Teaching Good Things, Practical Skills for Real Life

Equipping Families with Practical Skills for Real Life!

Another Wedding

This past weekend we catered a rehearsal dinner and a wedding reception.

Friday was just me and Emma, she is the best tater peeler EVER!

The guest for the rehearsal dinner were served Italian baked chicken, creamed potatoes, green beans and yeast rolls.

 They had a choice of pound cake with cherry sauce or cheesecake brownies for dessert.

Couldn’t have done it without Emma!!!

 

 So here is an awful picture…just keeping it real for ya!

This was Saturday, the day of the wedding. I was making biscuits for 150 people.

Yes, you know it is a southern wedding when there are biscuits and sweet tea served…

only in the South!


I didn’t do the tables…they sure are pretty aren’t they?!

 

I didn’t do the cakes either, but I do appreciate a well done cake!!!

The groom’s cake was very well done also!

Love it!

Yes, a Biscuit Bar, complete with chicken fingers, whipped butter and jam for the biscuits!

Only in the South! 

And there is your sweeeet tea!

It was just me and Jeff on Saturday.

Here he is, my Superman, keeping the food filled while I served drinks.

He IS the best!!!

You can lean how to bake and decorate cakes with my DVD!

Basic Cake Decorating

The Beauty of Ceremony and Key Lime Pie!

 


Last Saturday we witnessed a beautiful wedding ceremony!

It wasn’t the flowers, dresses and decorations that made the day so beautiful, it was the reason for two becoming one. In the act of worship and dedication two people made vows to God, to take their duty as His people to carry out His will.  These two have joined together to do their Kingdom work knowing that their duty is to live here on earth in a way that makes Christ known. Marriage is not about them being satisfied and fulfilled through the other, that only comes from Christ.

Because we do a good bit of catering we see a lot of weddings. I’ve been to weddings where there is no sense of real purpose other than selfishness. I’ve seen brides and grooms wanting to rush through a wedding ceremony so they could move on to the party! I’ve seen ceremonies that were dry and joyless.

To be honest I don’t remember much about my wedding ceremony, I really didn’t put much thought into it, we got married because that’s what two people who think they are n love are suppose to do. We had a LOT of people who came to our reception that would not come to the church ceremony, I think it may have had something to do with the free meal, beer and dancing.  Oh, how our lives have changed, God changed them!

We now understand the importance of weddings, ceremonies, and vows!  We now understand that these ceremonies are all a part of our worship to God. Weddings, along with baptisms and funerals are the most important occasions to declare God’s goodness, His truth!

Our culture has lost so much of any sense of ceremony and reverence, every thing is fast and disposable, just like marriages and relationships, and that is sad! Now, we still love to feast and celebrate, but that should never overshadow the glorious worship that happens during a ceremony!

Dr. Morcraft officiated this wedding ceremony, I have to admit, his voice alone moves me as he speaks with such conviction and passion. I love how he made a point of their work together as one for Christ…LOVE IT!



Although I did not make this cake I want to share it with you, it was beautiful!

Here in the south the groom usually has a table with a groom’s cake on it, usually chocolate. For this wedding the bride wanted to surprise the groom with his favorite, Key Lime Pie. There was a separate table set up for 3 pies, sorry no picture. I made key lime pie in large baking pans and cut them into 1″ squares, about 400 squares. Here Jeff is helping me get them into cupcake papers. They were suppose to be mini-papers but these worked just fine. I used this recipe.

The decorations were simple, yet beautiful and elegant!

It was a moving ceremony and a great reception filled with hundreds of Saints celebrating the goodness of the Lord!

I’m so glad one of my very best friends, Kelly, was there!  I didn’t get many other pictures because I was too busy talking! ;o)

A Southern Bridal Tea and Petit Fours

Emma and I attended a bridal tea last weekend. It was hosted in a beautiful house and it was full of beautiful ladies and girls  of all ages. Everyone came together to celebrate the upcoming wedding of a sweet, young couple.




I was asked to make the cake or petit fours. I have tried many times to make petit fours and they are always a flop. I really wanted  to learn to make these so I tried again. This time I achieved confectionery VICTORY!


These are almond apricot petit fours.

I monogrammed them with a “D”, using buttercream icing for the groom’s last name.

A petit four is a small cake that can be eaten in one or two bites.



Fruit and Veggie Display

I had an order for just a fruit and vegetable display for a wedding,

the family did their own cooking.

It was a BEAUTIFUL wedding!

Absolutely beautiful!!!

Olivia went with me, 4 hands are better than 2; she took these pictures.

One side was vegetables…

the other side fruit.

This was built up with a few boxes, lined with plastic wrap,

then lettuce and cabbage leaves pinned in with floral pins.

 

I really enjoy making these!

December Wedding

Saturday night we catered a wedding for the niece of a sweet lady I met through Facebook. :o ) The family did all decorations.

We provided the food, but not the cakes; which can be good.

It gets a bit crazy when we’re doing food AND the cake…but I like crazy sometimes! ;o)

I LOVE how they did the Groom’s table, the cakes are cheese cakes.

The cake plates were the autumn charger plates that Wal Mart sold this year.

They were screwed onto chunks of logs.

Pretty cool huh?!

The cake was beautiful!

I love the glass block idea to help make the cake look taller.

Celebrating Marriage – And Catering Pictures!

Last Saturday we were very honored to cater a wedding for a couple at our church.

There was such excitement with this wedding as we have all prayed for and waited along with this young man and his family. We pray regularly for Godly spouses for our children. We wait patiently for God’s timing for the right one, always keeping an eye out for someone that might be “the one”! At the same time we encourage our young people to be busy and faithful in their service to the Lord, setting their affections on Him until “the one” comes along.

Christopher is a gentle man, who is very intelligent and SO VERY FUNNY! Many of us would often say, “Why isn’t he married yet?!!!” Because we just knew he’d be a wonderful husband and father!

Then God showed him Melissa.

We are so excited to see what God will do through this couple who understand that marriage is not about ‘them’, but that it is all about bringing glory to God and building the Kingdom!

The groom’s mother is very dear to me. She has given Godly counsel to me many times. She has poured into the lives of our children (and MANY others) for years as she has taught history to them. She has not only taught history, but she has instilled a real passion for HIS-story in most of us. I love the look on her face here; he is her oldest child and only son.

Here the groom’s mom, dad and sister are dancing with him and his bride. These pictures are especially beautiful because this family has endured some heavy burdens this year. God has been merciful to allow them this day together!

Christians should be the shining example of people who know how to celebrate! Our weddings should be a BIG DEAL! The birth of babies …each one, should be a BIG DEAL! Funerals for the saved should be a BIG DEAL! And any other occasion gives us reasons to rejoice!!! Christians need to be the ones that show the world there is SO MUCH HOPE, SO MUCH JOY. Oh, to rejoice in the goodness of the Lord!

Now for the food pictures!

The Children’s Food Table

Finger Sandwiches and Cheese and Crackers

Sweet Tea ( we live in the south!) and Lemonade

Pineapple Almond Punch

BBQ Smokies

Ham Roll Ups

Pigs in a Blanket

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Chicken Tenders

Rolls

Pita Chips with Spinach Dip

Fruit and Veggie Spread

And my first wedding cake made with fondant!

How to Dip Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Strawberries from last weekend’s wedding reception.

I think we could go as far as to say that
chocolate covered strawberries are HEALTHY!
Strawberries are good for you and so is good chocolate! :o )
The key is moderation. :o )
I know this is a real simple thing,
but I thought I’d post it anyway in case someone
does not know how to dip strawberries.
Use a good quality chocolate, semi-sweet. You can also use almond bark.
Place it in a double boiler (a pan over a pan of water) on med-high heat and melt it down.
You do not want to melt the chocolate in a pan that directly on the heat source,
it will burn your chocolate and it won’t melt evenly.
Once melted,
keep on a med-low heat until you are finished dipping the strawberries.

Wash your strawberries, but not until just before you want to dip them.
Use only ripe ones, but not mushy ones.

Towel dry them, you may even need to blot them.
Get as much of the water off as possible.

Dip 3/4 of the way into melted chocolate.

Place them on wax paper or freezer paper (shinny side up).
Let them dry and firm up, about an hour.

ENJOY! ENJOY!
These make for a wonderful treat!

If you are dipping these for a party it is important to keep them cool,

otherwise they will begin to ooze juice and get all yucked up.

It’s best to dip them and serve them in the same day.

You could dip most anything such as:
marshmallows, pretzels, dried fruit, etc…

Wedding Reception Food

Here are a few pictures from the wedding we catered last weekend.

This was a smaller wedding (70 people) but they wanted the center piece of the food tables to be the fruit and veggie sculpture.

So to make it look more grand than the amount of food that was ordered I used lots of whole fruit and vegetables.

The key is to build the center up. I bought this HUGE cabbage at the farmer’s market, then used the leaves to help cover my boxes.

It is also important to use lots of color and place contrasting colors next to each other.

I thought the eggplant was just beautiful here!

I love the asparagus on each side in the wine glasses.

The red cabbage held the veggie dip.

Turkey roll ups made by Olivia. :o )

I did not make these cakes, but they are so pretty I wanted to share them.

The cakes are actually cheesecakes ordered from the Cheesecake Factory – very expensive!!!

Easy Cheese Straws

Cheese Straws are something unique to the southern part of the United States! You will find them at showers, teas and receptions. To buy a package of them at a store you will pay about $4.50 for 4-5 servings It was going to cost me about $40 to buy enough cheese straws for a reception last weekend…OUTRAGEOUS! After all I could make them for about $15.

The dough can be made ahead of time and put in the freezer for when you need it.

In a mixer or food processor mix together:

2 cups finely grated sharp cheese

2 sticks of butter

1 t salt

1/8 – 1/4 t cayenne pepper or crushed red pepper

2 cups all-purpose flour

Mix until well blended and form into 2 balls (you can freeze these until needed).

Roll out about a 1/4″ thick.

Using a small pastery cutter cut strips about 1/2″ wide,

then come back through and cut them about 2-3″ long.

Bake on an un-greased baking sheet at 350 for about 7-10 minutes.

They are done when they are just starting to turn golden, do not over bake  them.

Let them cool completely on a wire rack.

These are wonderful!

I’ve had one lady that has called several times just to order cheese straws when her daughter comes home from college to visit…lol.

If you would like more *heat* in your cheese straws just add a little more pepper. You can also use finely chopped rosemary from your herb garden. ;o)

There are a great variety of recipes for cheese straws, just Google them. ;o)

Paisley Wedding Cake – and Other Party Foods

This weekend we catered 2 events, one was a Senior Piano Recital and then a wedding.

The bride wanted a paisley cake with ivory icing. The cake was vanilla, chocolate and strawberry.

The Groom’s cake was a beach scene because that is where he proposed to her.

The cake was chocolate; the sand is brown sugar.

( Pictures from both events this weekend.)

The BEST money I have ever spent was to take two cake decorating classes 22 years ago. Starting out slow with cake decorating and then adding more foods and ‘specialties’ to my skill base has enabled us as a family to work together and increase our income.

Both events we catered this weekend were for ‘kids’ that Jeff and I taught in our Keepers of the Faith groups several years ago…gosh are we REALLY that old? Where did all the time go?

Often I will make the wedding  cake and/or the groom’s cake free as a wedding gift for people who are special to me. For example, the Bride’s cake and Groom’s cake today would have cost them $300 to buy them from me, but it only cost me about $40 to make them both, not counting the labor. So they received a $300 gift that only cost me $40 out of pocket to make. :)

Learn How to Decorate Cakes

Catering Pictures


 

Here are a few pictures from the wedding reception we catered this weekend for 150 people. The reception was held in the beautiful home of the Groom’s parents.

Punch


Pineapple-Almond Punch


Children’s Table- Goldfish crackers, Gummy Bears, Chocolate Dipped Pretzels, Orange Slices, PB&J Sandwiches.


Shrimp

Chicken Salad Croissant

Goat Cheese with Fruit/Nuts
We also did a baked brie, but I didn’t get a picture of that.


Marinated and Un-marinate Cheese, Crackers
Marinated Olives to the left.


Vegetable Display

Fruit Display

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Pigs in a Blanket


Ham and Cheese Croissants


Mints, Roses and Leaves


Room with the Groom’s Cakes.

Groom’s Cakes, Strawberry, Chocolate and New York Cheese Cake.

Fruit and Vegetable Displays

Food Table

Sheet cake with the family initial on it for extra servings.

Dining Room with Wedding Cake

Wedding Cake, serves 125

This had chocolate on the bottom, strawberry in the middle and the top was white.

The icing was cream cheese icing.

One of my wonderful ‘Servers’…Emma :o )
I don’t have a picture of my STRONG, WONDERFUL husband,
who did all the heavy lifting and kept the trash emptied! :o )
Olivia was also a server, and a great one at that.

Events like this is a team effort, everyone putting in 110%.

 

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