Marriage Cocktail Celebration- REALfoodie Style

That is what I told my family, who wanted to celebrate my marriage as soon as we arrived in Florida last week. For those of you readers who have been keeping up with my articles, you know that I moved from Italy to Brazil with my husband in November 2010. We purchased and remodeled an apartment, but decided that Porto Alegre is not for us and so we put it up for sale and left Brazil for USA.

Although my husband and I have been living together for years, we only just legalized our union recently. Since neither of us wanted to make a big deal, we decided on a small, intimate gathering of family and a few friends. My parents have a lovely, spacious pool home on a lake and it was truly the perfect setting for the occasion.

Like me, my mother and sisters LOVE to plan a party and to cook, so they were in charge of the menu. Meanwhile, I went in search of beverages. There is new wine store in town called Total Wine and I found some wonderful Spanish Cava and Prosecco from Valdobbiadene region, both perfect for our heavy cocktail buffet. For red lovers, we got some great Portuguese wine from the Dão region.

The spread included many of our favorites like a nice selection of cheeses and crackers, bruschetta, creamy lobster spread, delicate spinach pastries, my mother's amazing chicken salad with red grapes and walnuts, my sister Sandra's delicious deviled eggs, and my sister Tanya's Argentian-inspired empanadas. My mother made a few sweets, too, like melt in your mouth Brazilian Beijinhos (see my hub on Brigadeiros and Beijinhos). We ordered two cakes: vanilla cake with raspberry filling and butter cream frosting and carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. Cake decorations included fresh, colorful flowers and believe it or not, a Mickey and Minnie salt & pepper shaker (a wedding gift from my 7-year-old niece who just went on a Disney cruise- adding the porcelain mice as a cake topper made her day).

Glass vases of fresh yellow roses adorned the food tables and there were dozens of tea lights illuminating the lanai and pool area. Indoor ficus trees were decorated with white lights to create a magical atmosphere. All in all, it was a lovely evening full of great people, delicious food, good wine, laughter, and joy. It was a simple and happy event that my husband and I will never forget.

The empanadas were so yummy that I had to share the recipe with you:

TANYA'S EASY EMPANADA RECIPE (this recipe makes 20, so multiply as needed):

Dough:2 packages GOYA brand empanada dough. There are 10 pre-cut circles per package. Please note that while there are some good dough recipes in my family, this Goya brand dough works really well and saves you a lot of time and effort.

Filling:
* About 1/2 kilo (1 pound) high quality lean ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup chopped green or black olives (or a mixture of both)
1/4 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 T tomato paste
1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
salt, black pepper, oregano- to taste
(1 beaten egg)

Preheat oven to 350 F

1. Saute onion, garlic and red bell pepper in skillet.

2. Add ground beef and cook until tender.

3. Add olives, 1T tomato paste and seasonings. Simmer for a few minutes and before removing from heat, add the cheese. Mix well.

4. Place filling by spoonful in center of dough circle. Wet the rim of the circle with water (you can use your finger or a brush). Fold over to make a half moon and crimp with a fork.

5.Brush each empanada with beaten egg and place on cookie sheet or pizza stone. Bake until golden brown (about 20 minutes).

*Chicken breast may be used instead (cook and shred before adding to onions, garlic and red peppers).

Now that we are here in Florida, we are regrouping and looking at all of our options. When one door closes, another one usually opens and we are ready to take chances. No matter what we end up doing or where we end up living, my intention is to keep on writing about food related articles, post recipes and maybe even do some restaurant reviews. Our adventures will surely continue and I hope that all of you will join me!

Thanks for reading! xoxo, C