His food was so amazing, and his staff was so thoughtful that they made Ryan and I a picnic basket of all sorts of delicious goodies to take back to our hotel after the wedding. *Sigh* SO nice.
The folks at Kyle House were so great to work with that they let me submit recipes for what I wanted at the reception AND bring in my own homemade wedding cakes and desserts for a dessert bar! You're probably thinking "you made your own desserts?" "Don't you already have enough to do the week of your wedding?"
The answer is yes and yes but it was totally worth it!
Ryan and I wanted our wedding and reception to have lots of personal touches that meant something special to us, so making our cakes and desserts was the perfect way to get that "homemade" feel. My mom was so sweet to help me with the undertaking and Ryan was kind enough to taste all of the recipes I tested before the big event ; ) Since it was a spring wedding, we decided to go with springtime desserts: fresh strawberry cupcakes and wedding cake, lemon bars, and key lime tarts. Straying from the spring theme, Ryan requested a red velvet cake for his groom's cake - but it's all good - R.V. is my all-time fav!
Here are a few pics of all the fun we had doing the desserts and the finished product!
Making strawberry puree - this went into the cake batter and between the cake layers.
Finished product: Fresh Strawberry Cake and Cupcakes on the beautiful cake stand my dad made and varnished from tree stumps in our backyard. I told him he could get some serious $$ for it on Etsy!
Home Red Velvet Aggie Grooms cake - delish! Cake stand courtesy of my father : )
The best Key Lime Tarts - secret: we made and froze the shells a month ahead of time, made fresh lime curd 2 days before the wedding, thawed and filled the tarts on the day of.
We had such an amazing time at the wedding, and everything was absolutely perfect, just the way I had imagined! If you'd like any of the dessert recipes, just leave your e-mail address and I'll be happy to share : )
But now I'd like to share a little about what my handsome dietitian husband and I ate during those busy hectic days leading up to the wedding. As you can imagine, time was of the essence and there was not much of it. Whatever we ate had to involve easy prep, ingredients I usually have on hand, and make for excellent leftovers. Here were two of our favorite dishes from that crazy busy time:
Crock Pot Steel Cut Oatmeal - this one's so simple your 5 yr old could make it......
- 1 cup of Steel Cut Oatmeal
- 1/2 cup of honey, agave nectar, or maple syrup (I used Sugar-Free maple syrup for this batch because it's what I had. You can even omit sweetener if you want, the dried fruit adds a nice sweetness already)
- 1 T ground cinnamon or 2 cinnamon sticks
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 cup dried apricots
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries
- 4 cups water
- 1/2 cup milk product of choice (soy, almond, or rice milk will work just fine)
3. Turn your crockpot on low, put the lid on, and go to bed.
***Note: my crockpot is OLD and very small. I suspect if I were to make it in a bigger one that the oatmeal would burn or be very dry after being on Low for 8 hours or so. If you have one of the crockpots where you can set it to keep warm after a certain number of hours, then I'd recommend cooking the oatmeal on low for 5 hours, then set it to "Keep Warm" until you wake up.
After about 7.5 hours, I woke up to the deliciously intoxicating smell of steaming hot oatmeal. And look at the fruit in it! Those apricots and cranberries plump up during the cooking and are sumptuously sweet and juicy, it's like little nuggets of fruit jam in your oatmeal. So yummy!
Loaded Sweet Potatoes
This has become a weeknight favorite for us. It makes great leftovers, and the toppings can essentially be made from leftovers or whatever you have on hand. It's simple, filling, and bursting with flavor. You are probably used to loaded baked potatoes, but, have an open mind and load up a sweet potato. You won't be sorry!
What you need :
- Whole, roasted sweet potatoes
***You really can't beat a slow roasted sweet potato. Please PLEASE do not microwave them to cook them. You will really be missing out on a deep, caramelized flavor and even, creamy texture. I like to roast mine at 375 F on a lightly greased baking sheet for 60-90 min until they are soft to the touch. Let cool 10 minutes before stuffing.
- Strips of grilled or sauteed chicken breast.
***I like to sprinkle a little salt, pepper, and curry powder on mine before sauteing in olive oil. The mild sweetness and heat of the curry powder actually complements the sweet potato very nicely.
-Fresh baby spinach, about 3 cups.
***You can lightly saute the spinach if you like after sauteing the chicken. However, I've found that if I just roll up the spinach leaves and cut into thin strips (about 1/4''), they wilt to just the right texture when you stuff them in a piping hot sweet potato.
- A soft cheese. I've used feta and blue in this recipe; Gorgonzola would be good as well.
- Cararmelized onions
- Dried cranberries
- Toasted nut of choice
- Optional: buttermilk dressing an
Mrs. Reist
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