Entries Tagged as 'cake'

Cory & Chris’s Sake Ceremony & Cake Cutting

July 1st, 2009 · No Comments

Chris and Cory’s wedding reception was held at Maxim’s in the Gold Coast neighborhood of Chicago. The star of the night? The Sake Keg.

sake_keg

And don’t forget the cake, even though it was a more minor player. Chris’s aunt made it and it was delicious.. lemon and raspberry inside.

wedding_cake

First off, Cory’s dad, Steve, gave a short speech.

steve1

I believe Steve talked about the sake ceremony, but to be honest, I can’t remember at all.

steve_gail_cory_chris

Luckily I found this tidbit: Kagami-biraki is a ceremony performed at celebratory events in which the lid of the sake barrel is broken open by a wooden mallet and the sake is served to everyone present. Kagami refers to the lid of the sake barrel and biraki means “to open” so kagami-biraki literally means “opening the lid.” Because of the lid’s round shape, the kagami is a symbol of harmony. The kagami-biraki, therefore, represents an opening to harmony and good fortune.

cory_chris_speech

Talk faster Steve, they are about to rush the keg.

sake_crowd

These guys are about the grab the mallet themselves.

sake_keg_crowd

The masu waiting to be filled. (Note the M monogram. M for Marello, Cory & Chris’s last name.)

masu

Finally it was time for Chris to knock the cover off the sake keg.

opening_keg

Cory and Chris get the first pours.

cory_chris_serving_sake

serving_sake

cory_chris_masu

Cory and Chris wanted to get all of the traditions out of the way, so immediately after the sake ceremony, they cut the cake. A lot of people missed this because they were too busy rushing the keg, but I got this nice photo.

cory_chris_cake_cutting

Tomorrow I’ll post more photos from Cory and Chris’s reception.

On a side note, Naoko and Doug had a sake keg at their wedding a few years ago. I’m not going to spill any family secrets from either party, but I think it’s safe to say there may not ever be any more sake kegs allowed at any family events after this past Saturday!

[Read more →]

Tags:········

Rob and Colleen’s Wedding Reception

September 1st, 2008 · No Comments


Homemade cranberry jam.


Candy for the kids.


Wedding cakes (they were actually good!)


Flowers


Rob getting a glass of the beer he made.


Billy & Ging during dinner.


Killian & Liz during dinner.

After the wedding ceremony and some posed photos we all walked or took a ride in a golf cart down the road to a property that was rented for the wedding reception. We kept our wedding outfits on for an hour or so during a cocktail and hors d’oeuvres period, but after that we all changed, bride and groom included, into more casual clothing.


Cutting the cake.


Cutting the cake.


Dallas, Billy, Ging & Colleen used to all live in Boston when Rob did.


Liz, Killian, Rachelle, Dallas, Billy, Ging


Colleen, Ging, Josh, Jessie, Killian, Liz, Rob’s parents

Rob has spent the last year learning how to brew beer. He had 9 pony kegs done in time for the wedding. Rob’s family owns a cranberry bog and he even had one cranberry beer. Of course there was also cranberry cheese and cranberry jams as giveaways.


Lou contemplating life’s big mysteries.


Dallas


Dallas & Josh


Harpswell, Maine

I loved that the wedding reception was like a casual yard party, except with everyone you know invited. The waterfront was beautiful and we had fun visiting with everyone while enjoying Rob’s delicious concoctions.

[Read more →]

Tags:···················

1-2-3-4 Things I Like

July 29th, 2008 · 2 Comments

All of this is a bit old, but I’ve been meaning to post on it and just got the chance.

1. Feist changed the lyrics to her 1-2-3-4 song and was on Sesame Street teaching kids to count. I didn’t realize that famous musicians still made appearances on that show.

2. I wish my name was Emma and this was my birthday cake. (Thanks, Chris!)

3. Two covers I’m liking: Adele‘s cover of Make You Feel My Love and The Bird and The Bee‘s cover of How Deep is Your Love.

4. Last week I finished watching the whole first season of Mad Men. There was a marathon and I recorded the whole thing and then watched it little by little. I’m loving that show. The closing of Episode 4 featured the song “Manhattan” by Ella Fitzgerald. I downloaded this song and have been listening to it on my iPod. You listen to it on YouTube below.

[Read more →]

Tags:············

Guilt-Free Applesauce Coffee Cake

January 26th, 2008 · 3 Comments

Applesauce Cake

This post first appeared on Chicagoist.

It’s the 4th week in January. Do you know where your diet is?

If your New Year’s resolution was to get fit but you’ve got a mean sweet tooth holding you back, this applesauce cake may be your savior. Satisfyingly sweet, but made with no butter or eggs to add unnecessary fat. Just don’t eat it all in one sitting!

Applesauce Cake PieceIngredients

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup fat-free or lowfat sour cream
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup applesauce

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 9-inch square pan with cooking spray.

Stir together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl. Stir together sour cream, oil and applesauce in a small bowl. Stir sour cream mixture into flour mixture just to mix. (Do not beat.)

Spoon batter into prepared pan and sprinkle with additional brown sugar, if desired. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 40 to 45 minutes. Allow cake to cool before slicing into 16 pieces.

[Read more →]

Tags:·····

Whisky Dinner @ David Burke’s Primehouse

August 31st, 2007 · 3 Comments

Talisker

Singleton

Amuse Bouche

Last week Wednesday, before I went to California and before my family was visiting, Chuck and I met up with Alpana Singh and her husband Charles Blackstone at a wine tasting she was hosting at Osteria Via Stato. Afterwards she had made dinner arrangements for us at David Burke’s Primehouse and also invited Martin Duffy, a whisky expert.

Butter

Popover

Marty made special arrangements to bring his own high-end whiskys to dinner and spent a lot of time describing each one and educating us about whisky and scotch, how it’s made, how it tastes, the smell, where it comes from, it’s history, etc. I know some of the others at dinner knew more about whisky, but for me it was really a learning experience. I think whisky will have to be an acquired taste for me and I should probably keep at it, but I like trying new things and learning all about whisky that night was really fun for me.

Cold Seafood

Onion Ring Tower

I must also talk about David Burke’s Primehouse. It was divine. I don’t eat very much steak at all, but I thought it was fantastic. I loved the decor, the lighting, the tables, and of course the food. The service was pretty great, but because we had special arrangements, I can’t really speak for how it is on a regular night. I mean, David Burke himself came out to our table to say hello. Awesome.

Bone-In Filet

Caol Ila

Glenkinchie

One thing I really liked about Primehouse even before I set foot in the restaurant was the fact that the restaurant is named after a bull on a ranch in Kentucky that sires all of the cows who are then butchered to make the steaks used in David Burke’s restaurants. The bull’s name is Prime (and he has his own website here). It’s kind of morbid to think about, but I was really digging the fact that David Burke is so into his ingredients and that involved in knowing where they come from. Also, an interesting fact we learned that night: If Prime were to die today, there’s enough of him (his sperm?) in storage that they could continue making steaks with his lineage for about 50 years.

Lagavulin

Chocolate Mousse

Lollipop Tree

Here’s what it comes down to – David Burke’s Primehouse is pricey, but I thought it was really worth it. If you’re in Chicago and have a special occasion coming up and you love steak, why not try it out instead of the normal go-tos like Morton’s and Gibson’s?

Read Chuck’s post about our dinner on Chicagoist.

Cookies

Cake

[Read more →]

Tags:·······························