Musings
an Online Journal of Sorts

By Alyce Wilson

The Gryphon and I had a tasting at our reception venue last night to choose what we'll serve at our wedding reception. We were greeted by the event coordinator and followed her into the restaurant section of the hotel.

A waiter brought bread, two glasses of water and slices of lemon, and the event coordinator shared information she gathered about spandex chair and table coverings we can rent. The price looks comparable to other chair and table coverings, so we're happy.

The first two items the waiter brought out were two appetizers: Wild Mushroom Vol au Vent with Brandy Cream Reduction, and the Three Cheese Ravioli nested in Creamed Leeks and Fresh Chives.

Both of them were tasty, but between the two we chose the Wild Mushroom Vol au Vent because it was tastier and also had a more attractive presentation.

Next, we tried two salads, the Brandywine Salad, Baby Greens with Cherry Tomato and shaved Asiago Cheese and the Classic Caesar Salad with Toasted Focaccia Croutons and Shaved Parmesan Cheese.

The Brandywine Salad was far and away my favorite, because it was a nice, fresh salad with lots of vegetables: tomatoes, cucumbers, hot peppers and greens. It was very colorful and celebratory. The Caesar salad, by contrast, wasn't as exciting. The Gryphon agreed.

We tried three different entrees. We had already decided to offer Prime Rib as one of our entrees, but we also wanted a fish and a chicken option. We tried the Grilled Fillet of Salmon Served with an Orange Ginger Glaze and Mandarin Orange Sections, the Boneless Breast of Chicken Stuffed with Roasted Peppers and Smoked Gouda and The Sautéed Breast of Chicken with Crabmeat, Asparagus Spears and a Lemon Buerre Blanc Sauce.

The salmon was incredible: it just melted in your mouth, and the citrus flavors were a terrific contrast. I think I know what I'll be ordering on my wedding day! Of the two chickens, we preferred the stuffed chicken breast, which had a comfort food quality. The tastes melded together well. While I personally like crab, the other chicken dish wasn't as exciting or colorful.

Finally, we tried three desserts: White Chocolate Mousse in a Dark Chocolate Cup Served with Shavings and Wild Berry Coulis, Marinated Strawberries Grand Marnier Served in a Chocolate Cup on a Painted Plate, Tahitian Vanilla Ice Cream in Cinnamon Phyllo with Blueberry Compote.

I expected to like the mousse the best, but it was a one-dimensional dish, just chocolate, chocolate, chocolate. The strawberry dish, on the other hand, was very fresh and did include a bite of chocolate. It's also very attractive and should complement our cake well. If they didn't offer the strawberries, we probably would have gone for the ice cream.

We told the event coordinator we'd go home and discuss it and then get her a final run-down of our menu selections.

Before getting on the road, we enjoyed a couple cups of coffee. The Gryphon was sure to leave a nice tip for the wait staff.

I had taken the evening off, so we considered seeing a movie, but when we drove to the movie theater, nothing was playing that we were interested in seeing. Instead, we went home and watched Broadcast News, which we had on DVD from Blockbuster. I'd seen about half of it before on cable.

The movie is still relevant today: issues of flash over substance. I expected the outdated technology to make the movie seem less relevant, but it was a movie about a story, a movie about characters, not a movie about the process.

Then we watched The Office, which we'd had the foresight to tape. This was one of their best recent episodes.

I also called my dad and let him know what we'd discussed, suggesting to him that he meet with the event coordinator in May to see the place and discuss the rehearsal dinner with her.

We also went through our guest list to figure out how many of our out of town guests might sign up for a hotel room. Then we can give her a rough number and get a contract for a room block.

All in all, it was a very productive evening, and we're now a bit closer to the wedding we want.

More on Alyce's wedding planning:

Musings on Alyce's Wedding

Copyright 2006 by Alyce Wilson

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