No longer Newlyweds....

Wow, a year? I can’t believe that it has been a year already. June 16th was our first wedding anniversary. Our wedding was held at the Grand Floridian at Walt Disney World, in Orlando, Florida. The food was amazing that day. For our anniversary, I decided to re-create the meal we had at our wedding. As nice as that sounds, we had a 5 course dinner at our wedding. I wasn’t concerned with making the food; I was more concerned with making the food, and enjoying it with my husband. I didn’t want to rush through the courses, but I didn’t want the food to get cold either. Fortunately, the food was perfect. And, it turns out that our year-old cake layer was delicious! I set the table using our fine (read: unused) china and all. It was a lovely, romantic dinner.



*Note: My wedding menu is listed in italics. My changes are described below each course*

Appetizer: Risotto Cake topped with Warm Buffalo Mozzarella, Roasted Garlic and Thinly Sliced Prosciutto Served with Roasted Red Pepper Coulis

Well, I’ll be honest. I did not make the risotto cake or the roasted red pepper coulis. I couldn’t figure out how to make the risotto cake, even after numerous internet searches, and I personally don’t like red peppers. I also don’t like prosciutto, but my husband lives for it, so that stayed. Instead, I toasted baguette slices with olive oil. I then topped them with the mozzarella, garlic, prosciutto (tomato for me), and balsamic vinaigrette.



Salad: Caesar Salad with Croutons and Shredded Asagio Cheese

I had never made my own Caesar salad dressing before, mostly because I wasn’t sure about the anchovies. But for the sake of good food, I dealt with it. I used a recipe from the Food Network’s website for the Caesar Salad and the croutons. It turned out delicious, but a bit too spicy for me. I won’t add the hot sauce to the dressing next time.



Intermezzo: Champagne Sorbet

Well, I don’t have an ice-cream maker, so making my own sorbet was out of the question. Instead, I made a champagne granita. I used an Asti, so that the granita would be sweet and refreshing. I served the granita in chilled martini glasses, just like they did at our wedding. It was delicious! The best part was that I have a lot leftover, a real treat in the hot South Florida weather!



Main Course: Beef Filet Mignon Served with Cabernet Sauce, Lobster Tail, Roasted Garlic Mashed Potato, Asparagus & Baby Carrots

I originally intended to keep dinner a surprise. That is, until I realized I’d be responsible for the lobster. And I could not deal with the lobster. My husband is responsible for all shellfish in our household. I have a strange issue with seeing my food in its whole form before I eat it. Needless to say, killing a lobster is not in my repertoire. So, I had to tell my husband about the dinner. He was happy to help out. He picked the lobsters at the supermarket, hid them from me, and then kicked me out of the kitchen so that he could do his thing. Totally worth blowing the surprise!

I kept the filets pretty simple: salt and pepper on each side. I first cooked them in my grill pan on the stove for 2 minutes on each side. I then put them into the oven until they were done (Joe likes medium, I like medium-well). I then let them rest while we started our meal.

I made a few changes with the vegetables. While we love garlic mashed potatoes, I make them regularly. So, it wasn’t very special any more. Instead, I added Boursin Cheese to the mashed potatoes. They were delicious, and a perfect pairing for the filet. I made Asparagus and Broccolini, as I couldn’t find good looking carrots, only the “baby” variety. The Cabernet Sauce was made using another Food Network recipe. It was delicious, and I can no longer imagine steak without it!



Dessert: Wedding Cake

Although we had a Disney wedding (and are TOTAL Disney freaks), we kept Mickey out of the theme. There were only 2 places where he could be found: our chocolate place cards and our cake. Our cake was over the top and wonderful. It had a White Chocolate Castle on top (which I enjoyed after the honeymoon), white chocolate bridges, and a Lennox Mickey and Minnie (provided by my Aunt). It was totally Disney.

My mom and dad were awesome. They took total responsibility for the top layer of the cake, to preserve tradition. They even drove straight home from Orlando with the cake near the A/C vents to ensure that the cake would not go bad in the summer heat. Needless to say, I was going to eat that cake. Since my husband was convinced that year-old cake was going to be disgusting, he warned me that he would take no part in eating it. So I got to pick the flavors (as each tier had a different flavor and filling). Naturally, I chose chocolate cake with dark chocolate mousse filling.

We had the cake with the same kind of Champagne served at our wedding. I think my husband (who is not a chocolate fan) ate more (year-old) cake than I did. It was that good. And, I look forward to having the rest of the layer this week!



I think this dinner may need to become tradition. To another year…