WEDDING MENU

 My daughter's wedding was a very intimate event, with just twelve family members witnessing and celebrating with them.  The day itself was absolutely gorgeous.  Cold, crisp and sunny.  It had snowed the day before, so there was a beautiful skim coat of snow on the ground and flocking on the evergreens.

The intimate ceremony was followed by a lovely dinner.  Close friends of the bride and groom just also happen to include event planning expertise and a chef.   A delicious menu was developed by Chef Joe.  Three absolutely scrumptious appetizers, followed by an equally delicious main course.  It was bliss.

I decided I needed to make a menu so that the guests could see exactly what Joe had prepared and also to provide a keepsake for the Bride and Groom to remember this amazing dining experience they had on their wedding night. 

I had already had a gold foil theme going with the placecards, so I had to include some gold foil.  I mounted the finished menu on black cardstock since we used black tablecloths and chair covers.  Other touches included, clear acrylic chargers with gold edges, and the china was ivory with a gold border.  It was so elegant!

My original intent was to gold foil the monogram that I had placed on the menu, however I realized my one hour of gold foil experience with the placecards wasn't going to cut it.  I have a lot more to learn on the technique before I can master the intricacies of a monogram (my practice run, proved that).  So, I opted for the "abstract" look I had put on the namecards. 

I made the actual menu with the use of my silhouette software, then printed it out, gold foiled the edges and mounted it on the cardstock.   That evening, I placed it on an easel alongside the bridal bouquet where Chef Joe was serving the appetizers.    It was a magical evening and turned out exactly as my daughter had visualized it.....so that makes this Mother of the Bride, very happy.                                                                                                   

COWBOY BEEF DIP

 I was looking for a hot dip recipe for Christmas Eve and landed on this one....and boy, I'm glad I did!  It has a great flavor---but be forewarned, once you start you can't stop eating it.  I literally had to wrap it up and put it in the fridge because none of us could stop eating it and I was afraid we wouldn't have room for dinner.

My advice, make it for a day of "grazing", a snowy day, the superbowl, a cocktail party.  

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound ground beef

4 Tbsp. chopped onion

2 Tbsp. chopped red pepper

2 Tbsp. chopped green pepper

4 Tbsp. sliced black olives

4 Tbsp. sliced green olives with pimento

*1 can (10 3/4 oz) nacho cheese soup, undiluted

2 Tbsp. chopped green chiles

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/4 tsp. dried oregano

1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup salsa

2 Tbsp. sour cream

2-3 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

*I could not find nacho cheese soup, so I substituted cheddar cheese soup

DIRECTIONS:

In a skillet cook the beef, 3 Tbsp. onion, 2 Tbsp. red pepper, and 1 Tbsp. green pepper over medium heat until the beef is browned.  Drain if necessary.  Stir in the soup, salsa, 3 Tbsp. of each of the olives, chiles, jalapeno, oregano and pepper.  Bring to a boil.   Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes.

Transfer to a serving dish and top with shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream and parsley.  Sprinkle with the  remaining, green pepper, black olives and green olives.  Serve with tortilla chips

Enjoy!

Recipe c/o:  www.tasteofhome.com