Weddingbee

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Inside, there are a few tables and a tiny bar. Check out the woodstove!

The walls are lined with local art and some good old Western kitsch.

The saloon keeps a few beers on tap (served in mason jars, of course) and provides a menu with both bar snacks and dinner entrees.

When we first decided on Polebridge as our venue, we didn’t know if the saloon would be able to cater for us, or if they did any catering at all. That’s when we started working with Cimmaron Cafe for catering in Columbia Falls, as I mentioned in my last tasting post.

Our contact with Polebridge during the Winter was rather limited due to off-season and record snowfall, but at some point we established that they did provide catering and we started to work with a seasonal chef through the saloon. But a few weeks of non-returned phonecalls and emails later, we found out that the chef had not in fact been hired for the season and we were back at square one.

We had assumed that Polebridge would work with us on food, but as we were closing in on our date and didn’t have any real confirmation, we kept Cimmaron on the hook as a backup plan. Honestly, with some of the miscommunication that happened before I went out to Montana, it seemed like Cimmaron was looking like our first choice.

As part of our visit to Polebridge, we talked food with the owner of the saloon. She was more than happy to commit to catering our wedding with fresh, local, and organic cuisine. The menu will be something similar to what we tasted at Cimmaron but with different local flair. Again, we’re opting for a grill menu, as it’s easiest to make for a large number of people. Our menu will be something similar to the following, with some flexibility allowed for food shortages and price fluctuation:

• Fruit, cheese, crackers and (maybe?) quesadillas for appetizers
• Wild Alaska salmon with fruit chutney or marinade
• Montana buffalo tri-tip with marinade
• Grilled organic veggies and fingerling potatoes
• Vegetarian rice pilaf or mushroom dish
• Fresh greens with strawberries and homemade vinaigrette

Before our trip to Montana, I asked Polebridge about doing a tasting. But that’s not really their thing, so we decided we’d just stay for dinner at the saloon and see what it was like.

Can you say yuuuummmm-eeeey!

Chicken, cheese, and black bean quesadilla:

Wild salmon with grilled veggies, salad, rice pilaf, and fresh-baked bread. In the background a pork chop with morel mushroom sauce and grilled potatoes:

It may not be “gourmet” or have haute-couture food presentation, but I’m quite pleased to say that we expect our wedding meal to be delicious and homey, beautiful and colorful. Just the way we want it!

Is anyone else opting for down-home cooking for their wedding?

Oh, and before I close the curtains on my Super Wedding Weekend in Montana, I want to share one last story…

On our way back down the North Fork road, we stopped because there was a large dog standing in the road. After a quick double-take, we realized it wasn’t a dog… it was a WOLF! I’d never, ever seen one in the Park before and they’re pretty rare!

It stopped and regarded us from the road for a few long seconds. Then, as a car came barreling from the other direction, it retreated into the brush. My damned memory card was full, so this was the only picture I got, but here she is… isn’t she beautiful?

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It also got me thinking about how easy it would be to have sundaes for an engagement or bridal shower. This would work as an especially tasty, kid-friendly and alcohol free party alternative. Different types of ice cream, different toppings, whipped cream- how could anyone not have a good time?

To get the party started, I present to you the best hot fudge recipe:

Dahlia’s Hot Fudge
3/4 c. cocoa powder (high quality cocoa makes a difference)
1 c. sugar in the raw (or white sugar, if you prefer)
1/4 t. salt
1/2 c. milk
1/4 c. butter
1 1/2 t. vanilla

Combine cocoa, sugar and salt in a small saucepan until well mixed. Add milk and butter and stir over medium heat until butter is melted. Continue stirring (constantly) until the sugar dissolves- do not let the mixture boil. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Store in a jar in the fridge.

As a note- the fudge sauce will be very thick when cold. (Some might say it’s the perfect consistency for dipping a spoon into…) To make it easy to pour, just heat it in the microwave for 30 seconds or so. The fudge should keep for 2-3 months in the fridge (but it always manages to disappear within a week or so around here.)

*A note about the wedding pictures- I have the proofs from the wedding. I’m having some technical difficulties getting the pictures uploaded on to my computer, but as soon as I do that, the wedding recap will be on its way.
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My first tasting was with Company B. Mr. Peacock was not able to come with me, so I dragged my BFF Erin along and we took notes. There were a few misses, but most of the food was really amazing. We were able to pack up and take home the leftovers, which Mr. P devoured right when he walked in the door. The food was cold and anything that was originally crunchy was no longer, but he still loved it. Company A’s tasting was nothing compared to Company B. They tried to pass off a mini quiche as a deep dish pizza (Come on! We live in Chicago!) and they didn’t take any of our suggestions into consideration when preparing the tasting menu. The customer service was also sub par. In fact, I still haven’t heard from them since the tasting a year and a half ago.

I happily called Company B to let them know of my decision. Since then, I have had quite a few wonderful conversations with my sales person. She was always prompt, emailing me back within 10 minutes of sending it, even on Sundays! Her knowledge of the business was incredible.

Then, I got the email of doom #1- she was leaving Company B to become a hot shot at another big catering company. I was honestly heartbroken. I set up one last meeting with her and her “replacement” (I will call her Sally) so that I could feel confident in their services again. The meeting went well and I walked away assured. Until email of doom #2 arrived from Sally, introducing me to the true replacement, “Nancy”. Apparently Sally was simply filling in during the interim. I could either decide to stay with her or work with Nancy. I left the topic alone for awhile to think about it. I was confused, and very unhappy with how they had handled the situation. I was set to meet with Sally again at the rental company’s warehouse to select our chairs, tables, dishes, etc. in a few weeks and I would make a decision after that meeting.

Sally didn’t show up at the warehouse. In response to an email that I had sent her the night before, she called me that morning to let me know that she wasn’t aware of the meeting (although we had discussed it at our first meeting) and that she didn’t need to be with me. She felt that my mom and I could handle it without her. She was wrong. The warehouse visit went poorly because their salespeople weren’t sure what Company B would need to prepare the food, serve the coffee and create the bar. I wasn’t able to place my order and I walked away crabby.

I have my first meeting with Nancy this afternoon. I am already frustrated with them. I am very concerned because this is our biggest bill and the vendor that I will have the most contact with leading up to the wedding day. I chose Company B because the food was good, but truly it was for the customer service. I hadn’t been planning on hiring a Day of Coordinator, but these experiences (along with conversations that I have had with other Company B brides and coordinators) have caused me to rethink that move. The wedding is in less than three months. It has been smooth sailing until this point, and now I am starting to worry.

Has anyone else had a big vendor flake out on them so close to the wedding day?
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The first item on the menu was a sampling of appetizers: crostini with olive tapenade or caprese toppings. We also planned a self-serve course of cheese, fruit, and crackers.

Following appetizers during cocktail hour (during which we are planning signature cocktails from homemade infusions - more on this later), we would serve a plated salad with feta, strawberries, huckleberries (blackberries here since hucks are out of season), and spinach:

Following the salad course, we plan to offer a buffet with three options: fish, red meat, and vegetarian. My original thought was to offer Montana trout and Montana beef or bison and a vegetable pilaf or mushroom dish. Cimmaron explained that wild Alaskan salmon would be fresher, more flavorful, more easily available, and more cost effective. I can’t really argue with that since we’re wild salmon fiends and it will give our guests a taste of the Northwest as well. We tasted a Sockeye fillet with white wine, butter, and caper sauce with two choices of sides: grilled red potatoes and mixed grilled vegetables.

The beef we sampled was not Montana beef, but rather a hormone-free tri-tip steak from Idaho. It was marinated in a savory mushroom wine sauce and was so tasty I forgot about my disappointment that it wasn’t local.

Finally, we sampled a grilled portabella mushroom topped with minced spinach, roasted red pepper, and cheeses. It’s not the prettiest of dishes (I think it looks kind of like someone yakked on the plate), but it sure was delicious!

I’m happy that our food will not be elegant or impressively presented with garnishes and curlicues. (I think gourmet cooking would be strangely out of place where we’re getting married.) But our tasting did meet our requirements for cuisine that is well-prepared, flavorful, honest, and satisfying.

We chose barbecued foods for the ease with which they can be prepared in a remote location and the summer nostalgia of the grill.

It took me a while to decide between a plated service and buffet service. The price point of buffet was appealing, while the effortless elegance of plated service appealed to my aesthetic sensibilities. Ultimately, I figured that our guests would probably like to be able to sample a little of each dish and choose their own quantities, so we decided to opt for a plated salad course and a buffet entrée.

Which did you choose, and why?

Overall, I was very impressed with the professionalism and flexibility of Cimmaron’s staff. They anticipated our needs and were willing to work with us to develop courses that worked well with our venue (for example, suggesting French press coffee service instead of coffeemakers to accommodate the power drain on our generators). Based on our experience with Cimmaron versus the cooking arm of Polebridge, we left for my next appointment convinced that we would be working with Cimmaron on our wedding day.
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And now, without further ado, here is our menu!

Butlered hors d’oeuvres:

Seared baby lamb chops with mint pesto

Chili and lime cured salmon and cucumber pinwheels

Sesame crusted shrimp with a soy dipping sauce

Miniature crab cakes with remoulade sauce

Beef skewer with a cognac dipping sauce

Not pictured:

Pepita crusted chicken skewers with cilantro dip

Sauteed apple sliced with Roquefort cheese on French bread

Salad:

Empress salad with watercress, bok choy, julienne daikon root, water chestnuts and red peppers, with mandarin oranges and a lemon lime citrus dressing

Entrees:

Sesame almond coated chicken breast with an Asian black bean sauce

Vegetarian entree of mushroom, spinach and pine nuts in phyllo

Entrees will be accompanied with Chinese long beans and garlic mashed potatoes

Wedding cake: To be determined (see upcoming post to help us pick the style and flavors!)

All photos courtesy of Museum Catering.

So, who else was happily surprised by their initial tasting?

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Clockwise: mediterranean sausage stuffed mushrooms, roast tenderloin canape, five spice sea scallops wrapped in bacon and bbq duck wrapped in bacon

Main Courses:
Pecan and roasted shallot stuffed chicken with orange frangelico cream

Scallion and shrimp crusted salmon

Truffle scented chicken breast with wild mushroom marsala sauce

Parmesan grouper with smoked tomato buerre blanc

Choosing the “winners” was a lot easier than we expected it to be, all four of us were nearly unanimous on all counts. Each of us kept score on a print out of the menu. We decided to go with raspberry brie canapes (which I scarfed down before talking a photo), the sea scallops, crabcakes and mushrooms. For the main courses; the pecan stuffed chicken, the shrimp crusted salmon and a vegetarian dish that we have not tasted.

We were completely stuffed and excited after our tasting, everything was very yummy. So far this has been one of the wedding tasks that was purely fun. It was also great getting some of the future in-laws involved, something we aren’t able to do often.

What has been one of your most “fun” wedding tasks?
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Our first course will be a salad. We had two options to choose from:

We decided on the wedge with the edible(!) orchid– it had the most delicious creamy peppercorn dressing and it was everyone’s favorite.

Then our next course will be an intermezzo of mango sorbet. There are no words for how delicious it was and we all ate it all very quickly, before I could snap a photo!

Then we have a duet main course of fish and chicken. The chicken we chose is chicken breast rubbed with Indian tandoori spices, accompanied by malaysian rice and a carrot coulis. I’m really sad we don’t have a photo of it because it looked SO good. The fish is a caribbean-spiced sea bass with a pineapple-cucumber relish, served atop a bed of sautéed onions and peppers + banana leaf garnish, then finished with a citrus cream sauce.

Finally, we had three delicious desserts to choose from: an amaretto tiramisu served in a martini glass, a decadent hazelnut “crunchy” cake with raspberry sauce and fresh berries, and individual banana cream pies with macadamia nuts and toasted coconut.

We ended up going with the individual banana cream pies which were so deliciously creamy and delicious. Everyone couldn’t believe how dreamy they were!

And of course, we’ll have wedding cake which I’ll save for another post.

I’m so excited to have a menu that is a twist on standard Indian cuisine. So don’t be afraid to think outside the box when it comes to menu planning. Even if the venue gives you a pre-set menu (like ours did), you may be surprised at how willing they are to come up with something custom just for you. I think it’s a special treat for most chefs and it’s a great way to really personalize the event.

Are any of you serving a meal representative of your culture or background?
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