Plan a Wedding in a Week? Yes, I Did!

When a lifelong friend and longtime bachelor calls you on April Fool's Day and says... "I got engaged yesterday and I want to get married THIS coming Saturday"... the normal reaction is to bust out laughing. Which I did. But when he says he's serious, it is time to jump on the planning ASAP. Here's how I pulled together a beautiful, sentimental family wedding for 30 people in only one week. And here are the photos to prove it.

When you have less than a week to pull together a wedding, you don't have time to procrastinate and stress about the decisions you are making. You have to make decisions and move on... and that's what we did. No time to sweat the little things! Trusting your planner is essential:)

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I was the ovendor for just about everything. I was the planner, the chef, the florist, and even rental delivery... just about everything. What I could not make, I purchased. The one vendor I did hire was the photographer, Mo Davis from Arden Photography. Mo is a rock star, capturing every moment and every detail. Advice to brides: don't skimp on the photos. The pictures and the memories last a lifetime. AND I must thank my sweet friends Jared and Corey from The Sonnet House in Leeds, Alabama. Corey made the lovely bridal bouquet and boutonnieres... aren't they beautiful!

 

There was nothing but a bathhouse and a gorgeous lake on the remote property so we had to create everything, including a makeshift kitchen for the food service.

For the decor, the couple wanted a rustic theme to fit the farm setting so we used bales of pine straw, pots of spring flowers, branches, burlap, moss, Mason jars, rustic lanterns, and lots of candles. The pine straw along with the flats and pots of spring flowers were used at the front gate and also for the ceremony site. The couple has already planted those in their yard to enjoy all summer long.

 

We continued the rustic theme throughout the decor and for the food service. Wooden serving trays, cutting boards, bowls were all used. Charcuterie of cured meats, cheeses, and sausages plus grilled lamb pops were waiting for guests after the ceremony. For the main course, we kept it down on the farm with smoked pulled pork over organic grits and collard greens. For dessert, the two-tiered wedding cake was vanilla butter cream and filled with layers of homemade lemon curd and raspberry preserves. Since there was going to be a fire in the fire pit after dark, I made my signature s'mores with Nutella instead of a groom's cake and also made plenty as favors for guests to take home.

 

   

A lifetime of happiness to my sweet friends... thank you for letting me be a part of your day! Thanks to my assistant Caroline, my grill master Brad, Lauren, Kristal, and Sohaila along with Mo and Jared and Corey from the Sonnet House in Leeds! You made this easy!

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Simple Summer Fun: Host a Food Festival in Your Own Backyard!

Check out my ideas for simple summer entertaining from Talk of the Town in Nashville... I suggested a summer food festival right in your own backyard complete with food stations, games, a parade... simple summer fun. Our party theme was a Peach Festival with Chilton County peaches from my great state of Alabama but you can also center the party around your summer favorite: tomatoes, watermelon, blueberries, BBQ, ice cream... you name it!

GET THE RECIPES:

FRESH PEACH TARTS

FRESH PEACH SANGRIA

FOR SUMMER FOOD FESTIVALS, RECIPES AND GREAT ALABAMA FOOD CHECK OUT THE YEAR OF ALABAMA FOOD... LOTS OF GREAT FOOD FROM MY HOME STATE!

FOLLOW ME ON MY QUEST TO BECOME FOOD NETWORK STAR!

Summer Entertaining: Easiest Grilled Corn (ever!)

Whoop Whoop! It's just about corn season!! Fresh picked corn is probably already in stores and farmer's markets in some areas of the country and I just cannot wait to bite into that first piece of corn from the grill. Some of my friends think it is hard to grill good corn- that it gets dried out, etc. I've got a super easy way to grill corn for a crowd that is perfect every time. Here's how:

MARTIE'S PERFECTLY EASY GRILLED CORN

2 dozen ears of fresh corn in the husk (you don't have to remove the inner silks)

tub or bucket

Styrofoam ice chest

Grill

Long handled tongs

Directions

Check the ears for any evidence of bugs, etc. Snip the silks off of the tip of each ear. I usually don't slice the bottom off so people have something to hold on to... but you can cut them level if you are using plastic corn holders.

Submerge the ears in cool water and let them soak for 30 minutes.

While the corn is soaking, fire up your grill. You want medium heat and indirect - which means move the coals to the outer edge of the grill if you are using charcoal. Make sure the grill rack is not down too low. You want indirect heat so the husks don't burn. A bit of charring is good but if the heat is too high or the grill is too low over the coals, you'll burn up the husks before the corn cooks inside.

Once the coals are ready, drain the water.

Place the corn on the center of the grill- stay away from the outer edge where there could be hot spots.

Cover the grill and leave it alone for 12 minutes. (you may need to adjust the time if you have a larger quantity of corn)

Open and turn the ears to char the other side. Close the grill and let cook for another 5 minutes.

Remove the corn and immediately put it in the Styrofoam ice chest and put the top on it as fast as you can. Put something heavy on top of the chest to keep the lid down tight.

Allow the corn to continue to steam in the chest until serving time- at least 15 minutes. I usually do this an hour or more before the party and it is perfect to serve when guests arrive. The ice chest keeps the corn steaming hot!

To serve: Open the chest and allow guests to serve themselves. Simply peel back the husks and the silks fall off with it. So easy, so fast, and soooo good!

Serve with my wonderful HERB BUTTER and a little kosher salt.

Note: Make sure to have a box or something handy to collect all of the husks. And plan for at least two ears per guest... maybe three!

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Get Grilling: Smoky Chipotle BBQ Sauce

I am a huge fan of chipotle. No, not the fast food joint (although I do like it and have been known to stop in frequently) I am talking about chipotle, the pepper. I use chipotle powder in my recipes quite often. In case you don't know, chipotles are simply jalapeno peppers that have been smoked and dried. Used a lot in Mexican cooking, the earthy, smoky flavor of chipotle combines well with fruits like cherry, raspberry and cranberry, too.

CHIPOTLE BBQ SAUCE

1/2 cup BBQ sauce

1/4 cup canola oil

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

3 tablespoons chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (find canned in the Mexican section of the store; Goya makes them- so do many others) 

1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Combine all of the ingredients in a blender and whir until smooth. As an option, you can add a cup of fresh fruit along with a tablespoon of honey to the recipe. I really like raspberry. This is delicious on chicken!

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Get Grilling: Big Bob Gibson's Alabama White Sauce

I have been a fanof Big Bob Gibson's BBQ since I was 16 years old. I had some friends who lived in Decatur, Alabama and every time I would visit, they would insist that we have lunch at Big Bob Gibson's, which they proclaimed to be the best BBQ joint in the world. I'd never seen or heard of a white BBQ sauce before and this one had me at hey y'all... All these years later, I make a detour off I-65 and stop by to get my white sauce fix. Try it and let me know what you think.

BIG BOB GIBSON'S FAMOUS WHITE BBQ SAUCE

Ingredients

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup water

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon prepared horseradish

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon sugar

Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Refrigerate for a day. Bring to room temperature before using.

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