As if the beginning of the Fall hasn't been busy enough, with school starting, a new menu to launch for work, the New Haven Food Policy Council to keep on top of, and a Feast From the Fields dinner at Common Ground High School to help plan and cook for next weekend. This past weekend, I hopped a plane to Colorado with my family for my husband's cousin's wedding (thanks to grandma PJ for the tickets!!).
Luck for me, the wedding took place on an organic farm just outside Boulder, Colorado. The friends and family were kind, the weather was gorgeous, and the food was fabulous! I worked catering for more than 10 years, and it is a rare night when I get to actually go to, and enjoy a well catered meal myself. The farm-to-table food at Pastures of Plenty Farm, catered by The Big Bang was great, and made up for years of overcooked farm-raised salmon and bland chicken breasts at standard catered events. The thriving farm on the planes of Colorado was a sight for a north-easterner to behold. Dry flat beige landscape giving way to rows of greens, flowers, and vegetables, all used to prepare the night's meal.
After a personal and loving ceremony, we headed into a beautiful pagoda structure for appetizers. Artfully presented on large wood platters from Mexico, there were: roasted purple potato chips with olive tapenade, bruchetta with roasted tomatoes, goat cheese and pesto, prosciutto wrapped melon, marinated and grilled buffalo and shrimp skewers, wonderful local cheeses, and beautiful berries. As a written menu there is nothing so exceptional about this line up, but the execution of the menu was superb. The food was cooked and seasoned very well, and presented beautifully both on the table and in the location. Dinner was wild caught salmon with sorrel pesto, flank steak, spicy quinoa salad, field green salad, and roasted root vegetables. Again, a fairly standard contemporary farm to table menu, but executed with finesse.
I was busy eating, so didn't get pictures of the food before all the guests attacked it, so you can't see the elegant display of appetizers, fruits and cheeses they put together, but this will give you a little glimpse at the selection.
I was busy eating, so didn't get pictures of the food before all the guests attacked it, so you can't see the elegant display of appetizers, fruits and cheeses they put together, but this will give you a little glimpse at the selection.
the wood-fired oven and 12 foot long buffet table
Doesn't this look like fun!
Wedding cake: red velvet and a spice cake. Kazoos made in the bride's home town of Eden, NY
Even the porto-potty got dressed up!
It was a wonderful day, finished with a gorgeous sunset and a full moon, and it more than made up for the 11 hours of travel it took to get there and the sleepless nights with 2 jet lagged kids. My son, had been concerned that this wedding wouldn't meet the standards of the last one he attended which had a table of crazy hats, wigs and instruments. So, it was a relief when he declared, "Mommy, this is the best wedding ever!". Indeed, it was lovely, (and delicious).
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