Stress mounting...

[jacey]

With Number One Daughter's wedding little more than a week away the stress is mounting. Son is in London working on the film he's just got a RIBA grant for so he's not at home to either help or hinder. He'll be meeting us in Henley next Thursday when we take possession of the cottage we've hired for three days.

Daughter, of course, is more than stressed. It's her wedding. She's earned the right to be stressed.
:-)
But I'm sure we've got it all covered.

A close friend is doing the flowers. She's not a florist but she's got a track record. We've got a setting out and cleanup team to serve Pimms on the lawn and supervise the buffet and wash up.

We're doing the actual catering ourselves because when the date had to be changed from 22nd to 29th August to avoid a pop festival in Henley we lost the catering firm to a prior booking. My mum and gran catered for my wedding, so I don't see why we shouldn't cater for G's. How does this strike you as a plan and a menu for fifty people?

Barbecued rib-eye steak (we have 3 volunteers, 2 barbecues and the steaks are smallish and cook in 3 mins a side)
Roast salmon garnished with cucumber and fresh parsley (there's only 1 veggie and she eats fish)
Balti-marinaded roasted chicken breasts in a homemade curry/mayo sauce (not quite coronation chicken - nicer I think)
Green salad (mixed leaves)
Pasta salad (haven't decided whether to do it with balsamic vinaigrette dressing or pesto. My fave is the home-made vinaigrette)
Tomato & red onion salad with fresh basil in olive oil
Mixed olives, feta cheese & sunblush tomato
Potato salad with fresh chives
A variety of breads including soft rolls, ciabatta and French
English butter
Brussels pate
Kettle Chips

And for dessert:
Chocolate gateau
Fresh cheesecake
Seasonal fresh berry pavlova
With pouring cream

Cheeses from G's local cheese shop including local cheddar, French brie, local goat cheese
Relevant biscuits and crackers

Plus wedding cake, of course. (I made it, but a local lady is doing the icing)

Yeah, OK, I'm cheating and buying the cheesecakes, pavlova bases and gateaux because I'm in a holiday cottage kitchen.

Questions:
So what else might I need? Am I right in resisting buying pork pie, sausage roll, dips and quiche or should I have them in reserve to put out closer to supper time if we're eating the main meal at 5 or 6 ish? (The wedding's at 2.00 and we've got the hall until midnight.)
How many portions of dessert should I allow for fifty people? I'm thinking 2 cheesecakes (32 portions), 2 gateaux (24 or 32 portions depending on how they're cut) and 4 pavlovas (32 portions)

Comments

[klwilliams.livejournal.com]

The only thing that matters is this: it's a good wedding if the bride and groom are married at the end of the day. Everything else is details, and most of those you can't control. Have fun and be proud.

[brownnicky.livejournal.com]

Sounds good.In fact sounds very good. I think you've got enough desserts!
Maybe you could have something savoury and easy like cones of oven chips to serve later if people get hungry. Will you have a freezer in the cottage? If not bread and cheese will work well enough. IME people do get hungry at around midnight.

[http://users.livejournal.com/la_marquise_de_/]

That sounds like plenty to me. And it all sounds delicious. I hope it goes perfectly.

[heleninwales.livejournal.com]

The menu looks good. The thing I always found when I used to cook for up to 60 at the Youth Hostel was that it wasn't the cooking that was a problem (assuming that you have big enough pans and enough burners/ovens etc); it was the serving up. But it sounds as though this is a buffet rather than a sit down meal, so you'll have that covered.

I hope all goes well. I assume that the dress was OK in the end, or did you get a different one?

[birdsedge.livejournal.com]

Yes the clear-up people are also doing the serving out (or the putting out).

She ended up with a different dress - a gorgeous one - and we're still in dispute with the original shop, but that's not going to spoil things now.

[maeve-the-red.livejournal.com]

Looks good. I think it's safe to assume they'll be too full for large amounts of pudding, but late-nite-snax might be a good idea ... but only if you want to, cos you're meant to enjoy this day as well, remember?

Would that be 'Henley-on-Thames'? If so, where's the cottage exactly? I ask because I grew up just outside Henley, in a cottage (well, pub).

[birdsedge.livejournal.com]

The cottage is more like a boathouse, really. It's called Water's Edge on Wharfe Lane - Just off Thames Side. It's right on the river up the cul-de-sac a few hundred yards from where G used to live.
http://www.cottageguide.co.uk/watersedge-henley/

[towerofchaos.livejournal.com]

Very nice. Yes, I know where that is (from the water, as my dad had a boat).

[towerofchaos.livejournal.com]

(Oops, I've replied as D, as this machine defaults to being him. Hey ho.)

[ferlonda.livejournal.com]

Yikes. Sounds delicious but yikes...