What''s for dinner?

[FrekeChild]

...on your wedding night?

Why are you having that? How did you decide what to have? Did you go for what you and your FI like or what you think your guests would like?

 

[sunnyd]

Here's our menu at the moment:

Northwest Field Greens in Light Pomegranate Vinaigrette With orange glazed hazelnuts, crumbled feta & pomegranate seeds.
Fire Roasted Fall Vegetables Brushed with balsamic syrup & roasted shallots.
Penne Pasta in Roasted Garlic Cream Sauce with Herb-encrusted Strips of Chicken Tossed with sautéed spinach, wild mushrooms, peas, cracked garlic & fresh herbs.
Wine & Garlic Marinated Flank Steak In rich Merlot-wild mushroom-stoneground mustard sauce.
Rustic Breads & Petite Rosemary Rolls with Whipped Herb Butter

Our only requirement was that there be a chicken (FSIL doesn't eat red meat) and he went to town!

We're not picky eaters by ANY means, and the food doesn't seem so crazy that someone would be averse to eating it. If they are, they can eat cake. Ha!

 

[FrekeChild]

Oooo sunnyd!!! Can I come?

 

[sunnyd]

LOL, sure!! I''m so excited to eat this damn food. We went to an open house where they had a bunch of stuff and holy crap. Heaven!!

 

[FrekeChild]

Yummm....You''re making me hungry. I just finished eating pasta salad and a chunk of Tiramisu for lunch. And now because of you, I''m hungry again. Dang it...

 

[CNOS128]

We haven''t decided yet, but it''ll probably be a grilled peach & greens salad, and a choice between some kind of fish and some kind of steak. And dessert.

We both tend not to love catered chicken dishes, but we didn''t want to have only red meat as an option (there will also be a vegetarian/non-fish alternative).

I have friends who''ve decided on a choice between a fish dish and a vegetarian dish, which I think is a little odd -- but it''s their wedding, so I''m glad they''re having what they want!! They don''t eat red meat and my friend rarely eats poultry. I respect someone choosing 2 dishes they would eat rather than worrying about what the guests might want.

 

[elrohwen]

FI and I still can''t agree on the menu, but we''ll have to a month from now!

I don''t want to have any chicken or beef, because I''m just not a fan of those. We get to pick 3 entrees and I really want the duck, lamb, and some kind of fish (haven''t picked my favorite of those yet), but FI points out that not everybody likes lamb and tons of people like beef, so maybe we should get that. He is ok with the duck though

I guess the key issue is that I want to pick out foods that I love, because it''s my wedding and I''m paying. But he makes a good point that I should really pick out the one thing I''ll have for my dinner, then pick the other two based on what other people will like. Though I was planning on trying all three at some point (the bridal party will be at my table, so I''m sure I could sample each meal), I guess that''s not a good excuse for getting whatever I want.

He''s also against paying an extra $6 a person for the nicer entrees while I want to splurge a little (it''s already in the budget and has been from day 1, so it''s not like we haven''t planned for it). Once again, he wants me to pick the one thing I want, splurge on that, and get the other entrees from the cheaper list. No one will know that one is more expensive than the others and we''ll only end up paying for a third of the guests (or whomever orders the expensive entree).

So, in summary, I still have no idea. Haha. Hopefully we get to taste some of these and that''ll make the decision much easier.

 

[Clairitek]

FI and I are in the process of deciding on our wedding menu so we can get a firm quote from the venue.

Right now these are on my short list out of way too many options. I still need to narrow it down and get FI''s choices.

Artichoke ravioli in sweet pepper sauce with goat cheese
Vegetable lasagna
Spice-rubbed sirloin in merlot sauce with horseradish cream
Italian hearb rosted pork loin
Pear fiocche in a brown butter and sage sauce with wild mushrooms and parmesean
Spice lemon chicken tangine with olives over saffron couscous

Meat dishes would be served with a really creamy mashed potato and garlic sauteed spinach.

I''ve been making my choices based on what I think will be interesting yet not too funky that people won''t eat it. I also wanted to make sure to include some vegetarian options. I am still missing my seafood option but I am leaving that one to FI since I don''t care for it.

 

[Clairitek]

Date: 2/23/2009 3:44:30 PM
Author: sunnyd
Here''s our menu at the moment:

Northwest Field Greens in Light Pomegranate Vinaigrette With orange glazed hazelnuts, crumbled feta & pomegranate seeds.
Fire Roasted Fall Vegetables Brushed with balsamic syrup & roasted shallots.
Penne Pasta in Roasted Garlic Cream Sauce with Herb-encrusted Strips of Chicken Tossed with sautéed spinach, wild mushrooms, peas, cracked garlic & fresh herbs.
Wine & Garlic Marinated Flank Steak In rich Merlot-wild mushroom-stoneground mustard sauce.
Rustic Breads & Petite Rosemary Rolls with Whipped Herb Butter

Our only requirement was that there be a chicken (FSIL doesn''t eat red meat) and he went to town!

We''re not picky eaters by ANY means, and the food doesn''t seem so crazy that someone would be averse to eating it. If they are, they can eat cake. Ha!

SunnyD this looks like a meny that anyone could enjoy! I love fire roasted veggies and wine marinated steak with mushrooms.

 

[FrekeChild]

Date: 2/23/2009 4:00:18 PM
Author: Clairitek
FI and I are in the process of deciding on our wedding menu so we can get a firm quote from the venue.

Right now these are on my short list out of way too many options. I still need to narrow it down and get FI''s choices.

Artichoke ravioli in sweet pepper sauce with goat cheese
Vegetable lasagna
Spice-rubbed sirloin in merlot sauce with horseradish cream
Italian hearb rosted pork loin
Pear fiocche in a brown butter and sage sauce with wild mushrooms and parmesean
Spice lemon chicken tangine with olives over saffron couscous

Meat dishes would be served with a really creamy mashed potato and garlic sauteed spinach.

I''ve been making my choices based on what I think will be interesting yet not too funky that people won''t eat it. I also wanted to make sure to include some vegetarian options. I am still missing my seafood option but I am leaving that one to FI since I don''t care for it.

Why am I not surprised?

And yeah, you had too many options. I can''t believe you narrowed it down at all!

 

[FrekeChild]

elrohwen--I love duck too. And lamb. And beef. And chicken. You can invite me and never have to worry about what I''ll eat or not eat!!!

 

[PilsnPinkysMom]

Sunny- your menu sounds aweeesome. Can I come!?

Mixed Greens with cucumber, tomato, mushroom and homemade croutons
with Balsamic Vinaigrette

Fresh Herb Crusted Prime Rib of Beef with Rosemary Au Jus

Grilled salmon with ginger mustard glaze

Eggplant Parmesana

California medley vegetables

Mashed dutchess redskin potatoes with white cheddar

Chocolate cup with fresh berries and Sabayon


I don''t remember any of our hors d''oeuvres... I''m pretty under-whelmed with our menu. IMHO- there existed faaar better choices than what I''ve listed, but we were concerned about the "majority" and any picky eaters that may be in attendance. My "wins" included NO chicken entrees, and the Eggplant (in lieu of some pasta). The veggies, salad, and prime rib are still sore spots with me

That being said, none of the food tastes bad. Its just a matter of personal preference.

I keep telling myself that I''d be MORE angry if I paid $100 for a person to NOT eat because he/she disliked the selections. California medley. Eck. We could have had fresh asparagus and tomato relish. I love-love-love asparagus!

 

[newbie124]

This is our dinner menu:

Salad
Warm Goat Cheese Fritter with baby greens, poached pears & almond meringue

Entree choices
Grilled Aged Sirloin Steak w/
wild mushroom polenta, red wine braised shallots, garlic spinach & crispy parmesan

or

Seven Mushroom “Steak" (it's sort of like a wild mushroom cake/patty...very tasty) w/
olive oil roasted fingerling potatoes and grilled asparagus

Cake
White velvet cake with pistachio mousse and citrus vanilla butter cake with lemon curd

We were a little more adventurous in choosing our appetizers b/c FI and I like to eat just about anything and we figured this would be the best opportunity to present stuff that would be a little bit different:

- Moroccan spiced tuna on crispy flatbread w/ charmoula sauce
- Mini lamb burgers with spicy red pepper sauce
- Asiago souffle baby red bliss potatoes w/ black truffle oil
- Baby artichoke halves with tomato confit, roasted garlic and herb aioli

We're also having mango lassi as welcome beverages and will have the caterer bake up some chocolate chip cookies from dough that we will prepare.

I'm really excited about our menu. FI and I plus most of my family are foodies so we were really picky when it came to finding the caterers. My sister did the initial tastings for us b/c she lives in CA and I really trust her palate. We were all really impressed with this company and if the food was anything close to what it was at our follow up tasting, I'll be a happy camper

(I'm also really excited about our cake as the baker we found makes cakes that taste like they came from a European bakery. FI doesn't even like cake, but he scarfed down the pistachio flavored one she brought to our tasting...yummm)

 

[blackbetty]

Wow, Sunny-D! That sounds delish!

Ours isn''t fully decided yet, but I think it will be:

Passed appetizers:
Bacon wrapped scallops, wild mushroom phyllo, ginger teriyaki beef skewers, parmesan artichoke heart, tomato & mozzarella skewers, tomato bruschetta

Soup:
Tomato-Basil soup

Salad:
Autumn Mixed Greens-- mixed green, apple, cranberry, balsamic, & blue cheese crumbles served to the table rather than on the salad

Sorbet:
Lemon

Entree:
Filet & chicken breast stuffed with tomato, spinach, & mozzarella with pine nuts & a chardonnay sauce
OR
Either a Roasted Vegetable purse (veggies in a puff pastry w/tomato coulis) or Portobello marinated & grilled with sauteed spinach, asparagus, & rice (I haven''t decided which veg option yet)

Sides:
Roasted red-skin potatoes & sauteed green beans

 

[bee*]

We''re having appetizers but haven''t picked them yet.

Then for dinner-
Caesar Salad
Potato and leek soup
Beef or Salmon in a champagne sauce with fresh summer veg
Trio of desert-but haven''t picked them yet.

 

[FrekeChild]

I don''t even have an idea of where to have our dinner reception thing. Everyone''s menus sound wonderful. I need to figure this out sooner rather than later...

 

[Clairitek]

Date: 2/23/2009 4:10:25 PM
Author: FrekeChild

Date: 2/23/2009 4:00:18 PM
Author: Clairitek
FI and I are in the process of deciding on our wedding menu so we can get a firm quote from the venue.

Right now these are on my short list out of way too many options. I still need to narrow it down and get FI''s choices.

Artichoke ravioli in sweet pepper sauce with goat cheese
Vegetable lasagna
Spice-rubbed sirloin in merlot sauce with horseradish cream
Italian hearb rosted pork loin
Pear fiocche in a brown butter and sage sauce with wild mushrooms and parmesean
Spice lemon chicken tangine with olives over saffron couscous

Meat dishes would be served with a really creamy mashed potato and garlic sauteed spinach.

I''ve been making my choices based on what I think will be interesting yet not too funky that people won''t eat it. I also wanted to make sure to include some vegetarian options. I am still missing my seafood option but I am leaving that one to FI since I don''t care for it.

Why am I not surprised?

And yeah, you had too many options. I can''t believe you narrowed it down at all!

If they would just serve up a big ol'' log o goat cheese to me on the my wedding night I would be a happy camper. I do love my goat cheese! Tangy goodness.

 

[FrekeChild]

So are you having goat cheese for dinner tonight too or was that just your mid afternoon snack?

 

[Clairitek]

Date: 2/23/2009 4:50:57 PM
Author: FrekeChild
So are you having goat cheese for dinner tonight too or was that just your mid afternoon snack?

Entirely possible it will be my dinner tonight.

And the mid-afternoon snack was Girl Scout cookies not goat cheese, thank you very much!

 

[FrekeChild]

Since when do you decide against goat cheese?

And what do you eat with it anyway?

 

[sunnyd]

Date: 2/23/2009 4:46:30 PM
Author: Clairitek

Date: 2/23/2009 4:10:25 PM
Author: FrekeChild

Date: 2/23/2009 4:00:18 PM
Author: Clairitek
FI and I are in the process of deciding on our wedding menu so we can get a firm quote from the venue.

Right now these are on my short list out of way too many options. I still need to narrow it down and get FI''s choices.

Artichoke ravioli in sweet pepper sauce with goat cheese
Vegetable lasagna
Spice-rubbed sirloin in merlot sauce with horseradish cream
Italian hearb rosted pork loin
Pear fiocche in a brown butter and sage sauce with wild mushrooms and parmesean
Spice lemon chicken tangine with olives over saffron couscous

Meat dishes would be served with a really creamy mashed potato and garlic sauteed spinach.

I''ve been making my choices based on what I think will be interesting yet not too funky that people won''t eat it. I also wanted to make sure to include some vegetarian options. I am still missing my seafood option but I am leaving that one to FI since I don''t care for it.

Why am I not surprised?

And yeah, you had too many options. I can''t believe you narrowed it down at all!

If they would just serve up a big ol'' log o goat cheese to me on the my wedding night I would be a happy camper. I do love my goat cheese! Tangy goodness.

Mmmmm we just got 11oz of goat cheese at Costco. I know what I''m having after work!

 

[sunnyd]

Date: 2/23/2009 4:57:42 PM
Author: FrekeChild
Since when do you decide against goat cheese?

And what do you eat with it anyway?

Ritz crackers!!! It''s the best. Jeez now I''m starving!

 

[Lynnie]

This thread is making me hungry... everyone''s menu looks delish!!
Just decided the final menu last week...

Passed hors d''orevres (yes, I had to look it up to spell it!):
Beef Tenderloin with Boursin Cheese
Vegetable Spring Rolls
Barbados Coconut Shrimp
Caribbean Jerk Chicken with Mango Salsa


Display Station: Antipasto - Imported and domestic cheeses with marinated mushrooms and artichokes, marinated tomatoes and calamata olives, assorted pesto dips and brushetta with crackers, croustades and breads

Dinner:
Romaine and Radicchio salad with roasted tomato parmesan croutons, shaved locatelli cheese, and roasted garlic balsamic vinegrette

A duet platter of:
Chicken roulade - stuffed with mozzerella, roasted red peppers and tomato concasse beurre blanc (like a tomato cream sauce)
and
Stuffed flounder - fresh filet of flounder stuffed with crab stuffing topped with a lemon-pepper cream sauce
Dish is served with herb roasted yukon gold potatoes and fresh string beans with spiced almonds

Flambe dessert station - bananas foster with vanilla ice cream

Cake: TBD. Cake tasting is tomorrow! Yay!

How did we decide? I really wasn''t keen on chicken, and I really wanted to stay clear of it alltogether, but when I tasted it it was mmm mmm good! Plus, his family is Italian, and I think they will enjoy it. The beef at the tasting was served pretty rare, got cold really quickly, and the wine sauce was good, but a little too strong for my taste. The ones we decided on were both so good. And I think since they were both stuffed, they stayed warmer longer. And the duet platter is no charge extra, you just get 4oz portions of each. Guests do have the option of choosing double portions of one or the other, or a vegetarian meal. I have to get double chicken - I have a shellfish allergy

I did try one bite of the stuffed flounder, though. If I ate more than that, I''d be sorry. FI devoured it like he had never eaten before. Lol

Pilsn, I''d have chosen asparagus, too, because I loooove it, but was worried about the majority thing as well.

I also tasted the mashed potatoes. I am really picky about mashed potatoes. I like ''em thick and hearty, not smooth and whipped like a lot of places serve them. My caterer''s "mashed garlic" potatoes were wayyy too garlicky, and the regular ones were just kinda "meh".

So I guess overall we chose what *we * like, minus the veggie. I figure almost everyone likes green beans.

 

[elrohwen]

Ok, I came back to post what would be my menu choices, but FI and I still have to discuss more (see my above post about deciding between what I like and what my guests might want and whether or not we should splurge or get the standard menu choices).

There are sooo many options, but here's my best attempt. I get to choose two things out of a list of appetizers, pastas, soups, and salads. I think I'll do a soup and salad course because everyone will have already had 1 1/2 hours worth of hors d'oeuvres. I could add an appetizer or pasta for $3.50 per person. Is it worth it? I'd also love to do a fruit sorbet intermezzo, but that's $3.00 ... so discussions need to happen. FI will probably try to talk me out of it

Hors d'oeuvres: Waaayyy too many to list.

Soup: Probably roasted seasonal vegetable bisque. Though there are some other yummy options! The crab bisque, potato and leek, and carrot and butternut squash all sound awesome. Tough choice.

Salad: Baby field greens with shaved apples, glazed walnuts, and dried cranberries with a dill vinaigrette

Entree Choices:
Chilean Sea Bass with chablis and leeks (there are lots of fish choices and I'm definitely not set on this one)
Roasted Duckling with a cointreau sauce (or maybe the Roasted Cornish Hens with brandied black bing cherry sauce??)
Dijonnaise style roasted rack of lamb (FI might make me pick a beef, in which case I'd pick the Roasted Veal Chop Forestiere)

So yeah, lots of choices to make! I would so love to add a pasta ... or a sorbet ... Maybe I can compromise with FI by getting some of the cheaper entrees, but putting the money we save towards the extra courses. If I do pick a pasta, it might be Rigatoni with porcinis in a 3 cheese cream or the Gnocchi with artichokes, pancetta, and thyme. Ugh, I don't know ... it all sounds so good!

 

[Octavia]

Ohhhh, what a good idea! My luncheon buffet menu:

Butlered Hors D’ Oeuvres

Mushroom Stuffed Mushroom: big, beautiful button mushroom stuffed with wild mushroom duexelle and topped with warm melted gruyere

Panko Goat Cheese: lightly browned Panko crusted goat cheese with raspberry infused honey

Peking Duck Roll: crisp shredded duck and vegetables in steamed rice paper served with Thai orange marmalade and fresh mint

Sweet Potato Cheesecake: savory and sweet flavors blended together in this seasonal treat that is topped with goat cheese and candied pistachios

Beef en Croute: perfectly cooked filet, wrapped in puff pastry and mushroom duxelle with a mild horseradish sauce

Smoked Salmon: wild Irish smoked salmon, served on fresh baked soda bread with a lemon dill sauce

Chicken Shish Kebabs: grilled chicken kebabs with tomatoes and peppers

Yogurtlu Kebabs: succulent lamb kebabs dipped with a traditional Turkish yogurt sauce

Goat Cheese Toasts: goat cheese, caramelized onions and roasted red peppers served on Bruschetta toasts


Stationary Hors D’ Oeuvres

Mediterranean Tapas: feta cheese, grilled zucchini, fennel, artichokes and sweet peppers with marinated imported olives, dolmas, pepa dews, traditional and Kalamata olive hummus, all served with grilled pita bread

The Cheese Course: a wonderful mix of domestic and imported cheese, crackers and seasonal fruit (includes baked brie topped with curry-spiced cashews!)

Garden Vegetable Crudités: fresh crisp vegetables with roasted garlic aioli and sun-dried tomato crème fraiche


Luncheon Service

Flat Iron Sirloin: marinated for five days, grilled rare and sliced thin, drizzled with demi glace and served with a creamy horseradish sauce

Blackened Salmon: lightly seasoned and blackened in a cast iron skillet, served with a orange cilantro brown butter

Tomato Rice Pilaf

Campanelle Gratin: campanelle pasta with creamy goat cheese, caramelized onions and rosemary

Grilled Vegetables: a wonderful mix of seasonal vegetables seasoned with garlic and rosemary

Autumn Greens: baby greens with honey roasted cashews, crisp Bosc pears, Goat cheese and honey cherry vinaigrette

Crusty Rolls and Butter


This is copied and pasted from my catering documents, and we got to try almost everything on here at our tasting. It was sooooo good! Narrowing down the choices was a killer, but we tried to mix it up and put a fair amount of both meaty and vegetarian foods on the menu. The only thing that probably isn't mixed up too well is the sheer amount of goat cheese...I luurrrrvvvveee goat cheese

...but there should still be enough to eat for people who don't like it.

ETA: looking at it here, it seems a little excessive...but nobody will be able to say we didn't feed them enough!

 

[FrekeChild]

Date: 2/23/2009 5:13:26 PM
Author: sunnyd

Date: 2/23/2009 4:57:42 PM
Author: FrekeChild
Since when do you decide against goat cheese?

And what do you eat with it anyway?

Ritz crackers!!! It''s the best. Jeez now I''m starving!

Hahahaha Sunnyd!!!! Sorry about that! This thread is making me hungry too...And I want to go to all of your weddings because the food sounds so good!

 

[FrekeChild]

What is up with everyone loving GOAT CHEESE in this thread?! I have love for cheese of the goat variety as well, but DANG!!!!!

BTW, after reading through all of these, my stomach is growling. I''m in the middle of my environmental science class people!!!!

(I know, I know, it''s my own fault...)

 

[sunnyd]

Goat cheese lovers unite!

 

[Octavia]

Date: 2/23/2009 6:42:25 PM
Author: FrekeChild
Hahahaha Sunnyd!!!! Sorry about that! This thread is making me hungry too...And I want to go to all of your weddings because the food sounds so good!

Bring along dessert and you've got yourself a standing invitation

 

[FrekeChild]

OOoooo....don''t tempt me Octavia!!!!!!