The Weirdest Thing

SachaBee

Hello!
I am wondering what is the weirdest thing (by your own definition) you have been served/eaten at a wedding.
Then, what is the best thing?
And what is the best weird thing?

I am basically trying to figure out what I can get away with...

jessicabessica

What do you have in mind?  At some point, you have to know your guests and what kind of eaters they are.  

I went to a wedding where the fish option was seared tuna steak (the kind that's served rare), which I thought was unusual for a fish option, but they had two other options (I think lamb chop and chicken or veg), so it wasn't a poor choice, I thought.  We had a buffet with halibut, salmon, mushroom marscapone purses, veggie streudel, spinach-artichoke lasagna, and a bunch of veggie sides.  We picked our venue based on the food quality and designed our menu with the chef, so I thought our food was pretty amazing.  

lyndausvi

I'm curious to see that your would like to serve because  weird is subjective.    Indian food at an Indian wedding would not be strange.  Indian food at one of DH's Italian family's wedding would be.

Most weddings I attend have a large variety of food to choose from, so even if there was something 'weird' there was always something else for me to choose from.

kmmssg

I"m with Stage.  Unfortunately I am not a foodie.  I wish I was.  I'd like to be.  It ain't happening.  I am jealous of foodies, but I just can't join the club.

It would be helpful to know what you are considering.  I really haven't had anything wierd and I"ve never been to a wedding where there wasn't something "main stream" offered as an option.

You don't have to have "wedding chicken", but you should have some kind of "normal" option for people who don't do wierd.

What are you thinking about in terms of food?

SachaBee

Lyndausvi, it is funny you mention that because I really wanted to have Indian food and neither of us is Indian! Do you think that is too out there for most people still? Should I have another option?

I'm still interested in responses to other questions too, just for curiosity factor

jessicabessica

Think about your guests.  Are there any guests that would not agree to go out for Indian food for a meal?  A lot of people won't eat Indian food because it's spicy, or they think it's spicy.  If you could work with the caterer to have food that isn't spicy and looks like it's not spicy, that could be one way to go.  You could also have a few stations to give more variety--one station could have Indian food, and another station could be a cuisine that is more "mainstream" for your guests. 

I would enjoy a reception with Indian food, whether it had other options or not, especially since Indian food tends to be very vegetarian-friendly.  However, we would not have done it for our reception, because without thinking too hard about my guestlist, I can easily think of some people that would have been uncomfortable with the food available to them.

reppunzel

I'm not sure that "weird" is quite the word, but the only truly unpleasant wedding food experience I've had was a potluck that was poorly done--tepid food (partially-fossilized casseroles and grocery store fried chicken gone rubbery) and the quantity was way off for the number of people attending (not nearly enough, at least of what was still edible).

I am all European in ancestry, but I LOVE Indian food!  Of course, I do tend to be a fairly adventurous eater.  I still think you could do it, though, if you had some "safe" options, maybe plain rice, basic naan (bread) and a non-spicy grilled chicken and veggie.  Are you planning a buffet?  Stations?  Plated?

rlavach

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_food-cakes_the-weirdest-thing?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:23Discussion:a7d1b137-dfc9-49c8-95de-d0c558a99ec4Post:24fb4bec-c1c4-4683-8426-7d66e04ba96f">Re: The Weirdest Thing</a>:
[QUOTE]Lyndausvi, it is funny you mention that because I really wanted to have Indian food and neither of us is Indian! Do you think that is too out there for most people still? Should I have another option? I'm still interested in responses to other questions too, just for curiosity factor :)
Posted by SachaBee[/QUOTE]
<span style="font-size:9pt;">I really wanted to do Indian food as well! Both DH and I love it, as do a good bit of our friends. None of us are of Indian descent. The problem is the majority of people are still too ignorant to appreciate foods of this culture. So, we scratched it. If I went to your wedding, I’d be SO HAPPY! </span>

TurtlesAllTheWayDown

My husband and I are foodies. I'm also a vegetarian and I live in LA, where there's a lot of Latin and Asian-inspired food. We had family coming from all over the US. Trust me when I say balancing our tastes with what we thought people would like was a HUGE issue! Sometimes, you have to do a little of both. Safe options, but also what you think is the most delicious. Plus, if you have people coming from out of town, you might want a dish or two that represents some local favorites, which they might not have had!

First, if you haven't already, find a good caterer. A GOOD caterer (or venue, if it comes with catering) will make good food, period. If food looks and smells appealing, and the recipes make sense (flavors go together) and everything is well cooked, most people will try it. I had a vegetarian wedding. Therefore, it was very important that we had GOOD food. (And a lot of people didn't even notice it was meat free! We got a lot of compliments on the food!)

Second, do a tasting. We had a plated meal. We started with a salad. I thought a regular garden salad would probably be the way to go. At our tasting, however, the best salad was a watermelon, goat cheese and butter lettuce salad with lemon-tarragon vinaigrette. It was SO good. I assume the watermelon was a little "weird" for some people, but at the same time, it was something I thought a lot of people would like if they tried it. (I think more people ate the salad than the soup, which was just butternut squash!)

Third, keep a few things safe. Some other "out there" options for us were tofu satay (passed hors d'oeuvre), brie and apple quesadillas with chipotle crema, and eggplant and feta-stuffed piquillo peppers. But these were all just passed hors d'oeuvre options. For the main course, we kept it pretty familiar with pasta - we did a mushroom ravioli with a butter sauce, and then a pasta primavera with a pesto sauce (in case people didn't like mushrooms or butter - we made sure there was neither in that dish). Plus, we had cake. So I figure even if people picked around their salad, they most likely ate pasta and cake. But the vast majority of our guests ate it all.

TurtlesAllTheWayDown

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_food-cakes_the-weirdest-thing?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:23Discussion:a7d1b137-dfc9-49c8-95de-d0c558a99ec4Post:24fb4bec-c1c4-4683-8426-7d66e04ba96f">Re: The Weirdest Thing</a>:
[QUOTE]Lyndausvi, it is funny you mention that because I really wanted to have Indian food and neither of us is Indian! Do you think that is too out there for most people still? Should I have another option? I'm still interested in responses to other questions too, just for curiosity factor :)
Posted by SachaBee[/QUOTE]

Soooo, now that I saw this.

You could have a few Indian or Indian-inspired dishes for hors d'oeuvres. Or as one option (maybe a chicken dish marinated in yogurt, with Indian-spices and a rice dish on the side).

Or you could do stations and have one with Indian food, and make the rest a little more familiar - Italian station, Mexican station, a slider station, etc.

SachaBee

I really like the idea of stations. We were thinking a buffet but I think having Indian station, salad, pasta, and maybe barbecue (North Carolina!) and probably one more. Thank you for the suggestions (and what not to do!). I am still a little worried people will think it is weird to have Indian food at the wedding of two Scottish people. But I will just make sure there is something for everyone to enjoy and then they will have no reason to complain.

lyndausvi

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_food-cakes_the-weirdest-thing?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:23Discussion:a7d1b137-dfc9-49c8-95de-d0c558a99ec4Post:24fb4bec-c1c4-4683-8426-7d66e04ba96f">Re: The Weirdest Thing</a>:
[QUOTE]Lyndausvi, it is funny you mention that because I really wanted to have Indian food and neither of us is Indian! Do you think that is too out there for most people still? Should I have another option? I'm still interested in responses to other questions too, just for curiosity factor :)
Posted by SachaBee[/QUOTE]

<div>Only you know your guests.  My family is pretty meat and potatoes.   Indian would not work.  </div><div>
</div><div>Indian food does not agree with my stomach, so I would not be able to eat it.  However I love such things as sushi and venison which to some would be considered 'weird' choices for a wedding.    We did have sushi at our wedding, it was just not the only option.</div>

kmmssg

I havent ventured into Indian food yet (DH and I keep talking about it) but if I went to your wedding with the stations you just mentioned, this little non-foodie would be a very happy camper!

ellie63

Scottish, huh? You don't want to serve haggis????

TheSlowskys

I'm pretty adventurous and love all sorts of ethnic foods but I cannot stand Indian food. I've had ceviche and raw bar at weddings. I don't think that is weird though. The one time I was at a wedding and thought the entree was weird was when they served chicken with a side of potatoes and penne with marinara. Aside from it being the worst wedding food I have ever eaten, I could not get over the fact that they served two starches on the same plate.

NOLAbridealmost

Hmmm....the "weirdest" thing I've ever been served was an oyster shooter (raw oyster in a shot of vodka with cocktail sauce and Worchestershire).  I am not a fan of raw oysters, but other guests really enjoyed them. 

Second weirdest was a shiitake mushroom and rice noodle spring roll with soy and cilantro glaze.  It was AWESOME. 

In both situations the "weird" thing was served alongside a ton of other options so I was a very, very happy camper. 

I'm a huge foodie, but typical Indian choices I've seen at weddings (read: curries) aren't my cup of tea. 

SachaBee

OK so definitely go with multiple options, from your responses. Thank you!
Sushi is a fantastic idea. I'm not sure I can get away with both sushi and Indian though. Hmmm...
But definitely not haggis. My fiance LOVES it but I can't stand it.

melb2013

You are so freakin lucky you can get Indian food at your wedding!  My FI is Indian, so we want Indian food at our wedding- not an easy task!  The caterer as agreed to serve an Indian dish as long as we supply a recipe (FI's mother is supplying a recipe for her family-famous chickpeas).  We're doing stations- one will be Indian, one will be pasta, one will be a grilled swordfish, one will be lamb, and one will be a soup and salad station.  

I agree that it depends on your crowd.  Obviously the Indian food makes sense for FI's family.  We're getting married on the New England shore, so we're doing clam chowder as the soup.  FI's family is Hindu, so they don't do beef- my family has probably never been to a wedding with beef.  We settled on lamb- it's a red meat!

FI and I LOVE sushi and we're doing it for our cocktail hour.  I don't see any problem with mixing ethnic cuisines as long as you think your guests will enjoy it. 

And I'll leave with this- because we had so many different food concerns, stations were really the best option.  That way there is something for everyone.