The Wedding of Comfort Food : A Foodies Dream

I recently went to one of my good friend's weddings in Newport, Rhode Island. First of all, this town was beautiful! It puts the "r" in romance. Definitely a town I'd love to go to on a long weekend in my future. It apparently is known for weddings and had 700 weddings the weekend we were there. It has many mansions that house these weddings.

It is set right on the water and is a very beachy town with cute stores, lobster rolls, lobster pounds, and beautiful cliff walk views. Also, it has the Tennis Hall of Fame for all you tennis players out there! It also happens to be the place where the first US Open was held.

My friend's wedding definitely had a very creative and cute menu! Some of the things that were served, I would have never even thought of creating, but are extremely easy to prepare and serve at a party. I thought I would share some of the ideas with you all so you can host and entertain!

Friday Night Clam Bake - Beautiful Bride and Groom

The Friday night dinner was a New England Style Clam Bake,which first of all, I have never even heard of anyone having at a wedding. It was ingenious! It was held outside in a tent with cute beachy table decorations. Every guest had the choice of having lobster or steak. I, of course chose the lobster.

Dinner started off with clam fritters, which were fried deliciousness! They looked like hush puppies, but had clam inside of them, and had a nice sweet and buttery taste! Definitely an artery clogger, but so so good! After the clam fritters, clam chowder was served. I haven't had clam chowder in ages, so this was quite the treat for me! I am definitely a fan of the creamy New England style clam chowder, versus the Manhattan clam chowder.

After we finished our chowder, it was dinner time! Now, this is where the food choices got extremely interesting. The lobster was served on top of a fishing style net that was filled with potatoes, mussels, 3 different types of sausages, and corn.

Lobster on top of netted mussels, corn, potatoes, and sausage

 I have never seen lobster served that way. I am used to the standard baked potato and corn. The additional muscles were quite the treat! The sausage I probably could have done without, but it was fun to taste each kind and compare and contrast them. 

Now, onto the wedding night fare.... 

The food was no only delicious food, but every dish was served in a themed container that pertained to the dish. I unfortunately did not get pictures of most of the dishes because I was too busy eating the food..

Menu for cocktail hour: 

- pulled pork served on a sweet potato slice 

- mini grilled cheese served in a shot glass with tomato soup at the bottom

- shrimp served in a shot glass with dipping sauce at the bottom (3 choices: cocktail sauce, a tartar    sauce, and a chili sauce) 

- calamari in a paper cone 

- beef wellington puff pastries 

- a cheese table with an amazing cheese souffle with mushrooms  

After cocktail hour, all the guests went into the main room. This wedding didn't have a traditional sit down dinner with waiter service. It had comfort foods that were hand passed and also stationed around the room. Guests could choose anything they wanted to eat at their leisure and at their own pace. It was definitely a great way to celebrate! 

Menu for Dinner Time:

- Sushi Bar (cute bento boxes were placed on the table for each guest to choose their selection) 

- Lobster Mac and Cheese ( served in a martini glass with a side of salad) 

- Gorgonzola and pear salad - absolutely scrumptious 

- Pumpkin Soup served in a miniature pumpkin- completely ingenious and adorable! 

- Slider served in a brown paper bag with fries and gravy - simply delicious 

- Pizza bar

- Pumpkin Ravioli 

- Dumpling with pesto

- Short ribs served in a mason jar

- Pad thai served in a chinese container 

 Lobster Mac & Cheese Served in Martini Glass

Pumpkin Soup Served in a Pumpkin - totally cute!

Dumplings with Pesto

The other amazing thing about this wedding was the martini bar. You could go outside and order from 4 choices of speciality martinis! Definitely a great idea! 

After that weekend, the dieting began! Hopefully I have filled you in on some good party throwing food ideas for all you hosts and hostesses!