Get me to the church on time

Neil's Marriage in New York Eve extravaganza!

We're here. We're Queer

and we have got to find 10 yards of rainbow tulle , pronto!

The one and only time that we will ever do this, BUT, for today, it was called for, and it does look pretty.

 The Ariel view.

No, I was not ready when folks got her, 

but the inside of our house is clean for the first time

in a while! 

 Almost all the photos I took last night look like this, I am not sure why, it was sort of a twilighty time, so I think it confused my flash. So, not that many good pics of last night.

 Michael sticking with the theme....

 It was the last of the heat domed afternoons, beer went down smooth!!

" Have a little Priest......"

 dinner for 18... this was only round one

 The ONLY pic of the salads that I made that came out at all, and there in the center is the big old box of wal-mart plastic forks. Keeping it classy!

from the back

1. Tabbouleh. Which I made a different way, and will never go back to the way I used too. It is sort of a modified Ina Garten recipe, where you pour boiling water, the olive oil and lemon juice, all at once over the dry bulgar wheat, and let it sit for an hour. I used to boil mine and then add the dressing , this way is SO Much better. I added a good amount of cumin , some dried thyme and some old bay, and loads of black pepper. Everyone ate this up!
2. Carrot Salad with a honey - cardamom dressing. SO darn good! I fell in love with icy cold carrot salad at the big wedding that Jennifer and I did, so easy that I just redid it here. Carrots, pineapple tidbits, raisins and crasins. For the dressing, .. I should have paid more attention, because it was just righteous. The saved pineapple juice, a good table spoon or more of powered cardamom - which is a spice that I really like to cook with , esp in my curries etc, but the pods are $$$$  so look for the dried powder in your bulk spice section -lime juice, pinch of salt, cinnamon, and just a little bit of mayonnaise. Mix, then add teaspoonish of honey, taste for sweetness... you can always add more. A little heat , with the lime and the sweet... very good. Don't dress the veggies till 10 min or so before eating..
3. Summer Potato - Corn Salad. Ok, this one  you WILL be taking to your next little cul-de-sac pot luck thing. Five pounds of basic red potatoes, cut in bite size pieces. Toss in olive oil, salt and pepper. Put on a sheet of heavy duty foil and top with a few slices of lemon, cover in foil to make a packet, and roast at 375ish for an hour. Let cool a bit ,then add a bottle of Trader Joe's corn relish, mix and add a good hand full of chopped parsley. I tossed in a little olive oil right before serving.PERFECT for hot weather, and no one has to know how easy. Really, this was a keeper. 
4.  Italian Green Salad My little market here in Mendon and Wegmans have had what I call rocket for the past few weeks. It says baby Arugula on the clamshell, same thing. This is another EASY Summer salad. Same one I made for Roja's dinner the other night. Take a big baggie, add 2 cans of rinsed garbanzo beans, one can of chopped roasted red peppers , sliced into strips, and a can of black olives.. sliced, not sliced, go crazy. Grate in a little bit of garlic, salt, pepper, Olive oil, and a good slug of balsamic. If I had some fresh basil I would have added it. Let this sit for about an hour, then just put in the middle of a pile of the lightly dressed ( lemon juice and olive oil ) rocket. Everyone just eats this up, and it is very pretty.

 Brad and Carl, just back from their annual 

retreat at Chautauqua.

 Jack and Linda, who were our best people when we got married! 

This was not good, so, let's just don't talk about it

I also made a couple of

 FROZEN LEMON AID PIE's from SOUTHERN LIVING.

These are always a big hit, but I forgot that I add A LOT of lemon and lime zest when I made these pies, other wise they are just a tad overly sweet. Easy to make as well, you just have to remember to do it the night before.