Pasta Pie

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Dr. Seuss (whose birthday is my birthday’s eve) has a cute book people give to high school graduates about Oh, The Places You’ll Go. After celebrating all the ups he then turns to:

https://mmopage.com/news/5ajomejp “Except when you don’t cause sometimes you won’t
I’m sorry to say so but, sadly, it’s true that Bang-ups and Hang-ups can happen to you.”

http://www.wowogallery.com/qqjrtfy4 Then he goes into decisions and second chances yada yada yada. Well, this is how I felt making this Pasta Pie. Mostly I share my triumphs and surprises but I have a doozy for you.

I saw this recipe on Pinterest by way of another blog but it sounds like it originated with Martha. I thought it looked so fun and it seemed genius! It didn’t work that well but was still totally edible.

https://manabernardes.com/2024/3qtac6afkh Ok, let’s start from the beginning.

https://serenityspaonline.com/135qrwfi1c I don’t have a springform pan. The last time I made cheesecake I figured it was safer in a circular pan anyway. Well, I have a new rockin’ baking piece from Le Creuset and I thought this Pasta Pie would be perfect in it too!
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Ingredients

1 pound rigatoni
3 cups pasta sauce
8 oz sweet Italian sausage
1 cup shredded cheese (Asaiago and Parmesan blend)

Directions

Cook pasta partially, until just before al dente (it will cook more in the oven)
Brown sausage.
Transfer cooked pasta into baking dish or springform pan and stand up pasta.
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Spread sausage and sauce over the top and finish with cheese.
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Bake 20 minutes at 375.

Buy Diazepam Online China I didn’t take the time to push the meat and sauce into the upright noodles so mine didn’t stay together at all. I also think my sauce was too chunky and the sausage chunks were too big. I definitely should have tried to get it into the holes though.
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Standing the pasta seemed daunting at first until I figured out my technique. I couldn’t get them to stay even with the help of a wooden spoon corralling them. Then I dumped ALL the pasta in and the ones I hadn’t stood up yet helped to keep the others standing.

https://www.justoffbase.co.uk/uncategorized/7l9kp88efs7 It actually reheated better than it was even that night. It mixed well like baked ziti would and the pasta wasn’t overdone.

https://space1026.com/2024/01/h8p21c4zfa They can’t all be winners…can they?

Better Than Ice Cream

1

https://www.chat-quiberon.com/2024/01/18/8qzkievh7iw Happy almost weekend. Don’t ya just need some ice cream? I could probably go for some ice cream any day, anytime. BUT there’s ice cream, and then there’s gelato. One of my favorite things in Italy is all the gelato. It’s so amazing. I also just looks so much nicer than American ice cream too. I remember how much I loved it the first time I had some in 2011 in Rome.

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It was just as delicious this time. I was also psyched to introduce Mr. J to it. Of course he loved it! He imagined it to be more icy and less creamy than it is.

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Gelato was our “meal” during our six hours exploring in Florence. In Spain we spotted this stick place that had it coated in a hard shell. Mr. J had to try one. Afterwards we kind of felt like just experienced a European tourist trap.

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It wasn’t as good as regular gelato. It also was quite pricey…darn those euros.
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Gelato is so pretty piled high overflowing from the metal containers. I scooped ice cream for a good portion of my high school & college life so I feel qualified to attest that 3 gallon tubs we hung over to scoop from never look this nice.

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The crisp stuck in is the perfect touch for gelato in a bowl. Love it!

Piggy Went to the Crockpot

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https://sieterevueltas.net/07a7vghjm I’ve been just on the edge of my seat to share my pulled pork with you! HUGE win for me. See, I attempted this once before. I cooked my pork butt for HOURS over the course of 2 days and it was terrible and undercooked. I tried to salvage it but it was a wash. I was annoyed, felt betrayed by the pork, and felt wasteful.

Buy Real Alprazolam This time was different since I used my shiny red crockpot for the pork butt/pork shoulder. Fun fact: pork butt and pork shoulder are the SAME thing. Pulled pork cooks low and slow for hours. Mr. J and I work too long for most crockpot items to be weeknight dinners. I was out of ketchup so I improvised with my fav tomatoes and some vinegar, salt, and sugar.
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The prep was super fast  in the morning and then it cooked low and slow for 10 hours all while the pup was probably drooling. I always wonder if he is driven crazy by the food smells or if he loves it. Well, he loves most things in life so I’d guess he loves it.
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Ingredients

https://equinlab.com/2024/01/18/pj49v6t11 4 pound pork shoulder/pork butt
1 onion, chopped
2 tbs garlic, chopped
1 cup canned tomatoes (or ketchup)
2 tbs white vinegar (omit if using ketchup)
⅓ cup cider vinegar
⅓ cup packed brown sugar
2 tbs paprika
3 tbs spicy brown mustard
2 tbs salt
2 tbs pepper
1 tsp liquid smoke

Directions

https://fireheartmusic.com/v7gryoz8 Mix onion, garlic, tomatoes, vinegars, sugar, paprika, mustard, salt and pepper.
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Cut pork into quarters being mindful if it is a bone-in cut (mine was).
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Add everything into the crockpot.
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Set for 10 hours on low and return home to delicious barbecue smells!
Gently remove pork and reheat the sauce on high or in a pot to thicken.
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I was so excited! This was good and really different from meat I typically serve. I used tongs to get it out of the crockpot and it FELL off the bone. Success! I didn’t even have to fork the meat appart…it separated enough just when I picked it up with the tongs a bit!
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There was a lot of meat here given I’m feeding two of us. We ate it a few times then I froze the rest with the sauce. I’m curious to see how it is defrosted.

I served it with some cornbread muffin tops I made. I rarely use my muffin top pan for actual muffins but I did this time! I used a mix but they’re easy enough to whip up.
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Festive Pumpkin Breakfast for Dinner

These pumpkin pancakes were supposed to be festive Halloween dinner since they’re orange. Long story, but they got a bit delayed. They were dinner another night and they were delicious! Cross it off my list!
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Pumpkin pancake batter is definitely more sticky than regular pancake batter. I made pumpkin waffles way back when for a girls night dinner. I recall them sticking A LOT and these lovely girls being sweet pretending it was fine that I had such trouble getting them out of the waffle iron.I made them as ebelskiver because that’s (almost) the only way to eat a pancake! Dropping some of our fillings into a standard pancake would be A-OK too. This is a half recipe which will feed 3-4 people.
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Ingredients:

½ cup flour
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp pumpkin pie seasoning (or ginger, allspice, and nutmeg)
½ tsp cinnamon
1 egg
½ cup milk
½ can pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 tbs vegetable oil

Directions

Mix dry ingredients.
Add wet ingredients mixing only until combined (lumps are OK).
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Cook pancakes.
These pancakes are a bit wetter/looser than regular pancakes which is perfect for ebelskiver. I pour some in each well of the pan. Then the filling goes in, before more batter covers that. One little flip ensures the even cooking.
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I used cinnamon chips as a filling. Have I proclaimed my love for these here? No? Ohh my goodness. These are so great in anything! Cinnamon chips make such a wonderful difference in pumpkin bread too. I grab some whenever I see them in the baking aisle…and by some I mean 3 bags.

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I also did maple sausage and some apple ones too. The apple wasn’t enough on it’s own. I think chopping apples with cinnamon and sugar might have made it sparkle more. It sure was fall feeling though!

The savory fillings get me every time. Yum. So, tell me. Is breakfast for dinner OK in your house?

Honeymoon Eats Roundup

I’m still recuperating from the wild blogaversary…just kidding! Here’s a rare weekend post because since the honeymoon, I’ve been to New York city and Charleston and have so much to catch up on! I photographed all my meals on the honeymoon. I’ll spare you a week’s worth of delicious three course meals but I wanted to document our favorite dishes.One of the beauties of cruising around Europe was that I got to eat anything I wanted and since meals on the boat are included, I never cheaped out! The downfall is that we weren’t ever in these amazing cities (Florence, Rome, Naples, Palma) at dinner time. Mr. J and I hurried to get  to see all the sites we possibly could in each place so we rarely even stopped for food! Eating buffet breakfast before entering the city kept us full anyway.

We got in the habit of relaxing poolside after running around all day and before dinner. Then, here’s where it got tasty. We would make a cheese plate and go to our balcony to watch as the ship pulled out. That is the life I tell ya.

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Now, let’s get to the meals. I had this pear salad with blue cheese and balsamic vinaigrette. What wonderful combos of flavors.

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My number 1 best meal I had was risotto with shrimp. DELECTABLE. I think I ate every bite. I loved the arugula on top. Remember risotto is on my list of dishes to make soon.
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Mr. J’s favorite meal was this angus pot roast. It was falling off the bone and he was really happy with this choice. Also, this guy loves any meat that comes with sauce/gravy.
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I ate fish at every opportunity I had. One really good one was tilapia over peppers and potatoes. The sauce was light but creamy and the fish was cooked perfectly. It didn’t look amazing but it was soooo good.
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Mr. J had a NY strip that he liked a lot too.
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Our favorite desert was a bread pudding with sticky toffee sauce. It was sweet without being sickeningly sweet and the egg flavor came though. The top was crispy, the underneath was soft, and the sauce was sticky…wow. There wasn’t definition from one bread chunk to another.
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All the meals were really good. I love Norwegian Cruise Line because of their freestyle dining options. We could show up to dinner at any of the restaurants at anytime and be seated alone. This was especially nice after racing around the cities and taking time to relax by the pool. I highly recommend NCL and hope to go on another soon (hint hint, wink wink)!

1st Blogaversary

Happy Blogaversary to The Three Bite Rule!

Can you believe The Three Bite Rule is a year old today?!?! Wow. I cannot believe it’s been 365 days with 139 posts and 667 photos and lots of techie learning along the way. This year has been full of changes, travel, our wedding, job changing, new kitchen equipment, and so much more.

In celebration I’d love to make some goals for year 2 of the blog and extend some awards.

Goals for year 2:

1 – Some behind the scenes growing up and some website changes: I need a better archive system/recipe index; biz cards; pinterest follow icon; and to finally figure out why my tweets like to repeat. I’m sure there are some other items that need tweaking too.

2 – I would love to improve my photos…I’m sure you’d love that too! I desperately want a kitchen with a window but in the meantime I need a better lighting set up. I got an amazing camera but the lack of natural light and too much yellow light annoys me when photo editing. Stay tuned.

3 – More guest posts: come on down! (email emily@thethreebiterule.com for details)

4 – Get a bit better about prepping posts further in advance. Ever notice they appear at 7:30 or 11:30? Well, I’m spilling the beans that no, I’m not hitting “send” before/during work. I schedule them to appear.

5 – More Giveaways. Scratch that. Some giveaways. Wouldn’t that be fun?

6 – More restaurant recreations, more food round ups, more food/drink related crafts, & more unusual stuff.

7 – Move to a house with real kitchen unlike my current apartment kitchen which drives me nutty. Then all my new kitchen toys can come out to play!

8 – Preview of coming attractions so you can get excited before I even post ‘em!

9 – Host more often so I can share with others and learn more from different tastes.

10 – Be more creative.

Now, for some superlatives:

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This was my favorite party of the year. I was blown away that we had 10 entries! Wow! Delicious! I was too busy having a wonderful time to take many photos. You get the idea though, right?
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Best Dressed: Tangy Asian Wings
I was happy with the photos of these and thought these were the best looking plates.
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This meal was so memorable. I loved all the courses, the wine pairings, how the restaurant really went all out, and all the choices.
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Biggest Meal Surprise: Ranch Chicken Burgers and Apple Slaw
I was surprised how amazing this meal was. I mean I knew it would be good but I was bowled over! I hadn’t made a burger inside before and it was a really pleasant surprise.
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Biggest Flop: Baked Orzo Flop
This dish was just sad and it didn’t even taste better than it looks. Bahh.
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https://therepairstore.ca/1rcp8mgtr Most Likely to Succeed: Calzones
Calzones are my signature dish and always seem to be a success!
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https://www.justoffbase.co.uk/uncategorized/3gpk6swan Proudest Moment: Meatballs
I hadn’t made them myself before but totally should more often…especially given my beef-less life!
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https://modaypadel.com/ec21bqi Best Supporting Actor: Butternut Squash Risotto
For Valentines Day at home I made some bbq pork ribs and butternut squash risotto. This side dish was sooo good. As Rachael would say…yum-o!
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Thanks to everyone who reads, comments, follows, subscribes, and supports me and The Three Bite Rule!

Spanish Winery Tour & Tasting Fun

One of the most fun cities on our honeymoon cruise was our visit to the city of Palma. Mr. J thought just saying Island of Majorca was pretty fun before we even got there.It was a surprise of sorts because my research suggested this coastal resort city wasn’t going to be as touristy or have as many sites we had to race around to get to.In Florence, Rome, and Naples we did our own thing since the excursions seemed too rigid and slow for us who wanted to see everything (read as: run around every minute we had in each city). In Palma, we opted for a winery tour and tasting the cruise offered and it was awesome. We went to Macia Batle Winery.
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The tour was super informative. I’ve been on winery tours before and I love them. It was so impressive that the tour guide was originally from Germany. She moved to Spain a few years ago. She’s fluent in German, Spanish, and English. Makes me feel like our education is lacking.

We saw the bottling machines and all the wine barrels. Some hicks on the tour were surprised that wine is stored for lengths of time. Wine aged? Shocking!
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I LOVED that they have local artists or artists with connections to the area design the labels. The art was hung throughout. I wanted to buy prints but they don’t sell them. What a cool souvenir!
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Now for the tasting…They had snacks too. I loved this place!

We tried 3 wines and several foods. The wines were so good. This was just the perfect setting to be poured wine, and told about it, and had plenty to drink and ponder. Marcia Batle grows herbs, grapes (obviously), olives, and have honeybees so we had wonderful things to try.
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Their olive oil is delicious. I wished it was bread to soak it up more, rather than our crackers. Then they sprayed the crackers with wine infused fleur de sel. Ohh my salty goodness. Amazing. I bought some fleur de sel with rosemary and cannot wait to use it. Sorry for the blurry photo…I was so excited to see the food!
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They also served some tapanades…three of ‘em. I’m not a huge olive fan, but these were very good. I probably liked them more than usual because of what else was in them. The roasted red pepper one was my fav and it was delicious with the wine.

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The winery served a local pizza too. It had a crisp crust with peppers and artichokes on top.  I wasn’t a big fan. Maybe because we’d just come from Italy or maybe because the spreads and crackers were so good, but this just didn’t do it for me.
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There was jam made with their grapes. Delicious! This was on a biscuit-like cracker. It tasted more like grapes than any grape jam I’ve ever had. Ever. We had it with a dessert wine which was think and syrupy.

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Marcia Batle had lovely frosted glass wine bottle lights and really creative decor. Now I want to try to make art out of my favorite wines. I was so in love, and so happy to be there. Mr. J and I left with a lovely wine-induced haze and lovely memories.

Chili Cookoff

Way back when, I mentioned a chili cook-off I entered. I didn’t win but it was a great excuse to make some chili. It also got me thinking about my next birthday cook-off/taste-off…especially after last year’s booming success!

Ms. J from Better Than Butter introduced me to the cookoff. Guess what?! She won!! Woohoo!

I made a chili recipe my friend Ms. A graciously gave to me after I complimented her chili profusely about 5 years ago. It is modeled after Wendy’s Chili and it’s realllly good. I told her I’d share my winnings but I didn’t quite win. I came in a pretty respectable 4th (out of 11 or 12?).
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Here’s the recipe, with a few of my own tweaks, to make a HUGE batch. I recommend cutting in half if you aren’t serving an army or if you don’t want leftovers for weeks. It’s just too easy not to make more often.

Ingredients

3 lbs. ground turkey
1 can tomato sauce (29 oz)
1 can tomatoes with green chilis (10 oz)
1 can kidney beans (29 oz with liquid)
1 can black beans (29 oz with liquid)
1 large onion, diced
1 cup green chili, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
3 medium tomatoes, diced
1 clove of garlic, diced
3 tbs cumin powder
4 tbs chili powder
2 tbs black pepper
3 tbs salt
3 cups water
1 tsp liquid smoke

Directions

Brown the meat and drain.
Add the tomato sauce, tomatoes and onion.
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Add the beans, chilies, celery, and garlic.
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Add the spices.
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Finally add water and bring to a simmer over low heat.
Cook, stirring every 15 minutes, for 3 hours

The chili cook-off was a fundraiser for the Arlington Boys & Girls Club. It was $10 to enter a chili and $1 to sample and vote during a fall event they were having. I thought it was fun and it was great to see the community support.

We served non-stop for 90 minutes. I filled a huge crock pot. Most folks ran out even serving small amounts! It was so busy  that we (the chili cookers) didn’t get to sample everyone else’s chili! We were asked to list the ingredients so the tasters could have that info. I would have liked to see what everyone used.

I didn’t serve any toppings but totally should have. People had tortilla chips, cornbread, cheese, onion, etc! I had a bit leftover so Mr. J and I ate that with cornbread muffin tops once I got home.

Pizza Recreation

Back when I went to the pizza class, I felt surprised so many people there don’t make pizza regularly. I’ve never had a pizza catastrophe so I wasn’t sure what the big scare was. Until now. Dun Dun Dunnnn!
neopolitan_pizza_done_590_390Mr. J and I were so excited to recreate the AMAZING Neapolitan pizza we had in Naples. Remember that? I like thick, puffy, and crispy crust (and usually I’m in a hurry) so I don’t stretch the dough out all that much. When dough is cold is does that elasticy bounce-back even when you have stretched it out. It isn’t as sticky when it’s cold. Guess what happened when I tried for thinner than I’ve ever done.
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Bahhh. I was getting frustrated so Mr. J swooped in and saved the day. That’s how badly he wanted this pizza! Our rolling pin was MIA so he used the next handiest thing. It was cold which probably helped too.
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Ingredients

pizza dough
tomato sauce (I used Pastene’s Kitchen Ready tomatoes)
fresh mozzarella, sliced
basil leaves

Directions

Preheat oven and pizza stone to 450 degrees (mine takes forever so I whipped up some fried ravioli while I was waiting!)
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Roll out dough to the thinnest you can get without holes and place onto pizza stone or pan.
Spread tomato sauce onto dough
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Layer mozzarella slices on and sprinkle basil on top.
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Bake 15 minutes or until outer crust is crunchy and cheese melts.

It was really delicious. I think because it was so think I had trouble crisping the edges without destroying the cheese. I thought maybe next time I’d pre-cook the crust for a few minutes. Or maybe I’ll cover the middle with foil and try to crisp the crusts a bit. Maybe I’ll throw the basil on when it’s almost cooked.
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Ms. C is prob in her glory with all the pizza I’ve had lately and what is still to come! But man, I just can’t compete with a 700-degree brick pizza oven!

This pizza is so simple so the ingredients are super important to shine through. I love this tomato sauce because it doesn’t have any water, just tomatoes and some tomato puree. It’s our new sauce at home now.
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Since I haven’t quite mastered the Neopolitan pizza, where do you suggest I get one in Boston/greater Boston? Any tips on making my own? Don’t be bashful now!

Wedding Bliss

I loved our wedding.Is that a weird statement? Who doesn’t love their own wedding?! hahaha. It was just the day of my dreams and I enjoyed every second. I’ll remember how everything felt for the rest of my life. I’m just so happy to be married to Mr. J.I have a few photos to share food related and some details which aren’t make it-or-break it wedding details but things I loved . Here’s the moment I thought of thethreebiterule.com during the wedding and when my amazing friends offered a camera to help me document it. The photo wasn’t quite the best I’ve ever taken, but thankfully Mrs. K captured this happening which I love even more!
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Disclaimer: these fantastic photos are not my own. Our extremely talented photographer, Scott Zuehlke, captured every moment perfectly. We let him do his thing and I’m not sure I ever mentioned I had a food blog but I’m psyched he got such great food shots. He’s pretty awesome and you should check him out.
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The appetizers were delicious and I wish I got to try them all. We served phyllo & asiago wrapped asparagus tips with red pepper aioli, coconut chicken with raspberry sweet & sour sauce, scallops wrapped bacon in a maple balsamic glaze, mongolian pulled pork on a corn cake with carmelized onion, miniature tomato brushetta with balsamic syrup.
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That’s prime group-photo-time and since the ceremony and reception were in the same place, there’s no lag time in-between…which I’m not a fan of when I’m a guest anyway so I just had to deal missing the cocktail hour for photos. To the venue’s defense…they did bring us a few apps.

Though, they also served the bridal party’s champagne to the guests we were trying to get to leave the patio for family & bridal party pictures.
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I wish I had kept a napkin but I thought they were cute and very thematic with the birds we had on our invitations. Mr. J wasn’t as in love with them since the colors were a bit off. They’re super cheap and can be a fun touch especially since we had birds on our invitations & placecards etc.
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The talented Mr. J designed everything so when we talked about menus he was gung-ho. When I attend weddings, I don’t always remember what food I’ve ordered so I thought these would be fun.  We had to get the invitations out before having a tasting at the venue so the choice on the response card was chicken or beef. Boo. I know! I like to know the food details too.
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The salad had the best crumbled goat cheese I’ve ever had. I’m not always a fan but this was great.  I’d love to get the shallot vinaigrette by the bottle. Candied pecans weren’t tough to take either.
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Dinner was a choice of chicken francese or filet mignon and some mysterious vegetarian option. I had the chicken and Mr. J had the beef. It was kind of a lot of food. I liked mine, but obviously it was better when served super hot at the tasting.
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I get catering though…100 meals at the same moment? Yikes. I have trouble with sides and entree at the same time for 2!
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The cake was pretty amazing. I never eat the cake at weddings but I had cake we brought home. I never even noticed the cake being sliced. I was probably in a dance-off with Mr. J (while the room of people watched) while cake was being served. Maybe that didn’t happen at the same exact time, but it definitely happened!

The topper was one of my favorite things ever. Loved it! Mr. J hunted for it and it was perfect. It was actually one of the only details I didn’t share with everyone. Surprise! It was heavy so we had the bakery pre-approve it that he wouldn’t sink into the cake. Our black lab Windsor was well represented that day in the ceremony, my vows, and on the cake!

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Best! Day! Ever!