James' little sis made our wedding cakes and they were incredibly yummy. I wanted to help her out too, so I volunteered to make her an appetizer and side for her wedding. I catered my sister's entire wedding, so I felt it was the least that I could do. I also agreed to help coordinate food and serving, so I spent most of the afternoon and evening in the kitchen. I made the stuffed mushrooms for my sister's wedding that went over so well. They disappeared and everyone raved about them, so I requested to make those. Everyone seemed to enjoy them and I got a lot of complements. Score one :-).
My sister in law was trying to think of another vege for her menu and I suggested roasted vegetables. Now, normally, I don't eat roasted veges, but they went with her menu theme perfectly. Volunteering to make it, I asked her what kind of veges she wanted. She requested in season veges like squash, etc. I ended up with squash, zucchini, portabella mushrooms, onions, red bell pepper, brussel sprouts, and carrots. I definitely had the rainbow covered, lol.
James laughs at me, because I can get on weird ingredient kicks. Browsing blogs, I came across a few extolling the virtues of duck fat. Yes, I really did say duck fat. Unbelievable, I know, but it was supposed to be the best thing ever. People using had an insatiable appetite for it despite their certainty of its artery clogging potential. To roast my veges, I absolutely had to use duck fat. A fairly rare ingredient, I thankfully had to look no farther than my local Central Market, which stores in frozen in the meat section. They also quite unbelievably sold it rendered. So, for 6.99, I got to try heaven in a tiny, greasy bucket. Did it work? Well, yes. It did an admirable job at browning my veges and oddly enough despite its greasy feel on my fingers didn't taste greasy on the veges at all. However, it was flavorless to me. I couldn't see any real benefit flavor wise over vegetable oil. Olive oil would have probably been better. Will I keep using it? Most definitely. Lol, largely because I still have close to a pound of the stuff.
My recipe was complicated for the veges. It called for separately blanching them and then browning them in oil on the stovetop, then roasting them all together in the oven to finish. A good method that surprisingly didn't overcook them, but way more effort then it was worth, especially considering I had 30 lbs of veges to make my way through. Sadly, while my mushrooms were a big hit, the veges were a flop. No one touched them. Sighh.
One fun thing about the whole experience is the flowers. I have recently discovered I have a small flair for flowers. I love flowers and I love art, so it's fun to combine the two. While I'm neither a florist nor an artist, my sister in law appreciated my talent enough to let me do all the bouquets and table decorations for her wedding. It was great fun and something I would love to do again.
Pictures to come.
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