Planning our wedding dinner: 4 courses + cake

[Manton]

Originally Posted by mafoofan

We disagree. If I realized my golden retriever would be delicious, I'd eat someone else's.

Ya gotta appreciate a Chinese dude willing to make a dog eating joke. The world needs more culturally confident people and less PC sensetivity.

OK, gotta run, I'm off to slick my hair with olive oil.

 

[TheFoo]

Originally Posted by Manton

Ya gotta appreciate a Chinese dude willing to make a dog eating joke. The world needs more culturally confident people and less PC sensetivity.

Who made a dog-eating joke?!?! Racists.

 

[kwilkinson]

Manton = the Fonz?

 

[oscarthewild]

Here is another option. Have a extravagant meal at a soup kitchen for the homeless. The "regulars" will be more than grateful and your guest will gain the experience of life on the other side of the tracks.

I however, shudder at the mere thought of how my better half would have reacted to such a suggestion.

 

[philosophe]

Congratulations!

I'd try to make the menu more seasonal and more local. I agree with the suggestion above to serve local fish and seafood.

Rich food is good as long as the portions are under control. I do think the meat menu may be overkill: foie gras, something with coconut milk, plus a ***** braised meat. I'm thinking you need a cardiologist, not a chef. I agree, btw, that a surprising number of people don't eat foie gras.


I'd definitely add an elegant salad course to lighten up the whole thing. You'll still have excellent tomatoes in September, and there should be good organic greens. We served an heirloom tomato salad with w/ shaved fennel and asparagus + golden tomato sorbet at our wedding. If your wedding is in early September, you may have local peaches. If late September, fresh figs will be in season.

 

[greekonomist]

I didn't even know there was a restaurant at Strathmore. I've only been to concerts/performances there.

On philosophe's recommendation of salad:

I love salads. And the salad he describes sounds delicious on any other day. But I wouldn't want a salad as part of an multi-course wedding dinner. Ceviche on the other hand...

I would heed the suggestion of his and others to lighten up the meal in the Maryland, summer heat.

 

[TheFoo]

I think you all may be right about lightening up the menu, and I love the idea of using more local ingredients. The peaches that time of year will be fantastic. Suppose we really wanted to keep the foie gras, though. What if we ditched the soup, and did: ceviche, foie gras, shortrib, dessert?

 

[GQgeek]

Originally Posted by mafoofan

I think you all may be right about lightening up the menu, and I love the idea of using more local ingredients. The peaches that time of year will be fantastic. Suppose we really wanted to keep the foie gras, though. What if we ditched the soup, and did: ceviche, foie gras, shortrib, dessert?

it's kind of a weird mix imo. I'm not sure sbout ceviche followed by foie gras, but then i don't eat fish.

 

[greekonomist]

I haven't been to very many weddings, but is it common to have dessert and cake?

Not that I'd complain.

 

[philosophe]

We served poached peaches with local berries, then the wedding cake. It was fabulous.

Mafoofan, what about serving foie gras as an hors d'oeuvre? This will make it easier for those who don't eat it to pass. Plus, I just can't see going from ceviche to foie gras.

Personally, I'd do a vegetable course before the ribs. Also, starting at ceviche and getting to short ribs is an aesthetic stretch. If I were you, I might do a lobster or local crab ragout with some seasonal veggies and fresh herbs instead of the ceviche. Or I'd go more toward Italian crudo type combinations for the fish course.

 

[MrDaniels]

Originally Posted by greekonomist

I haven't been to very many weddings, but is it common to have dessert and cake?

Not that I'd complain.

It's quite common. Wedding cake servings are traditionally quite small. Some weddings will actually just send home cake slices with the guests after serving a more elaborate dessert.

 

[itsstillmatt]

Originally Posted by GQgeek

it's kind of a weird mix imo. I'm not sure sbout ceviche followed by foie gras, but then i don't eat fish.
It really isn't too odd. At the restaurant in which I worked, the tasting menu was generally a lobster dish, a foie gras, a fish, a meat and a desert. Sometimes there were more mixed in, but that is a rotation you commonly find. It really doesn't matter that the ceviche is raw. As for cake, we didn't have one. Instead, we had a large croquembouche.

 

[TheFoo]

I thought I'd post an update and see what you all think. We did our tasting at the reception venue and the menu looks like this:

Meat Menu
1. Pistacchio-encrusted foie gras with brioche toast and quince.
2. Maryland crab bisque with sherry.
3. Braised beef shortrib with saffron risotto.
4. Peach granita.

Fish Menu
1. Tuna tartare with quail yoke.
2. Maryland crab bisque with sherry.
3. Rockfish with saffron risotto.
4. Peach granita.

Cake: Amaretto-soaked almond cake with pistacchio marzipan and cheesecake filling.

Too boring? Is four courses a strange number? I had in mind a seared foie gras, but the caterer thought it would be too heavy. I'm not sure how true that is, but we were definitely stuffed after just three courses. The shortrib was good and moist, but firmer than I'd like. Softer, collapse-off-the-bone-into-a-mess-of-meat would be better. The foie gras was also a little too firm, and the quince is difficult to eat with it.

The caterer is extemely reluctant to use anything but locally-sourced fish, so rockfish it is. We didn't get to taste it, so I'm worried it will come out dry or be too boring.

 

[nioh]

How was the crab bisque? I've not tried one with a sherry (reduction I assume), did it taste fruity at all or did it balance out?

 

[TheFoo]

Originally Posted by nioh

How was the crab bisque? I've not tried one with a sherry (reduction I assume), did it taste fruity at all or did it balance out?

Unfortunately, that's one of the things we didn't get to try. But traditional Maryland crab soups typically include sherry.