The occasion?  My sister was hitched last weekend in an all-out affair.  To give you an idea of what it was like, my family is half-Italian, part Irish and lives on Long Island…in other words; we know how to throw a party.

I suppose the festivities started Friday night with the rehearsal dinner, but to be honest, we would be here for the next week if I had to discuss that menu as well, so here’s a picture and we’ll move on to the main event.

My sister’s actual wedding was beautiful and perfect in every way…but by the time we were ready to celebrate, we were famished.  So perhaps the best place to start would be the cocktail hour.
Living up to its name, we did in fact have cocktails.  In fact, there was a “Martini Slide,” or as I like to call it, “an ice luge for adults.”  Serving multiple types of martinis (a staple in my family), the alcoholic ice sculpture was magnificent.

There was also food at the cocktail hour I swear!  The hors d’oeuvres were plentiful and were served either at a station or by a waiter.  I didn’t get to take many pictures of these since there was lots of socializing, but here’s the breakdown:

Stations:
•    Raw bar with clams, oysters and shrimp cocktail
•    Asian: dumplings, Peking duck
•    Pasta: lobster ravioli, butternut squash ravioli and crepes filled with spinach and ricotta
•    Carving/Kebab Station – stuff roast loin of pork, beef, chicken, veggie & fish kebabs
•    Tuscan – All types of cheeses, breads, meats, olives, marinated vegetables
Passed:
•    Baby lamb chops
•    Baked stuffed clams
•    Tomato soup shots w/ mini sandwiches
•    Franks en croute
•    Thai Crab Cakes
•    Kobe-Beef Sliders
•    Tuna on wontons
•    Beef Negiyamki
•    Lobster spring rolls
•    Simosas
•    Bruscheta
•    Roasted yam tart w/ pecans
•    Coconut Shrimp

Phew!  Ok, the main courses were the best part in my opinion.  It started off with an artichoke and wild mushroom tartlet with herbed goat cheese served with baby green.  As my aunt said, “I could have had four of these and called it a day.”

There were three choices of entrees:
•    Filet Mignon served with sweet potato and Yukon gold fries with asparagus bundle, topped with a merlot demi-glaze
•    Roasted French-cut chicken breast stuffed with apples and cranberries served with a mélange of roasted vegetables and potato
•    Pan-seared panko-encrusted striped bass with herb risotto and sautéed spinach topped with a lemon caper sauce

I ordered the Filet Mignon, and it was cooked perfectly.  Additionally, the portion sizes were quite generous.  I had plenty to eat and was able to share it with both my sister and her fiancée husband.

And then there was the dessert!  Of course the wedding cake was beautiful….both untouched and eaten!  The family heirloom wedding topper of course made it look even better.

Just when I thought I couldn’t eat any more, the Viennese table showed up
Viennese Display…
•    Ice cream sundaes
•    Bananas foster
•    Mixed fruit crepes
•    Vanilla and Chocolate mousse
•    Candied apples
•    Cheese cake (NY & Italian styles)
•    Pecan pie
•    Maple Walnut cake
•    Tiramisu
•    Chocolate covered pretzels
•    Assorted cookies and pastries

And then there were Zeppole.  The chef was Italian and offered to make them.  My grandmother used to make them and it was a nice addition to the wedding.

Overall, the food was amazing, the day was perfect and after rolling myself home and then back to Boston, I got to enjoy some more of the leftover wedding cake. Yum!