Sunday, May 17, 2009

Brandon's wedding


So my brother-in-law Brandon is getting married in three weeks, its a miracle! Brandon is only 1 year younger than me (Fairb "robbed the cradle" according to the ward clerk who told my husband that when he was going over our records when we were first married. We are six years apart) but he feels like 10 years younger. Sorry Boo, no offense.  So we are thrilled, and his fiance Michelle, is so great and its going to be so weird to have Brandon off the "kids table".
Anyway, because they are mostly paying for the wedding themselves, as a wedding gift, I offered to cook for the wedding dinner and host the wedding in my parents backyard. 
So there is an easy way to feed 100 and then there is the good way to feed for 100.  I just can't bring myself to do "ward party" fare, it is not in my DNA. It has to be special.  So I have come up with a menu, now mind you I compromised here, I wanted it to be more special, I wanted beef tenderloin with a little salmon portion, but alas, as Fairb reminded me, we aren't made of money and no one but me will really care what we eat. So this is my plan, please feel free to comment on this.
First, to help pay for girls camp,  I am hiring the YW in my ward to come help me. For a starter, I will do a lettuce wedge of some sort (do most people like Gorgonzola?, I actually hate it, but it is so pretty, maybe just feta).  I will have ranch, should I do another dressing option? Balsamic perhaps? Then some nice crusty bread that I will buy from Costco. Meanwhile, we will be busy in the kitchen plating food as pictured above:


Roasted Asparagus

and
Seasoned mashed potatoes

Which is the following
Cooked potatoes, ran through a potato ricer
BIG spoonful of sour cream ( I am talking BIG)
HUGE handful of shredded cheese (I am talking HUGE)
Lawry's season salt
fresh ground pepper
a little milk

Then garnish the plate with some pretty strawberries.

So can I pull this off? I have plenty of big pots, two ovens and two outdoor grills.

8 comments:

vickie said...

Nan everything is perfect as I knew it would be. You are the best daughter-in -law in the world.

Barbara Bakes said...

I don't have any advice. I've never hosted such a big dinner. But I wanted to wish you well!

A. Burge said...

I stumbled on your blog this morning and had so much fun reading it, I almost missed church!! Love the recipes and stories. Your wedding menu looks wonderful!

Anonymous said...

This looks great! To add a fancy flair, I love it when people dot the plates with some kind of a sauce, like maybe over the tenderloin? You know how they use frosting bags to just dot, dot , dot? Anyway, June 6th - I'll be there to help! And sample ;)

PheMom said...

If I can do wedding cake for 300 then you can definitely do this. I think you have chosen a great menu! I am glad that you want to make it special for everyone as well - even if they don't care, trust me, they will appreciate the difference in getting such a nice dinner.

beckmarsh said...

Sounds delicious! I've always used blue (bleu?) cheese on a wedge salad, with fresh-ground pepper on top. Probably easier to find in bulk also. And soooo yummy.

whitneyingram said...

My husband spent the last six years as a caterer. On a busy weekend, he was feeding up to 1200 people. I can say I have worked my fair share of parties. Catering is hard, hard work, but with proper planning it can go off without a hitch. So I think the best advise is to plan. Take your time writing your shopping list. Take time to write out your schedule. Take time to train your staff. If you have planned well, you will look more like a caterer and less like a chicken with it's head cut off.

Good luck! You can totally do this!

And BTW, if you need help with figuring out how much food to buy for that many people, let me know. My husband is really good at figuring that out.

Brandon said...

Nat, this looks wonderful!! I am so grateful that you are doing this for us. I wouldn't change a thing.