Busy, busy, busy...

by Stephanie
So I know I promised I would update this wedding blog on a regular basis, but things have been SUPER busy around here. We haven't been doing much wedding related stuff this last week, besides collecting mailing addresses, figuring out how to address the envelopes, organizing the stacks of save the date materials and stuff like that. Nothing too exciting, just very time consuming. This weekend I will post some pictures of our disaster of a living room so you can get a feel for the chaos that comes with getting the save the dates done lol.

Until then, wish me luck on my "Physiology of Tate and Smell" practical tomorrow! Just for fun I will post my menu of 5 appetizers I created for tomorrow so you can get a sense of what I am working on in school right now. For our test we are given three out of five possible proteins and we have to make an appetizer out of it. We only have a strange assortment of ingredients we can use so it makes it really interesting to try to come up with something that might actually taste ok lol. We have to combine different types of flavors and "pushing" and "pulling" tastes. Weird, I know.

Sauteed Sea Scallops with Leeks and White Truffle Vinaigrette
Sea scallops marinated in white wine, lemon juice and thyme. Sauteed in a pan until golden brown. Served on top of a bed of leeks sauteed in butter. White truffle vinaigrette is drizzled over the scallop.

Grilled Striped Bass with Parsley Compound Butter and Bell Pepper-Pear Salsa
Grilled striped bass, topped with parsley compound butter and served with a chilled red bell pepper-bosc pear salsa.

Pan Fried Pork Tenderloin Medallions with Caramelized Granny Smith Apple
Pork tenderloin medallions marinated in soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Pan fried until golden brown. Served on top of a caramelized apple slice. Finished with a pan gravy and scallions. A play upon "pork chops and apple sauce."

Grilled Curry Shrimp Satay with Spaghetti Squash Slaw
Grilled shrimp with coconut-curry sauce served on a bamboo skewer. Served over spaghetti squash slaw made with apples, celery and carrots in a tangy vinaigrette.

Salmon en Papillote Trio (en papillote = cooked in oven in a parchment paper pouch)
A trio of miniature papillotes is presented. Each papillote contains a small bite sized piece of salmon, each cooked with a different key ingredient: red bell pepper, dill, and lemon with thyme. This is done to show how the flavors can each enhance the flavor of the fish in different ways. Each papillote performs the same function of enhancing the salmon's flavor in successively bolder, more intense ways.


Any of these sound any good to you guys? Which one, if any, would you order as an appetizer at a restaurant?

And they lived happily ever after...