Island-themed wedding menu

[biev]

Hubby and I are kind of getting married again this april Because I'm canadian, I wasn't allowed to live with him and we had to rush to get married in Quebec. His family wasn't there, and now that I'm finally allowed to move down here, we'll be replaying the ceremony on the beach, with his whole family there.

We're trying to keep this simple, so we'll pronounce our vows and then have a cookout on the beach. I'm thinking I'll have to feed around 45 people, but I'm asking the family to pitch in. Everyone will be bringing something, if I can tell them what to bring...

Since people are always miserable all dressed up on the beach, we're doing this island-themed. Everyone in their beach clothes, and I'd like the menu to follow the theme too. The thing is, I haven't been in Key West long and I'm not really that familiar with the local cooking. It's very cuban influenced, I know that much. Someone has offered to make pork with black beans, which I've noticed is always served at any kind of party around here. ...Now what, though? You would think the people here would help me out with ideas, but they haven't at all!

If you can come up with suggestions, I will ask my mother-in-law who cooks this, and ring them up! There are lots of cooks in the family - I think they just want to see me fret If there are things that can be prepared in advance, I wouldn't mind preparing some food myself.

 

[Constance]

What fun! A beach wedding in Key West!
Considering that you're feeding 45 people, you'll want to have things that don't need a lot of last minute preparations. Can you set up a grill there?

I'd start with lots of peel-your-own boiled shrimp on ice. You can also toss shell-on shrimp in olive oil and Cajun Seasoning, skewer them, and do on the grill.

Small skewers with assorted cubes of ham, assorted cheeses, green & black olives and chunks of pineapple can be stuck into red or green cabbage halves...they always go over well. The cubes can be made the day before, then it's no trick to spear them and stick them in the cabbage. Or, you can make a big tray with bowls of the assorted items surrounded by leaf lettuce and a few flower blossoms. Place the skewers in a glass or vase on the side.

I have some more ideas...will be back later.

 

[ironchef]

What kind of holding/storing equipment will be availabe to you? Do you have ice bins, chafing dishes, etc.? Being that you'll be on the beach, time, temperature, and storage methods will be very, very important.

 

[biev]

I need to go double-check, but I think there's a couple grills. There's a bunch tiki huts with tables. I'm thinking we will need to bring a lot of coolers. It's definitely gonna be hot outside... I'm thinking everything will be kept in coolers in cars until we're ready.

What does chafing mean? (I'm french)

It's also not very far from most people's houses so some people can always leave to get stuff and come back if necessary, although that's not as fun...

People will get there at 4:30 and we should be eating around 6

 

[buckytom]

since you are in the keys, ya gotta make something with key limes. maybe key lime mojitos? would that work?
of course, key lime pie is the standard.

also, conch and shrimp are common there, as well as tuna and alligator.

here's a site with some recipes to help you out biev:

http://www.seafoodfish.com/html/keywestrecipes.html

btw, when you get the chance, go to flagler's restaurant in the casa marina resort. nice place, good seafood.

lol, i asked dw to marry me there, right on the beach one night. (i shoulda drowned myself instead...)
i buried the ring in the sand by a palm tree, and set up a little evening picnic on the beach. i was nervous that someone was going to see me and steal the ring before we got there.
ya know, now that i think about it, she never said "yes", just "is that real"?
do i get a do-over?

 

[ironchef]

I need to go double-check, but I think there's a couple grills. There's a bunch tiki huts with tables. I'm thinking we will need to bring a lot of coolers. It's definitely gonna be hot outside... I'm thinking everything will be kept in coolers in cars until we're ready.

What does chafing mean? (I'm french)

It's also not very far from most people's houses so some people can always leave to get stuff and come back if necessary, although that's not as fun...

People will get there at 4:30 and we should be eating around 6

A chafing dish is a vessel used to hold hot foods during service by way of sterno's:

 

[biev]

Ohhh we'll have that for the pork and beans.

I'm going to ask my mom-in-law to make some conch fritter, and we'll get some key lime pie instead of cake (we're both not big on cake...). My brother will be flying down from Quebec, he can also make us some awsome looking fruit towers He used to work in a breakfast restaurant.

 

[pdswife]

Congrats! It sounds like you're going to have a wonderful day!!

 

[Constance]

My husband asked me to marry him when we were in Key West in 1986. We have our 20th anniversary coming up this July, and while we've weathered a lot of storms, we are more in love than ever.

Wish y'all could have seen Key West back then, before it became so commercialized. When we went back about 8 years ago, and while it was still fun, it was not the same. But then time does not stand still.

Here are a couple of suggestions for side dishes:

Hawaiian Baked Beans

2 16oz cans pork and beans in tomato sauce
2 15oz cans 3 bean salad, drained
2 8oz cans crushed pineapple, drained
2/3 cup bottled BBQ sauce
2 tbl Worchester sauce
1 lb bacon, cooked, drained and chopped

In sprayed 3 quart casserole, combine all ingredients excepts bacon. Sprinkle bacon over top and bake uncovered in 350 degree over about 1 hour, until hot and bubbly.

Serves 12

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This is a spicy slaw that goes great with any kind of BBQ, fried fish, pulled pork, whatever. It is vinegar based, and can sit out indefinately.

North Carolina Style Slaw

1 Cabbage; shredded (or 2 packages coleslaw mix)
1 tsp Pepper
2 Red and green bell peppers, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1/8-1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 c Cider vinegar
1/4 c Brown sugar
1 ts Salt
1/4-1/2 cups Ketchup

Mix everything but cabbage and peppers and taste!!!!! Add whatever you think you might want more of ( ketchup and sugar reduce bitterness).

Dump it in with the vegs and mix well. Let sit in fridge to chill and allow the flavors to mix.
****************************

You might also consider a couple of spiral cut hams for your main meat dish.

 

[Constance]

HB just wondered which beach you have chosen...Key West doesn't have a lot of beach.

 

[biev]

Oh, I picked a real nice one It's gonna be on Patio beach, it's on the military base - my husband's law enforcement, so we're lucky enough to have access to it. It has no seaweed, just white sand and clear water And it will most likely be just us! It will cost us 1$ per civillian.

 

[biev]

Ok here is what I have confirmed so far:
Pork with black beans, rice
Conch fritters
Fruit platter
Individual key lime pies (we'll put them on a three-tiered thingie so it's more wedding cake-ish)


Is anything missing? Do I add peel and eat shrimp, or is that too much?
What kind of drinks should I serve, to follow the theme?

 

[mudbug]

Red Stripe beer (you said it was casual, right?)

 

[biev]

Casual, yes. I've never heard of red stripe beer, how is it and is it easy to find?

 

[Constance]

I'd add the shrimp, for sure, and a salad of some sort to round out your menu. I don't mean to push my slaw, but it would really be good with the other things you're having, and it's so easy.

I could eat my weight in conch fritters.

What sort of beverage are you looking for? My husband makes a great punch with a "punch". Everyone loves it...you can't even taste the alcohol.

 

[biev]

A punch would be good! How does he make it?

I was thinking of serving cocktails, since I don't think we'll have champagne or all that fancy stuff this time around. I'd keep that for after the beach though. TJ's friends enjoy a stiffer drink

I will go through your recipe again, I was just worried to be planning too much food. I've never organized anything for more than 5 people. And I know it's easy to go overboard with weddings!

 

[mudbug]

Casual, yes. I've never heard of red stripe beer, how is it and is it easy to find?

Hi biev. Red Stripe is a Jamaican beer that I particularly like. Should be easy to find in the Keys.

 

[Constance]

Here you go...everyone likes this.

Kim's Fever Water

1 big jug cheap vodka
1 big jug cheap rum
1 gallon orange juice
1 lb sugar (or to taste)
1 small bottle grenadine
1 large jar maraschino cherries
2 oranges, sliced
1 lemon, sliced
1 lime, sliced

Fill a 5 gallon water cooler about 2/3 full of ice. Pour in all the above. Stir with a baseball bat. Best if you let it stand for a few hours, but that seldom happens around here.
If, by chance, you have any left over, put it in the freezer. It makes a great slush.

We had this at our wedding, and no one wanted to leave the reception. But the ranger ran us out at dark. LOL

 

[mudbug]

Let's all go to Connie and Kim's and have a par-tay!!!!!!!!!!

 

[biev]

Thanks Constance! lol I'll need to find a baseball bat...

I gave the other recipes some more thought. I don't think we'll be able to do the shrimp after all, the ice would melt and they would end up floating in water. Every time I bring a water cooler full of ice to my husband's races I find my gatorade floating in water by the time I open it

I asked my husband if he liked coleslaw, he said "ooh I love the word Slaw!" I think I will go with that, I just realized that we had no vegetables.

It's been decided that we would go to the in-laws after the beach, so I was thinking of having a little cocktail there - but nothing my friends can tweak to get me too drunk so this is the best part, I get to try different ones now and see if I like them