Chicken and fish recipe

Burtonbaby145

Hello all! My wedding is August third on the beach and the reception is in an old pier house.

Keeping with that theme, we are planning on a chicken and fish, probably mahi, as well as a vegetarian pasta option. My problem is that the caterering is done by the venue, and the menu choices for chicken ad mahi are super similar. The chicken is a coconut chicken with mango slaw and the mahi is grilled with mango relish...

I honestly hate mango and pineapple! anyways haha but one dish with that would be fine. I kind of like the idea of the coconut chicken and think it would go well with it.

My question is, are there any good mahi recipes you know of that are similar beachy, islandy style but not so similar to the chicken dish? I am planning on mahi being the main option instead of doing some kind of steak since it is a locally caught fish and is inseason in August.

Thanks for the help, any suggestions are appreciated!!!

UPDATE: I am thinking about going with a simple grilled mahi with a Thai style coconut sauce serve with jasmine rice. I need some kind of veggie to go with it. Keeping with this same style, any ideas for a chicken recipe?

jessicabessica

If it's fresh mahi mahi, I would love to have it simply grilled.  I also like it blackened, although you might not want to have it be too spicy (or if you do, make it clear so that guests that don't like spicy can choose a different option).  If you want sauce, maybe teriyaki?  What sort of sides does the venue offer?

NOLAbridealmost

What about like a traditional meuniere sauce?  (Dredge the mahi in flour and then cook with a simple brown butter, lemon, and caper sauce).   Always a crowd pleaser. 

ETA:  You could chose this method for either the mahi or the chicken.  Maybe stay with the mango preparation the venue uses for the fish and then do this for the chicken?  Grilled/roasted chicken with a lemon butter sauce would be about the safest dish you could offer). 

RebeccaB88

I'd be really, really careful with coconut too.  Lots of people hate it.  I can't eat fish and I hate coconut, so I'd have a hard time eating at your wedding.

Burtonbaby145

I'm also planning on doing a vegetarian pasta option so hopefully that would be a crowd pleaser as well! Both of our families are fortunately pretty adventurous eaters as far as flavors go, so we should be alright

kmmssg

I too think you should reconsider the coconut chicken.  Remember, this is supposed to appeal to your guests more than you.  I love coconut.  I love to cook with coconut.  HALF of my large family hates coconut and that isn't uncommon.  fish?  Comes directly from Satan.  I really think you should go for coconutless chicken as a far safer bet.  I would love it, but a LOT of people hate coconut.

jessicabessica

I would not choose 2 of 3 dishes with coconut.  My H is an adventurous eater, but he just doesn't like coconut.  I get that you have the vegetarian pasta, but I don't see why you would put a commonly disliked ingredient in 2 of your 3 options.  Have 1 with coconut, one with another preparation, and the pasta.

lyndausvi

 I LOVE mahi with mango relish.   It's odd, because I don't really eat mango except as a relish.
 
I digress.   I'm not a fan of coconut either.  So I agree not to have coconut on both dishes.

What about jerk chicken with a coleslaw and plantains?

TurtlesAllTheWayDown

I wouldn't do coconut chicken and mango mahi because both are sweet/savory dishes and not everyone likes that.

What about doing a tequila-lime chicken, which is still sort of tropical, but spicy/citrusy instead of sweet. You could also do a chicken piccata, which has lemons/capers, so you get some citrus, but it's not sweet. Or, if you did a coconut chicken, I'd do some kind of blackened mahi.

Burtonbaby145

Thanks for all the advice! Sorry, somehow it came across wrong, I would definitely not do two coconut dishes, but I will probably do the mahi with a coconut sauce maybe served in a small dish on the side and some kind of chicken that is going to have more universal appeal. I love the idea of a jerk chicken or a tequilalime chicken! I hope my chef can maybe think of a way to make these homey dishes slightly more upscale nothing pretentious, just restaurantpar. The veggie pasta is a penne with tequilalike dressing with squash and other summer veggies, it's fantastic an would go along great with either of the chicken dishes! Thanks so much for the suggestions! Now any idea for children's food? I have several kiddos under 10.