VegNews Wedding Celebration 2009

The Chefs: Everyone!

The Menu: Today, we went all out. In the second installment of an annual tradition, we toasted this year's wedding couples. Only one couple was local enough to make it over to the VNHQ on a weekday, and we were thrilled to welcome Barry and Jennifer (check out page 40 of our current issue!) for lunch. Inspired by their menu, Colleen busted out a crisp Caesar salad, which you see at the center of the plate, and Aurelia made a to-die-for artichoke dip and perfectly spiced barbecue tofu. Elizabeth tested the fancy-pants recipes from our forthcoming July+August food feature, which is all about tartares and carpaccios. Starting from nine o'clock on the plate, you see Tropical Fruit Tartare, Pineapple-Hazelnut Carpaccio, Apple-Cheddar Carpaccio, Almond-Carrot Tartare, and Mediterranean Tartare. Yes, you will definitely want to ready your ramekins—which we were sorely lacking today—and try these incredible combinations. Both Melissa and Stacy played indispensable roles as sous chefs, chopping and arranging fruit like crazy.

The Goods: Oh yes, we also had one other very, very special guest today: Chang from MaggieMudd! Ms. Chang bestowed upon us an utterly incredible gift—an ice-cream wedding cake! Um, holy crap. Check out the gorgeousness below. If ever there was a reason to wed, this cake is it. Let's just say it started with a brownie topped with Tar Mack ice cream—aka chocolate and peanut butter with crumbled cookies—and that was just the first layer. The second was an equally delicious toasted-coconut ice cream made with coconut milk, and the whole thing was adorned in whipped-cream frosting and decorated with fabulous fondant. Yes, we're in love. Congrats to all our wedding couples, and thanks to our guests for making the celebration possible! Cheers!