn about ceviche somewhere else?
Never been, but I have been eating ceviche since I was a kid. I can't say where I learned about it 'cause I have no idea.

Not to wave the Hippie Flag, but you might want to re-think foie gras in any form. There are many people, including devout carnivores that are morally opposed to it, and it's one of those items (like veal) that REALLY piss of any vegetarians or concientious carnivores at your event. Serving Tortured Animal is not a good way to start a marriage!

I was surprised to see two people start talking about ceviche all of a sudden, as I have never seen it on a restaurant menu in Canada or the States. Even though I don't like seafood, it's a good suggestion, as not many people, if any, will have had it before.

Originally Posted by MrDaniels

Click to expand...

Not to wave the Hippie Flag, but you might want to re-think foie gras in any form. There are many people, including devout carnivores that are morally opposed to it, and it's one of those items (like veal) that REALLY piss of any vegetarians or concientious carnivores at your event. Serving Tortured Animal is not a good way to start a marriage!

But it tastes soooooo good!

Originally Posted by GQgeek

Click to expand...

Have you two both been to Peru, or did you learn about ceviche somewhere else?

I've never been anywhere even near Peru . I've only had ceviche in U.S. restaurants. The last time was at Bobby Flay's Bar American in NYC.

Originally Posted by MrDaniels

Click to expand...

Not to wave the Hippie Flag, but you might want to re-think foie gras in any form. There are many people, including devout carnivores that are morally opposed to it, and it's one of those items (like veal) that REALLY piss of any vegetarians or concientious carnivores at your event. Serving Tortured Animal is not a good way to start a marriage!

Originally Posted by GQgeek

Click to expand...

But it tastes soooooo good!

MrDaniels: -1000. GQgeek: +10,000.

I want to respect our guests, but I don't want to begin accomodating unpredictable trends in political correctness toward the tortured animal of the day. Who knows, by the time of the wedding, people might wake up and realize how awful dairy cows have it (pretty awful), and we won't be able to serve anything with milk in it. When you compare the way any animal is treated to how we expect human beings to be treated, it is always atrocious. There are really only two ways to deal with that: care, or not care. Unfortunately, I don't think there's much middle ground to be had.

This touches on a difficult issue for us as a couple, though. Since we come from very different cultural backgrounds, there are naturally many things one of our families may be used to that assault the other. If we were both Chinese and wanted to do a traditional Chinese wedding, with all traditional food, should we water things down knowing that many of our guests aren't Chinese? Would guests expect us to water down our culture for them? There is some room for trying to accomodate people's subjective preferences, but I think at the end, we can only provide the finest we know how to.

Originally Posted by GQgeek

Click to expand...

I was surprised to see two people start talking about ceviche all of a sudden, as I have never seen it on a restaurant menu in Canada or the States. Even though I don't like seafood, it's a good suggestion, as not many people, if any, will have had it before.

Ceviche is incredibly trendy right now...

As to that menu... it is incredibly rich. I think foie gras is pretty cliche on a well appointed menu, in fact so is the lobster bisque and trio of creme brule. I don't know how good that chef is, but I'd ask for something seasonal with more balance. The first course should probably be something cold, maybe some kind of seafood if you don't want to go the cold route (or you could serve shashimi, or a braised ahi tuna... common), or even something of only seasonal vegetables. A main dish featuring some fantastic meat and starch is probably inevitable because everyone likes that. Contact Lobels and see what they have to offer of the less ordinary variety.