Menu Tasting
Friday was our menu tasting and planning session! I thought I would take a lot of notes during everything, but I hardly took any. So hopefully I remember enough to write an okay report of it!
We started with our menu tasting in the morning at the Yacht and Beach Club Convention Center. From what I've seen, it seems that tastings for buffet meals that take place at the Yacht and Beach Club are served in individual portions, while tastings for buffet meals that take place at the Boardwalk are served in big platters, like they would be on the wedding day. I'm not sure if this is 100% true all the time, but it was true for us, as we were each individually served a small plate of whatever we were tasting. That said, we tasted so many things that we were definitely full at the end of the tasting!
Jeff and I met my parents at the main lobby of the convention center, and after waiting a few minutes, we were escorted by a cast member to Cape Cod Hall B. There, we met up with our planner, Kristie (who we already knew from seeing her at the DFTW Showcase in February), and two chefs from the Yacht and Beach convention team. One of the chefs, Jenner, sat with us throughout the whole tasting to take notes and make suggestions, while the other came in and out of the room throughout.
Our first decision, as you may know if you've been to/read about menu tastings before, was the napkin fold. Kristie explained that there are many different napkin folds, but the fold can depend on the napkin style you choose, since some of the specialty napkin fabrics aren't starchy enough to hold the more fancy folds. We chose the drape fold, which is the regular flat fold, where the napkin is draped over the edge of the table. This was one of the basic folds that could be chosen regardless of fabric.
A few of the different napkin folds...
Then, our server approached the table, so we could decide what the servers would wear during our reception. The choices, at least for the Yacht and Beach Club, were a gold vest with white shirt, a white suit, or a black tuxedo. We chose the white suit, so the servers would stand out from the wedding party.
Finally, it was time for the tasting! Our server brought us some sodas, and then he brought out the first tasting dish!
The two sauces are a teriyaki sauce and a chimichurri sauce. From top left to bottom right, the dishes on the plate were a garnish of tomato with cheese inside (because we only chose three hors d'oeuvres to taste, they added a garnish to the plate), a mini chicken empanada, a chicken dumpling, and a beef teriyaki skewer.
These were all amazing! I loved the chicken empanada, and the others loved the chicken dumpling. We decided to add all three of these hors d'oeuvres to our pre-reception menu, plus caprese skewers as a lighter option. We all collectively decided that if we have to cut a pre-reception item, we would cut the beef skewers, as they were our least favorite. But they were still great! Just not as great as the empanadas and dumplings.
The next thing we tasted was the grilled flat iron steak with Merlot and black pepper reduction, balsamic crimini mushrooms, and roasted shallots. The other dish on the plate is Sanaa-inspired butter chicken with white rice. Please forgive the bad quality photos...
These dishes were both just okay. The sauce on the steak was great, but we didn't love the cut of beef. It was a little tough, since it was a flat iron. The butter chicken was not quite as good as Sanaa's, as the sauce didn't seem to be as thick. It was good, but it didn't wow us.
With underwhelming reviews on those dishes, our server brought out the next contender for an entree.
Seared Angus beef filet with drunken cherries and savory brioche french toast.
This dish was amazing! The drunken cherry sauce was awesome, and the cut of beef was a lot more tender than the flat iron. The french toast was fine, but we didn't think it added too much to the dish. That said, we decided to add this to our reception menu, minus the brioche french toast. I cannot wait to eat this again on our wedding day. Jenner, the chef, mentioned that the sauce would be on the side of the steak, so my mom asked if we could also add a horseradish sauce to the side, for anyone who wasn't interested in the drunken cherry sauce. We added that onto our menu as well.
Next up was the gourmet macaroni and cheese bar! We were each brought a small plate of truffle macaroni and cheese, and the toppings were set out on the table to taste.
I believe the toppings were lobster, braised beef short ribs, pancetta, peas, panko breadcrumbs, mushrooms, and onions. The macaroni and cheese was amazing, and I loved it with the short ribs. My mom loved the pancetta. None of us tried the lobster, since my dad is allergic to shellfish, and the rest of us don't eat it.
At this point, I was super full, but we still had one more thing to taste. The gourmet mashed potato bar!
Peruvian purple potatoes, Yukon gold potatoes, and sweet potatoes. The toppings were candied walnuts, brown sugar, butter, sour cream, shredded cheese, broccoli, bacon bits, gravy, and mushrooms.
I normally don't eat sweet potatoes, so I was surprised that I liked the mashed sweet potatoes with the walnuts and brown sugar. I also really liked the purple Peruvian potatoes, which Kristie mentioned were more garlicky than usual. I was excited that the purple potatoes matched our wedding colors. The Yukon gold potatoes were good, but they were basically normal mashed potatoes.
In the end, we decided to combine the macaroni and cheese and mashed potato bars, but cut the Yukon gold potatoes, so as not to overdo it on the starches. So we'll have the truffle macaroni and cheese, purple Peruvian potatoes (extra garlicky, as they were during the tasting), and sweet potatoes. It will be put together as one bar, so the toppings will all be displayed together. The toppings I remember that we specifically removed were the lobster (since none of us eat it) and the bacon bits (since we also have the pancetta, which is basically the same thing).
And that was it for the tasting! We also decided on having a package bar, per my mom, and Kristie said that we can add a signature drink at no additional cost, plus we could give it a name. Right now we're deciding between the Electric Lemonade (vodka, blue curacao, lemonade, and sprite) and the Blue Hawaiian (rum, blue curacao, pineapple juice, and sour mix).
For the menu, we decided on all three of the hors d'oeuvres, as I said above, plus caprese skewers, for the pre-reception. For the reception entrees, we're having the drunken cherry Angus filet (with horseradish sauce on the side), Parmesan crusted chicken with a creamy Alfredo sauce on the side, and mahi-mahi with a citrus glaze, per my mom (Jeff and I don't eat seafood, so we didn't really care about offering a fish option). As far as sides, we're having the combined mac and cheese/mashed potato bar, and for vegetables, we're going to have a seasonal vegetable medley. For a salad, we're doing a build-your-own Cobb salad, which doubles as a build-your-own regular salad, since you can add or not add your own meats/cheeses/whatever else you want. I believe we decided on vinaigrette, ranch, and blue cheese as dressings for that.
And that's it! Obviously this post has gotten super long, so I'll recap the planning session on another day. Honestly, I had sort of been dreaming of this menu tasting for a long time, so I couldn't believe it was actually happening while we were there. And it definitely lived up to my expectations. I can't wait to eat on our wedding day!
It's funny you say that, because we registered for a KitchenAid mixer not at all expecting to get one. But we did, and it's one of the best presents I've ever gotten! They are really expensive, though. 
We actually do have a guest book though. We ordered one from Shutterfly because I had a coupon code for a free photo book. But I do like that one!
)
I can't wait to see everything!
I'm going to keep it on the BEO as long as possible because I really think it'll be fun, but I may end up buying some Flutter Fetti sticks instead and doing the confetti thing that way.
