Can Someone Roll Me Out?

That is the question I wanted to ask after our tasting at the Tribute.  Our bridal buffet packages comes with several options, which Mama & Daddy Elephant, Mr. E and I were eager to test out.

Warning - The following post may make you hungry.

Smiling with some full stomachs

First up was the salad.  We thought this was a done deal from the get go because Mr. E really only likes Caesar salad, and we thought that would be a universal safe bet.  

Traditional Caesar Salad 

Since we had so many options (and the tasting was included in our package) I thought it would be nice to taste one of the other 6 options - the Baby Spinach with Strawberries, Candied Walnuts (which weren't available for the tasting but will be on our wedding day), Blue Cheese, Red Onions & Raspberry Vinaigrette.

As a shock to me, Mr. E not only tried but LOVED the Baby Spinach salad!  Mom, Dad and I all loved it as well, so out with the Caesar and in with a yummy spring salad.  We're going to nix the red onions, and have this delivered once the guests are seated.  That way they will have something to eat while other tables are dismissed to the buffet line.

Moving on to the hors d'oeuvres.  The plan was to add 2 butler passed apps to go with the 2 displays (imported & domestic cheese with flatbreads, and fresh seasonal fruit).

Crab Rangoons & Coconut Shrimp with Thai Chile Sauce

Teriyaki Chicken Skewers

We all loved the chicken skewers but there was a toss up between the Crab Rangoons (the pick of Mr. E & I) and the Coconut Shrimp (Mom and Dad's favorite).  Thankfully Bethany (the venue coordinator) informed us that we could replace one of the displays with the 3rd passed hor d'oeuvre.  You don't have to twist my arm! The piece of pineapple in the middle of the chicken skewer counts as fruit, right? 

Next up were our selections of entrées, veggies, starches & stations.  Our package included 1 entrée to go with the carving station beef, 1 veggie, 1 starch and we were going to add in a station of either mashed potatoes or mac & cheese.   

Mr. E, Mama & Daddy Elephant making room for the entrées

The chicken breast (with lemon herb & cream pesto sauces) & creamy risotto.  

Rosemary New Potatoes & the Santa Fe Chicken with Poblano Cream sauce

Filet of Salmon, Green Beans with Bacon & Onions, and Rice Pilaf

Mashed Potatoes & Toppings 

Chicken Cordon Bleu, Vegetable Medley & Mac & Cheese (prior to toppings) 

The end result of Mr. E's Mac & Cheese

After stuffing ourselves past the point of full, we were at a stand still between the entrée option.  We all loved the salmon (and I do mean loved, there was no salmon left on anyone's plate) but knew that more guests would probably eat chicken.  We hemmed and hawed, and decided that the chicken breast was the way to go.  While we all really enjoyed the cream pesto sauce, we were afraid that our guests may not so we opted for the lemon herb sauce. It was really hard to choose because we were trying to think of what our guests would like the most, but my dad made a comment that rang true.  

You can't please everyone.  

And it's true, unless we had numerous options (and could pay for those numerous options) there is bound to be someone out of our 150 person guest list that won't like one or more of the things that we selected. 

On the drive home, while we were all still talking about the salmon, Daddy Elephant made an announcement that made me & Mr. E so grateful.  He decided that paying for the extra entrée was the way to go, and he was going to make it happen.  I did the happy dance in the car because I was so excited about that salmon! 

Here are our final selections:

Cocktail Hour

- Imported & Domestic Cheese with Assorted Flatbreads

- Coconut Shrimp with Thai Chile Sauce

- Crab Rangoons with Sweet & Sour Sauce

- Teriyaki Chicken skewers

Salad

- Baby Spinach, Strawberries, Candied Walnuts, Blue Cheese and Raspberry Vinaigrette

Entrées

- Carved Top Round of Beef with choice of Au Jus, Dijon, Creamy Horseradish or BBQ Sauce

- Breast of Chicken with Lemon Herb Sauce

- Filet of Salmon with Buerre Blance Sauce

Sides

- Mac & Cheese Station with choice of Cheddar or Asiago Crème Sauce, Sautéed Mushrooms, Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Bacon, Breadcrumbs & Shredded Parmesan

- Rosemary New Potatoes

- Green Beans with Bacon & Onions

- Rolls & Butter

Hopefully there is something for everyone and our guests won't go hungry.

Did you have a tasting during your planning period?  What will be (or was) your favorite item to eat at your wedding (if you have/had a chance to eat)?

A little taste of my Philly roots

In West Philadelphia, born and raised
On the playground was where I spent most of my days
Chillin out, maxin, relaxin all cool
And all shooting some b-ball outside of the school

Truth be told I was really raised in a suburb a good 26 miles outside of Philly, but we all know it's easier to just say the largest "big city".  Now that I have Fresh Prince playing in your head, join me as I reminisce about my Philly childhood.

In 2008 Mama elephant’s family reunion was back in her hometown in New Jersey, and Mr. E came along for his first meeting of my crazy, awesome extended family. We all flew out a couple days early so we could experience Philly before heading to Jersey. We saw Independence Hall….

…We toured the liberty bell center…



…checked out Betsy Ross’ house…


…traveled down Elfain’s Alley…



….and enjoyed lunch at Pat’s… we love our cheesesteaks!


After our family barbeque in Lawnside, NJ, we spent the weekend down the shore at Atlantic City.


Before returning to the airport, we hit up Pathmark and loaded our carry on suitcases with treats you can only find on the East coast including scrapple, pork roll and tastykakes. Mr. E and I bought home 6 boxes each and those things were gone in no time!

(Source)

While reading Mrs. Cupcake’s recaps on Weddingbee I became a little jealous of her late night reception snack of tastykakes and milk.

Mrs. Cupcakes Tastykakes (source)

I showed Mr. E the pictures and he was all for the idea of getting some for our reception. The difficult part is, of course they don’t sell them in Texas. :(

But there may be hope! BM Philly still lives on the east coast as does her mom (who will be a reader at our wedding) and some of my mom's family members. We’re planning on asking them to buy out a couple of stores worth of tastycakes the week of the wedding and then ship them to my mom. If the plan works, our Texas friends and families would be able to enjoy a little piece of my home.

Was there anything that you brought in to your reception that reminded you of home?

Great Dessert Bar Item

Due to lack of space in the venue we decided to go for the photobooth instead of the candy buffet. But if we did a dessert bar, and had the time for some homemade goodies these mini cheesecakes would be at the top of my list!

I started making these mini pieces of awesomness when I worked at my first “real world” job out of college. We would have pot lucks every month and this was a way for me to contribute and not kill anyone. I kid, I’m really not that bad of a cook, but I hated to make something and then have to reheat it in the microwave at work, that thing would take forever! I found the recipe online here, and with a few simple ingredients, a mixer (which I didn’t have the first time I made these… let me tell you beating that batter by hand was not fun!) and an oven you too can make these.

Ingredients (I doubled the original recipe to accommodate my work crowd)



Cheesecake mix
- 4 packages of Philadelphia cream cheese
- 1.5 cups of sugar
- 4 eggs
- 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

For the cheesecake crust I used to go the easy route and just place a vanilla wafer in the bottom, but this time I thought I would try Oreo cookies.

Crust ingredients
- 1 package of Oreo cookies
- 4 tablespoons of melted butter

Other

-2 (21 oz) cans of pie filling

- Cupcake wrappers

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line your cupcake pans with the cupcake wrappers

To make the cheesecake filling, mix together your cream cheese, sugar, eggs and vanilla until it’s light and fluffy. Set aside while you move onto your crust.

I use a chopper attachment to my blender (since I can’t find the chopper blade for my hand mixer) to crumble the Oreo cookie. Oh how I’m looking forward to registering for that kitchen aid mixer! Mix the chopped cookies with 4 tablespoons of melted butter. This will help the crust stay together when baked.

Fill each cupcake slot a ¼ full with cookie crumble mix. Press it down with your spoon to make sure there are no holes.

Pour in some of the cheesecake mix. I would leave room at the top of each wrapper so you can top it off with filling after it bakes.

Bake for 15 mins and remove to cool. While you wait for them to bake, you can enjoy the childhood fun of licking the beaters.

Place a spoonful of pie filling to the top of each mini cheesecake (thanks Mr. E for helping) and then place in your fridge to cool.

I normally left them in the fridge overnight and took them out the next morning to take to work. How cute would these be on a dessert bar at a wedding? I know I would be eating them up!

Are you making any baked goods for your wedding?