I''m the MOH *and* the cook...er...and the coordinator...

[whitby_2773]

hallo ladies

so my best friend, wendy, got engaged in january and is getting married in november. she lives in australia and the wedding is in LA - a logistical nightmare right off the bat.

she''s been umming and ahhing about what to do for the reception, but has decided to get married in the back yard of her fiance''s brother''s home, which is set up on a hill in the suburbs of LA with views out tot he mountains at the front, and out to the coast from the back. gorgeous! it''ll be a perfetc setting for a ''home wedding''. she and her fiance are planning on having an afternoon tea for 30 people and she and i have spent the last week in LA checking out venues.

when we were in australia together (we''ve been best friends for 35 years and i''ve been in the US for the last 9.5) we used to cater a lot of functions for our friends and do a lot of cooking together - both for ourselves, for others, and also for things like Christmas hampers etcetc. a third friend of ours, deb, used to help us.

anyway, long story short, after much looking, poor food and ridiculous prices, i said ''screw this, deb and i will do the cooking and i''ll coordinate this for you.''

and there you have it. i''m now the MOH and the cook...and the coordinator!

so here''s the menu. keep in mind it''s just an afternoon tea (2-5pm) for 30, and it won''t be set seating. mainly it''ll be seats around the garden etc.

Menu

Seafood platter –
Oysters on the half shell
Jumbo shrimp
Scallops
Cocktail crab claws
Home made cocktail sauce

Sandwiches x 3 –
Sweet curried chicken on white bread
Cucumber with butter, salt and pepper, on grainy bread
Rare roast beef with horseradish dressing, mustard sprouts and onions on pumpernickel

Hors d’oeuvres x 3 –
Mushroom vol au vents (hot)
Celery stuffed w/ cream cheese + capers, wrapped in smoked salmon. Tied with chives
Deviled eggs/Eggs with caviar

Meat and Vegetable samosas (hot)

Fruit and cheese platter


Individual fruit tarts
Brandy snaps, half dipped in milk chocolate
Miniature meringues with chocolate mousse

Wedding cake

Tea, coffee, fresh orange juice, champagne (with accoutrement for mimosas and strawberry champagne cocktails)

 

[lilylover]

Wow! I cannot believe you are doing all of that. Want to come do my wedding?

Seriously -- what a wonderful friend you are. I hope she realizes and is thankful for all that you are doing!

 

[purselover]

That sounds like a delicious menu Whitby and I love the idea of an afternoon tea reception. You are such an amazing friend!

 

[MonkeyPants]

Whitby everything sounds soooo goood!!!

Your friend is so lucky. You'll do a terrific job fulfilling all those roles!

 

[Inanna]

YUMMMMM!!!!!!

That menu sounds straight up amazing...what a WONDERFUL friend you are!

 

[vc10um]

Oooooo...that sounds delicious!!! And the perfect menu for an afternoon tea. We MUST see pictures when all is said and done!!!

 

[whitby_2773]

thanks ladies - i was kinda feeling like i needed a little encouragement about now...

i''m not a person who gets easily stressed, and i can keep a lot of balls in the air at the one time - plus i''ve done this sort of thing many times - not weddings, but functions. i once did a housewarming dinner, when tim and i moved to a new suburb, for 120 people. it was a LOT of work!

i''ll get the cake done professionally, and make sure it''s fabbo. i''m looking for a small jazz group for music, i need a florist (probably the biggest single outlay), i already have a party hire group i''ve used before for chairs, tents, etcetc, we''ve picked the invitations and the party favors already (there is a whole site DEDICATED to afternoon tea party favors - can you believe that??), we''re doing hair and make up ourselves (cause we''re old and because if you cant do your own hair and makeup by the time you hit 30, give it up!), and we''ve got most of the outfits picked. we dont need cars, we *hope* we have a photographer, we''re not doing video...and...and..10 months out, i think we''re in pretty good shape!

the food isn''t going to be a bother. deb is coming over from australia for the wedding and will coordinate the hot things, and the cold stuff can all be made before hand - a lot of it the day before. i''ll hire a couple of servers and probably 2 people to work the kitchen, plus one to do the drinks. we''ve got a cleaning and a gardening crew we use, so they''ll take care of the house, the dogs will go into boarding for the event and...and...

anyway, i *think* i''ll be fine - but i am always better when i talk things out, if you know what i mean. i see my high heels coming off around the time they say ''i do''!!

 

[Bella_mezzo]

YUM! great menu! As long as you are hriting some servers/clean-up staff you''ll be fine

I am MOH/planning/coordinating my BFF''s wedding in San Diego (I live in NYC, she lives in Chicago, and, oh yeah, I''ve never been to San Diego

But we''re doing the reception at a restaurant, I don''t have time to cook for this

it sounds like Wendy''s wedding will be fab!

 

[yssie]

Wow - that sounds amazingly scrumptious

Things are coming together!

 

[junebug17]

That menu sounds absolutely delicious!!! Can I come?

 

[whitby_2773]

Date: 1/22/2010 7:26:14 PM
Author: junebug17
That menu sounds absolutely delicious!!! Can I come?

absolutely. how good are you with a tea towel?

(and thank you for the encouragement, junebug

)

 

[risingsun]

Can you send me a box lunch

 

[lulu]

I''ll take one of those curried chicken sandwiches to go. Will there be a signature drink? You are one great friend.

 

[whitby_2773]

Date: 1/23/2010 12:05:19 AM
Author: risingsun
Can you send me a box lunch

absolutely.

marian - i'd appreciate your opinion - does this menu sound ok to you? i know it sounds a simple menu, but things like the cocktail sauce, for instance, will be made from scratch - like - i'll be peeling those tomatoes and boiling them down for paste etc. i mean from SCRATCH. the celery and salmon parcels will look like little packages - even the eggs are beautifully presented - yolks scooped out and mashed in with spices, shredded crab and mascarpone cheese, then caviar piled on top, etcetcetc the meringues look like 2 tiny meringue kisses, joined together with chocolate mousse - the whole thing fits into your mouth in one bite! *I* think it's all very elegant - but i'd appreciate the opinion of anyone with plenty of experience eating out....

thoughts?

 

[whitby_2773]

Date: 1/23/2010 12:08:59 AM
Author: lulu
I''ll take one of those curried chicken sandwiches to go. Will there be a signature drink? You are one great friend.

oh lord, lulu! i hadn''t even *thought* of that! that''s quite an american thing, and we never do it in australia.... but the groom in this wedding *is* american, so maybe i should be thinking along these lines...?

champagne sunrise? strawberry juice, orange juice, champagne? something in autumnal tones....

signature drink! *smacks forehead* i never even *thought* of that....

 

[risingsun]

Date: 1/23/2010 1:29:02 AM
Author: whitby_2773

Date: 1/23/2010 12:05:19 AM
Author: risingsun
Can you send me a box lunch

absolutely.

marion - i'd appreciate your opinion - does this menu sound ok to you? i know it sounds a simple menu, but things like the cocktail sauce, for instance, will be made from scratch - like - i'll be peeling those tomatoes and boiling them down for paste etc. i mean from SCRATCH. the celery and salmon parcels will look like little packages - even the eggs are beautifully presented - yolks scooped out and mashed in with spices, shredded crab and mascarpone cheese, then caviar piled on top, etcetcetc the meringues look like 2 tiny meringue kisses, joined together with chocolate mousse - the whole thing fits into your mouth in one bite! *I* think it's all very elegant - but i'd appreciate the opinion of anyone with plenty of experience eating out....

thoughts?

The menu sounds elegant and well balanced in terms of the types of food you are offering. It also sounds quite ambitious!! As long as you feel comfortable putting all of this together, I think you have an excellent menu. As I was reading the menu, there wasn't anything that made me stop and think "what is that doing there"

I think I will copy and paste your menu. You never know when you might have to be creative!!

 

[whitby_2773]

Date: 1/23/2010 1:40:05 AM
Author: risingsun

Date: 1/23/2010 1:29:02 AM

Author: whitby_2773

Date: 1/23/2010 12:05:19 AM

Author: risingsun

Can you send me a box lunch

absolutely.

marian - i'd appreciate your opinion - does this menu sound ok to you? i know it sounds a simple menu, but things like the cocktail sauce, for instance, will be made from scratch - like - i'll be peeling those tomatoes and boiling them down for paste etc. i mean from SCRATCH. the celery and salmon parcels will look like little packages - even the eggs are beautifully presented - yolks scooped out and mashed in with spices, shredded crab and mascarpone cheese, then caviar piled on top, etcetcetc the meringues look like 2 tiny meringue kisses, joined together with chocolate mousse - the whole thing fits into your mouth in one bite! *I* think it's all very elegant - but i'd appreciate the opinion of anyone with plenty of experience eating out....


thoughts?

The menu sounds elegant and well balanced in terms of the types of food you are offering. It also sounds quite ambitious!! As long as you feel comfortable putting all of this together, I think you have an excellent menu

thanks marian - that's reassuring

as for it being ambitious - i have a LOT of experience doing upscale parties/entertaining - and this is well within my limits. i'm trying not to go overboard, even tho it's my best friend's wedding, as i know i'll need to juggle all sorts of different things. i picked all things i've done many times, and most of which can be done, or partially done, in advance. i won't have a problem with churning it out - i just want to make sure it's well balanced and interesting to others.

 

[risingsun]

Read the rest of my reply

I'm off to bed now! Where did you learn to cook, Whitby? It sounds as if you have had professional training. My daughter is a chef and I'm always curious about the background of gourmet cooks

 

[whitby_2773]

hi marian

i learnt to cook because my mother was such a terrible one! i like food - but it was impossible ot like mom''s very much - so i learnt to cook the things i enjoyed. as i got older, i expanded my interest to include the more technical and difficult, and i became friends with wen, who had studied home economics at school for 6 years. between us, we expanded each other''s knowledge and experience, and began doing food hampers for people each Christmas. we''d include pate and cheese balls with home made crackers, individual fruit cakes, bottles of genache with bags of fresh strawberries and cherries, curry pastes, home made pesto from basil we''d grown ourselves, pastries, champagne, and so on and so on. we''d mix them up - so one person might receive 2 types of fresh pasta and 2 types of sauce with a bottle of red wine, and someone else might receive 2 different curries, a gift certificate to the local fish market, and a bag of jasmine rice. someone else might get a bottle of genache, a bag of sfrappole, some fresh strawberries and a bottle of champagne. it was so much fun, but a LOT of work. four our familes, we''d do a big hamper than contained everything - but they were a monstrous amount of work and a whole lot of money, too. we enjoyed doing it, tho (the curries and spicy foods were done by a third friend, deborah, who is coming over to help me with the wedding), and we''d spend a couple of days cooking each year for which we''d normally stay overnight at each other''s houses. stacks of fun. and here''s a photo of the wedding party...

the bride is in the red top, with her fiance next to her. you can just see her ring - from GOG and James Allen. i''m in the purple top next to the best man - the groom''s brother. tim, my husband, will give the bride away. this photo was taken at the engagement party last weekend for which - you guessed it! - wendy and i did the cooking!

 

[lulu]

Whitby, I didn''t see that you were already planning on champagne. One thing I really like is champagne with a splash of chambord and a big rasberry or blackberry dropped in. Very tasty and festive looking.

 

[risingsun]

Whitby~I am so impressed with your culinary skills

Every year they have a "boot camp" at the Culinary Institute of America [my daughter''s alma mater]. I wonder if that would be fun for you. They have other classes that are open to the public, as well. I''m sure your wedding feast will be wonderful. Your friend and her guests are in for an incredible treat!!

 

[oddoneout]

That menu sounds amazing. What a great friend you are.

 

[caribqueen]

What a great friend you are. That''s a yummy menu.

 

[whitby_2773]

Date: 1/23/2010 10:37:41 AM
Author: lulu
Whitby, I didn''t see that you were already planning on champagne. One thing I really like is champagne with a splash of chambord and a big rasberry or blackberry dropped in. Very tasty and festive looking.

sounds wonderful! will give it a try!

 

[whitby_2773]

thanks caribqueen and oddoneout - here''s hoping it''s as good asi hope it is!

marian - i love the idea of a cooking boot camp. i''ve always wanted to do some cooking classes....

preferably in Tuscany, tho i''d totally settle for Paris

my best friend in the US lives in Sth Pasadena where there''s a very nice cooking school. they do various evening classes and i''ve often thought about giving one of them a go. that might be a good place to start...

 

[junebug17]

Date: 1/23/2010 12:00:47 AM
Author: whitby_2773

Date: 1/22/2010 7:26:14 PM

Author: junebug17

That menu sounds absolutely delicious!!! Can I come?

absolutely. how good are you with a tea towel?

(and thank you for the encouragement, junebug

)

I happen to be awesome with a tea towel! Seriously, this event is going to be wonderful, what a great friend you are!

 

[tigian]

Hi Whitby,
I think your menu sounds delicious and really well balanced. I was going to recommend chicken skewers with satay sauce, but then I remembered you had the curry chicken sandwiches. The chicken skewers were the first thing to go at my wedding reception as well as my friends wedding reception. (shrug)
Sounds like you will do anything for your friend, she''s lucky to have you!
BTW, did you have anything to do with her ring? I noticed you said it is GOG and JA. If so, SMTR!

 

[Iowa Lizzy]

Whitby, you''re like SuperWoman. Wow.

That rare roast beef sandwich has be salivating. What a lucky girl your friend is to have you.