The Wedding

442.  The Wedding.  What a splendid day, surroundings, weather, friends and family and mostly, the bride and groom.  I wanted to share some special memories in pictures.

Mount Shasta was the natural backdrop to the whole evening.  It was wonderful!!!

And, the cookie table was an added treat.

Congratulations to the bride and groom!

“The greatest marriages are built on teamwork. A mutual respect, a healthy dose of admiration, and a never-ending portion of love and grace.” ~Anonymous 

Pittsburgh Cookie Table Part 2

441.  Finally, the day of the wedding arrived.  All the hours of baking and preparing led to this very special moment.

The gold trays and chargers worked great with displaying the cookies around the table.

I baked approximately 30 dozens of cookies or so.  One of the cookies was chocolate chip which I shaped into hearts.

"Cookies are made of butter and love."

~Anonymous

The Pittsburgh Cookie Table part 1

440. My next project in preparing for my daughter's wedding was to make a to-go box for guests.  The little boxes would be to take home cookies from the cookie table.

I found a perfect little bakery box that would would hold about 5 cookies.  Then, created a label to attach to the side of the box.  The label explained the cookie table for guests.

I also framed The Pittsburgh Cookie Table explanation to place with the cookies.

"In the cookie of life, friends are the chocolate chips."

~Salman Rushdie

Project Cookie Platters

439.  Today I am working on a project for my daughter's wedding.  Being from the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Ohio area, "The Cookie Table" is a staple at all special occasions. From weddings to graduation parties, engagement celebrations and baby showers.  The cookie table has shown up and has always been an expected offering to celebrating guests.  Even though the wedding is in California, I could not do without the cookie table!

My first step was to decide what type of platters to place the cookies on.  The wedding theme was romantic rustic.  To be held outside around a barn with splashes of gold, rich warm flower colors and ivory table covering.  Cowboy boots and vintage as well.

While searching for golden platters I was stunned with the prices for golden platters, pedestaled plates and trays.  The trays would cost more that the supplies for cookies.  I saw a hack from The Dollar Tree to purchase $1.59 gold trays and gold chargers.  Then glue margarita and martini glasses to the bottoms which were also $1.59 each.  Then spray paint the glasses to match the trays.  The spray paint was $5.99 from Michaels and glue was clear Gorilla glue which I already had. 

The Margarita glasses were perfect on the bottom of the round chargers and they were very heavy.

With the long trays I created a tiered effect by using martini glasses for the tallest try, stemless wine glasses for the middle hight and of course the last tray directly on the table.

It worked perfectly!  I glued the glasses on the night before then spray painted the next day.  

My thinking was...once the cookies are displayed on the tray, you wouldn't notice the glasses or variation of glasses under the trays and chargers.  Now to the cookie baking :)

"Cookies are the sweetest little bit of comfort food.  They are very bite sized and personal."

~ Sandra Lee

Wedding Cake

438.  It was a simple wedding ceremony with 4 people in attendance.  The bride was absolutely beautiful and groom so handsome.  The decision was to hold a civil ceremony and then a more grand wedding reception later in the year.  Not only to save money but to be together...finally.

The night before we picked up flowers and created a bouquet for the bride.  Because no bride should be without a bouquet of some sort.

The morning of the wedding ceremony, I woke up to the thought, "There isn't a wedding cake!  We need a wedding cake!"  Because no bride should be without a wedding cake.

So, I quickly baked my favorite vanilla cake and used amaretto and vanilla flavoring in the recipe and frosting.  There were flowers remaining, so I used them to decorate the cake.

The happy couple were surprised.  They cut the cake together and fed each other a piece.  It was darling!  And the cake was delicious!

Congratulations to the happy couple!  Because all newly married couples need to be congratulated!

"It is such a happiness when good people get together - and they always do."

~ Jane Austen

Cheese Ball

437.  With the Super Bowl right around the corner, snack foods are on the menu.  I love to make a cheese ball any time we have snacky, munchy foods.  This cheese ball is very simple and you only need a hand mixer or food processor to bring it together.  It is too difficult by hand.

This recipe is simple and the almond butter gives the cheese ball a delicious nuance that no-one can figure out.  It's my secret ingredient!  

Of course you are welcome to use any type of shredded cheese, just make sure it is not too hard of a cheese but is able to blend and smooth with the other ingredients.

"You have to be a romantic to invest yourself, your money, and your time in cheese."

~Anthony Bourdain, Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook

Pickled Deviled Eggs

436.  A deviled egg is a retro delight which has resurfaced recently.  I've never heard anyone say, "I don't like deviled eggs!".  Although I am sure you are out there. 

A suggestion was made by someone close, who is crazy about pickled eggs, to make the pickled eggs deviled.  Now there is a challenge and unique creation.

I jumped at the task and did just that...I deviled my pickled eggs!  And we were all pleasantly surprised.  Of course the pickled egg lover was over the moon. *wink*wink*

So, here is my pickled egg process, recipe here.

Once your eggs are a nice shade of purple, which may take about 4 days, slice them in half reserving the yolks in a separate bowl.  Wipe your knife after each cut.

I smashed the cooked yolks and added 1/4 cup mayo, or more to moisten, salt, pepper, freshly chopped dill weed, a pinch of onion powder and mixed together to create a very soft mixture.  Then, transferred the mixture into a piping bag and filled each egg half.

We placed them on a bed of lettuce and garnished with fresh dill weed.

This was a very interesting mash-up but the final product was so yummy.  Very rich and was a surprise once you took a bite.  How bad could they be?  I love them.

"I do so like green eggs and ham.  Thank you! Thank you, Sam-I-am."

~Dr. Seuess "Green Eggs and Ham"