The Whisk & Ladle wedding....

**Before I start this entry, I'd like to thank the people at The Whisk and Ladle AND Harold McGee and his wonderful book "On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen.' The entry wouldn't be here if it weren't for them.

http://www.thewhiskandladle.com

My roommate, partner in cooking crime, and eventual 'Tompkins' co-owner Anna works with an array of interesting people. One of them is involved with a Supper Club called the Whisk and Ladle. TW&L operates out of a loft apartment in Brooklyn. Normally they do weekly or monthly dinners for reserved guests and small parties. However, a friend of the people that run it asked them to cater their upcoming wedding. When you're feeding 120 people, its going to take more pairs of hands to get the job done. Luckily for Ms Jones, Anna was asked to help out and to bring me along to put my idle hands to work.

After taking the train, a bus, and walking a number of blocks (because we got off the bus too soon, haha) through some beautiful park areas of the city, we arrived at TW&L house around 11:30 am. The apartment itself was unique, or at least in terms of the places I've seen since I've been in the city. It was a bit cluttered due to the size of the task being undertaken, BUT here's an idea of the layout. A staircase splits the main living space as soon as you walk in. On a 45 degree angle to the right side you see a huge island in the middle of the kitchen. This island is topped with a cutting friendly surface and book-ended with more counter space (looks to be added on by the residents of the place itself). Adjacent to the island is literally a wooden swing suspended from the ceiling. Beyond the kitchen is a table then a bar space with stool seating. At a 90- degree angle to the right of the front door is a foyer type area with a full bathroom in the corner. To the left of the staircase is more foyer space and then at a 45 degree angle to the left is the living room. Couches, etc. Beyond that living area is a dining area. Separating the bar area on the right from the dining area on the left is a free standing boxed in room. I'm not sure what/who resides in said boxed room, but on top is storage and a few seats. If you go up the staircase, there's the rest of the living quarters.

Its in this space that the Whisk and Ladle holds its Supper Club dinner and parties...but this particular day, the focus was prepping and cooking for the evening wedding reception following a late afternoon wedding.

I had gotten an idea of what was going to be served from Anna a couple days ahead of time, but wasn't 100% sure of all that was already done OR what still needed to be done. We arrived and were introduced to most of the people that really make up the core of Whisk and Ladle staff.

Right away we were put to work. I was given the task of peeling and pressing a TON of garlic for the 'Trio of Guacamoles' and Anna was in charge of splitting, pitting, and scooping the flesh out of ripe avocados. Pressing and avocado-ing led to small talk and from there we were able to determine more of the dishes that were going to be served for dinner.

In talking with TW&L staff, they said that with a group of people working to come up with a menu, there were alot of great ideas brought to the table for this event. However, the bride and groom were able to weed through the list they were presented with and put together a simple, elegant, and most importantly, LIGHT menu with complimentary flavors.

Appetizers would be laid out and ready for the guests when they arrived around 4:30. This consisted of beef or vegetarian empanadas, an amazing ceviche, and the guacamole trio. The empanadas were all handmade and I had the pleasure of sampling a vegetarian one. It was sweet and savory, filled with sweet potato, peppers, a couple different kinds of squash, and onion. The dough was crispy on the outside and not too dense throughout. A peach salsa was served on the side, but I really don't think it was even necessary. Three different kinds of guacamole were prepped as well: regular, mango, and a black bean and beet version. Served with corn tortilla chips and plantain chips, all three were great! Well balanced, no ingredients overpowering each other, and the beet guac had an amazing burgundy color similar to borscht. I was really impressed with the flavor of the mango because I had tried mango salsa before, but never mixed with avocado. The textures went well together and again, balanced each other out when it came to flavor. Sweet and smooth.

My favorite of all the appetizers HAD to be the ceviche, which had been prepared by the time we got there and was ready to go in a GIANT container. For those of you who don't know, Ceviche is a dish that has it origins in the northers coast of South America. Small cubes (or thin slices) of raw fish are 'cooked' by immersing them in citrus juice and other acidic liquids. Onions, chili peppers, and other seasonings are usually added to the mix and the whole thing is left to marinate for at least a few hours, depending on how much one wants the texture and appearance of the fish to change. As it sits in the acidic bath, the muscle tissues' proteins denature and coagulate and the fish's normally gel like and translucent tissue becomes opaque and firm to the touch. However, it exhibits none of the flavor changes that high temperature cooked fish does. Sounds bizarre when you explain it a-la-Harold McGee, but essentially, the acid in the marinade cooks the fish. Its a giant vat of cold fish stew that you can literally throw it all together and have it all set in a few hours. This particular ceviche used mild white fish (you never want to use something that you wouldn't eat cold and something that takes on flavors particularly well...i've seen it work with lobster and shrimp), lime juice, red onion, and fresh strawberries. Brilliant and refreshing. The fish was soft and melted in your mouth, but was still firm to the point where it didn't flake off the fork. The berries took on the tang of the lime juice exceptionally well...almost like a sour strawberry candy that didn't make your face scrunch up in pleasure (or pain if you are crazy enough NOT to love sour candy). The bar also opened up during the appetizer portion of the night and we watched glasses of chardonnay, homemade sangria, and mojitos empty as the evening went on.

As for the main courses, three pots full of coconut rice were on the stove cooking away when we got to the apartment and Nick was cleaning and cutting Tilapia filets, which would eventually be put in the oven to bake. The rice and TIlapia would be the main fillings to the 'Make Your Own Fish Taco' bar in the middle of the buffet lines at dinner. Other taco toppings included a homemade yogurt-cilantro sauce, fresh tomatoes, lettuce, and red onion. Shells would be skillet-warmed corn tortillas.

On either side of the central M-Y-O Fish Taco bar would be salads and two kinds of enchiladas (steak and veggie). The first salad was roasted tomatoes, onions, and avocados on top of field greens. Have I mentioned how much I love the buttery texture of avocados yet? Because I do. The second salad was a crisp and fruity sweet corn and jicama slaw. Jicama is one of those root vegetables that I think everyone should try even if they are skeptical. Lets be honest here, I think everyone should try everything once! Some foods are sorely underappreciated...expand your minds and stomachs people!

Going into Harold McGee mode again, jicama is the swollen storage root of Pachyrhizus erosus (a South American member of the bean family). The highlight of its character is a sturdy crispness, which it even retains after cooking. If i had to compare the crunch of jicama to something, it would probably be along the same lines as Oshiniko (as seen in Japanese cold appetizers and maki rolls) , or a less nutty water chestnut. The spherical root veggie can keep for long periods of time without discoloration...although once you taste it, I'm sure you won't let it sit for very long before devouring it all.

Back to the slaw. The julienned jicama was tossed with diced mango, sweet corn, cilantro, and I even discovered grapefruit in the mix. Needless to say, the color was as vibrant and bright as the taste. The third was a black bean salad with onions and tomatoes. Balancing out the jicama and corn slaw, this bean salad had a a vinegary taste and smell to it, kind of like a black bean relish. Still wonderfully light for the amazingly humid and sunny afternoon/evening. I cant say anything about the enchiladas because I didn't sample them. But everything I heard from folks was that they were a huge hit.

SO that was the first and main course of the whole meal. Dessert was done in the perfect manner. Light and simple, just like everything else that had been done that afternoon/evening. Guests had their choice of one of (or both, lol) homemade Key Lime Pie with fresh whipped cream and Tres Leches cake topped with fresh blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries. If you look up Tres Leches (cake of three milks) up on Wikipedia...this is what you'll find. And I quote: "A Tres leches cake, or Pastel de Tres leches cake is literally a cake soaked in three kinds of milk: condensed, evaporated, and either whole milk or heavy cream. Since butter is not often used in in the cake itself, tres leches is a very light cake, with many air bubbles. This distinct texture is why, although it is soaked in a mixture of three types of milk, it does not have a soggy consistency." If you read further, you'll discover that this cake has origins in (or disputed origins) Mexico and Nicaragua and is quite popular in many areas of Latin America, which makes it a no-brainer for this wedding menu. The air pockets in the cake absorb all the liquid and makes it taste so rich while being gentle on the stomach. I'd liken it to a super moist, but not soaked, pound cake. Fabulous. The Key Lime pie was amazing as well, playing off the bright, crisp flavors in each part of the full meal.

Judging from the faces of the guests, they were unbelievably happy with the entire day. A beautiful wedding day just made that much better by sharing an amazing meal with the ones you love. Rather touching I'd say. Again, thank you SO SO SO much to everyone at the Whisk and Ladle for allowing me to be a small part of a hugely successful undertaking. They are so passionate about what they do and it really shows. They are completely professional and on top of their game and you saw that from the start of the day to the very end. If there's anything similar to a Supper Club around your personal area, I highly encourage you guys to check it out. They're like diamonds in the rough, you know?

ps - **I may have gotten a couple ingredients wrong here...because some of the prep work I wasn't able to actually see...

Next up....the good and the bad about school at the FCI.....stay tuned!