Today Dishing: Charcuterie

Charcuterie as defined by Wikipedia is a “brand  of cooking devoted to prepared meat products.”
Today, however, the term is used to refer to almost any preparation of several food items served on one board or tray.

Ottimo, in Orland Park offers a lovely charcuterie which features a memorable whipped goat cheese.

Cooper’s Hawk shares a cheeseboard consisting of six cheese selections which  change  monthly. This can be ordered alone or with a wine pairing.

As mentioned in a previous  blog,  we tried the, true to the definition, charcuterie at the Waldorf downtown. Delightful!

My cousin, Kim is lucky to be neighbor’s with Chef Mark Serice who graced his neighbor’s with this tray  with which Kim, in turn, graced us.
                                                         
This tray consists of :

Shelled pistachios
Dates
Blue Cheese, crumbled or in a block
Honey

Arrange components on the tray and let your guests construct their own creations.

Simple yet delicious.

Today Dishing:Wedding Dress Shopping

I am a lucky girl.  Wedding dress shopping with both my daughters was not only painless, it was a pleasure.

While your  daughter is trying on dresses, as a mother observing, I think it’s key not to over react to any one dress. Not reacting is not easy for me but somehow I was able to follow her lead and reinforce her reactions.

I wanted my daughters to choose the dress they wanted, the one they felt made them feel special. I didn’t want my opinion to sway them one way or the other.

Part of the problem with wedding dress shopping is that unlike bathing suit or  jeans shopping, 99% of the dresses tried on look good. What you end up looking for is the dress that comes closest to the vision most brides have of how they want to look on their wedding day.

After months of searching and trying on well over fifty dresses success was ours. Probably the eighth dress tried on this particular day was the one. There it was... the smile. The smile not only of the face but of the entire body. This is the smile no mother should miss. During the course of planning a wedding there are a few poetic moments. And believe me there are several with no poetry in them at all. But this is one poetic moment. The smile on your daughter’s face when she knows this is the dress becomes permanently etched in your brain.


This Reem Acra dress personifies my daughter. It is stylish, princess-like, yet understated and somewhat whimsical. The bedazzled belt adds the touch of bling so much a trademark look for her.
                                                                   
If you have already had this experience, you know of what I speak. If you have yet to be lucky enough to share this experience with your daughter, relish it. And trust me, when you see the smile, you will know it.
                                 

Today Dishing: Bridesmaid’s Dresses

Last December we found a BCBG dress which seemed the perfect choice for the bridesmaids. The store  had only one dress but we wondered,  "how hard could it be to find four more?" Confident our chances were good we purchased the “final sale” dress. 

The original dress.

                       

After calling countless stores, it became apparent finding the additional dresses would prove no easy task. My daughter knows of a gal on-line who makes it her business to locate difficult to find dresses. We contacted her and after a few days she assured us she would be able to find the dresses in the needed sizes.

Fast-forward six months. After countless promises, it was ten days before the wedding and the dresses had not yet arrived. The gal then promised the dresses could be here  the Monday before the wedding. That’s right, five days before the wedding.

My daughters decided to keep this latest development from me until they developed a plan B. Having lost faith in the on-line gal, they cancelled the order and set out to find another dress.

Long story short, they found another BCBG dress the exact same color as the original dress at a store which by sheer luck carried all the sizes needed.

The girls finally broke the news to me. As a classic over-reactor, we were all shocked by my lack of drama reaction.  After composing myself, they explained the new plan. We drove to the distant store, loved the dresses, purchased four and decided to use the original dress on the Maid of Honor.

Catastrophe diverted. All was well with the world. But searching for bridesmaids dresses ten days before the wedding is not recommended.

The yellows matched perfectly!

                                                      

Lesson learned: Expect the unexpected.

Let’s go get married.

                                       

Today Dishing:Take Me Out to the Ballgame

My daughter, in an attempt to surprise the Groom, who is a die-hard Cubs fan, planned a sort of afternoon at the ballpark in our backyard during the two hours between the wedding ceremony and the reception.

Go Cubs Go and a little Dixieland music played by  Banjo Budddies  set the mood for the festivities.

                                

Mini hot dogs, peanuts and popcorn rounded out the ballpark theme. And you wouldn’t believe how difficult it is to find Cracker Jack.



And although I prefer bottled beer, cans were certainly more appropriate for this occasion.

The only thing missing was a ballgame.

                                 

Today Dishing: Yard Flamingos

I like to think yard flamingos are making a comeback but in that I know of only one other person who has them, my thinking may be wishful.

Regardless, I love my yard flamingos and thought it only fitting they too dress for the wedding.
I don’t sew, but even I was able to sew together flamingo outfits which, at the very least, were the same color as the bridesmaids dresses.

Luckily I found a taller flamingo and a lovely already made wedding dress to round out the “wedding party”.

Bottom line: It’s all about having fun.

More wedding to follow.

Today Dishing: Wedding Ceremony

And just like that the wedding is over. A year of preparation gone in one day.  But OH! what a day.

The pre-wedding time with photographers, the wedding ceremony, the party between the wedding and the reception, and the reception all fly by in the blink of an eye. We are, however left with lovely memories that will last a life time.

During the planning stages for the wedding we kept in mind that “the wedding” is what takes place at church and everything else is celebration. Every attempt was made to make the ceremony as special and personal as the party phase. We wanted the ceremony to reflect the bride and groom as much as possible’
     
Because both the bride and groom are high school teachers, it seemed appropriate to create a yearbook style program. The ten page yearbook included blurbs about each attendant and groomsman under their school picture reminiscent of yearbook captions. A Who’s Who, Famous Alumni, A Hall of Fame and a Note from the Principal rounded out the yearbook program. It even included a kleenex for anyone who might find a need for one.

When ascending the steps of the church,  framed pictures depicting the growth of the bride and groom hung from the railings. Again this is just another attempt to personalize the event.

   

The bride entered the church to the music from the film “Father of the Bride”, on the arm of her teary-eyed father. As he said during his speech at the reception, “ giving his youngest daughter away is surprisingly difficult”.  That may explain his stepping on his daughter’s cathedral length veil pulling it off her head while entrusting her to her groom.  Easily fixed the ceremony continued without another hitch.




The priest who officiated, prompted the pair to write a love letter to one another which they shared with the congregation.  This provided another extremely personal  aspect which was touching and inspirational. The priest also insisted they memorize their vows, eliminating the clumsy “repeat after me” method. It made the actual marriage more meaningful and again more personal.





It was a beautiful, solemn, touching, personal ceremony.  Who could ask for more?

                               



Next: The Pre-Reception Gathering- A Day at the Ball Park

Today Dishing: Gibson’s Oakbrook

Picture courtesy of www.gibsonssteakhouse.com 

After my daughter’s final wedding dress fitting, one week prior to her wedding, she, myself and my

other daughter celebrated with a lovely lunch at Gibson’s in Oakbrook. We’ve dined at this location several times but never before sat by the waterfall.

A bit stressed,  we found a seat by the outdoor waterfall proved therapeutic. At last a sunny day, a cool breeze and a bustling crowd  contributed to the feeling we were away on vacation... in Oakbrook,

Picture courtesy of www.gibsonssteakhouse.com

who knew?                                  


Always reliable the food pleases. On this visit we ordered the Gold Coast beef tenderloin sliders. Not made with left over pieces of tenderloin, these filets are large enough to be a meal.

The Bookbinder’s Soup was new to me and was featured that day. Chock full of large pieces of white fish with shrimp, this fish soup is one I will look for in the future.
                                                                                                                             
The Turkey Club is huge. This sandwich alone could feed the three of us nicely.



The Cobb Salad too could  be shared.

                                              

This relaxing lunch complete with attentive service, delicious food and beautiful ambiance provided us with some “quiet time” before the final push leading up to the wedding festivities.

If you enjoy el fresco dining. you must, must, must visit this Gibson’s location while the weather allows.