The Cookie Table - Page 3

honeychile · #31 12-17-2009, 12:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by epchick

And judging a wedding based on a cookie table? That's plain ridiculous.

If you're talking about mine, I think it was joking. We did an amazing wine, cheese, fruit, and hors d'oerve table instead of the cookies. When I think of it, I'm fairly certain it was the only local wedding where there wasn't a cookie table!

Of course, you have to realize that it's not just about the cookies - it's the relatives & friends' way of saying that they approve of the match. LOL - that's probably why I didn't have the cookie table!

I used to facilitate at divorce seminars, and there was a cookie table there. The mid-western pastor who was there was checking it out, and I explained the meaning of the cookie table while everyone around me nodded. He firmly approved!

Gusteau · #32 12-17-2009, 12:34 AM

I'm a little bit surprised by all the wedding cake defenders...

Maybe its a regional thing, but at all of the wedding I've been to (mostly on Long Island) the rest of the food has been so out-of-this-world-gluttonously-incredible that the cake always seems to be lackluster and boring. All looks and no flavor. No one in my family likes wedding cake.

AGDee · #33 12-17-2009, 12:44 AM

I swear I posted about this before, but apparently it wasn't in this thread. Back in the early days of my cousins' weddings, everybody had cookie tables. They were all traditional Italian cookies (and our family did go right from Ellis Island to south of Pittsburgh) and I always thought this was an Italian tradition. Over the years, as the cousins had to "top" each other, the desserts on the cookie table became more and more elaborate, to include canoli and other pastries that I can't spell (spidini? pinolata?), and then on to more American desserts like cheesecakes, eclairs and cream puffs.

A wedding I went to recently had a beautiful candy table with the Chinese take out boxes and a spread of red candies and chocolate candies (Hershey's kisses, red licorice, chocolate covered cherries, etc.) The set up was breathtaking with candles and red ribbons and roses, with the candy in crystal brandy snifters, vases, etc. Absolutely stunning and fun too!

That was the same wedding that had a mashed potato bar near the end.. some carbs to soak up the alcohol. You got a wine glass with a scoop of mashed potatoes and they had all kinds of toppings you could put on them like bacon bits, cheese, broccoli, etc. Things you would put on baked potatoes. It was great. Best wedding ever, I'd say!

As for cakes, I've had plenty of delicious wedding cakes. My own wedding cake (first wedding) was wonderful. The actual cake on display was primarily styrofoam and the cake the guests got was packaged in a box, 1/2 lb per guest, with three flavors of my choice. Basically, a 3 layer piece of cake. I chose chocolate, cherry chip and yellow. It was the same bakery that all of my cousins had used so I knew the cake was great. It was moist, not soggy.. flavorful.. so yummy. It was all gone, partly, I think, because it was so easy to take home for later if you weren't hungry when they served the cake. There was one section of the display cake that was real so we had to cut from that section when we did the ceremonial cutting of the cake.

I love weddings, cookie tables, wedding cake and candy tables.. and mostly, I love mashed potato bars!

PeppyGPhiB · #34 12-17-2009, 04:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ASTalumna06

At most of the weddings I've been to, a piece of cake has been placed at my seat after everyone is already up, drinking and dancing. No one is remotely interested in the cake... except for the people who don't get out of their seats for the entire wedding.

ETA: Plus, with a cake, there's usually only one kind. But with so many cookies, you can please everyone!

I have had some delicious wedding cake through the years. And almost every wedding I've been to has had a different flavor on each tier, so there's a choice. Maybe it's a regional thing.

The trend up here over the past couple of years was a candy buffet. Chinese take out boxes and lots and lots of candy in apothocary jars. I do PR for a candy brand right now, but I couldn't bring myself to do a candy buffet, especially after so many people have done them now.

ETA: We are in the stage of cake tasting right now and have been blown away by all the choices. I think so far one of our favorites was pink champagne with fresh strawberry and custard filling. I personally care way more about what the cake tastes like than what it looks like. It will also be the only dessert at our wedding, aside from maybe some chocolate-covered strawberries.

kddani · #35 12-17-2009, 07:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PeppyGPhiB

ETA: We are in the stage of cake tasting right now and have been blown away by all the choices. I think so far one of our favorites was pink champagne with fresh strawberry and custard filling. I personally care way more about what the cake tastes like than what it looks like. It will also be the only dessert at our wedding, aside from maybe some chocolate-covered strawberries.

Keep in mind that the cakes you are sampling are WAY fresher than your actual wedding cake will be. Your actual wedding cake will likely have been made several days ahead of time, and probably decorated a few days in advance as well.

ForeverRoses · #36 12-17-2009, 11:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AGDee

That was the same wedding that had a mashed potato bar near the end.. some carbs to soak up the alcohol. You got a wine glass with a scoop of mashed potatoes and they had all kinds of toppings you could put on them like bacon bits, cheese, broccoli, etc. Things you would put on baked potatoes. It was great. Best wedding ever, I'd say!

I love that idea! Maybe I'll steal that for the New Years Eve party.

My wedding had a dessert table that my caterer provided as a wedding gift (she was a professional caterer, but also my husband's Aunt's best friend). My Mom added a bunch or merange and linzer cookies that she baked at home. That table was a bigger hit than the cake (especially with the kids). So I guess I had an inadvertant cookie table...

come to think of it, I don't even remember the cake...

KSUViolet06 · #37 12-17-2009, 11:59 AM

We have a thread about cake too for those interested!

http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/sh...=wedding+cakes

Munchkin03 · #38 12-17-2009, 04:17 PM

Is this similar to a Viennese table? Because I've been to weddings that have the Viennese tables and I LOVE it. I'm not all about wedding cake so sometimes I'll skip that and do the Viennese table. NOM NOM NOM

ASTalumna06 · #39 12-17-2009, 05:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Munchkin03

NOM NOM NOM

ree-Xi · #40 12-20-2009, 05:48 PM

This was the venetian table at our wedding. Is this similar to a "cookie table"? I think it had chocolate dip-to-order, cookies/pastries/canolis, fruit and other stuff. It's been a while so I don't quite remember, and this is a side shot. My hubby and I were in the pic to the right but I cut us out lol.

I also just remembered we had a Belgian waffle setup (the guy in the chef hat is doing that) and bunch of coffees.

ETA: I found several sites that said that the cookie table is the American version of the Venetian table. Here's a site that explains it: http://www.cakespy.com/2009/11/sweet...ng-art-of.html

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Benzgirl · #41 12-20-2009, 06:27 PM

I think a lot of cookie tables are based somewhat on ethnicity. Where I grew up (Ohio), I never went to a wedding that didn't have a cookie table. Most of these weddings had family backgrounds that were either Eastern European (Bulgaria, Macedonian, Greek) or Italian. My brother's wedding was no different. Even though his cake was fabulous, everyone migrated to the cookie table.

PhoenixAzul · #42 12-20-2009, 11:00 PM

While the cookies are very important to a Pittsburgh wedding, it doesn't replace the cake...they're almost like appetizers, because most people start picking away at them while the bride and groom are on their way, and it only gets worse throughout the night. Even with 30 dozen or so, my husband didn't get any of our cookies! So for our first anniversary, I did a "mini" cookie table with his favorites, and made palmeras con chocolate because he enjoyed them so much on our honeymoon. I can think of some truly terrible wedding cakes I've had (fondant, filled, and very expensive !), but I thought our cake was awesome. We went with a small local baker who basically bakes as a side project to his other job (as a baker in a commercial bakery!). It means that he doesn't have a billion cakes going at once and therefore fresh wedding cake. We ended up with a cookies and cream filling that was basically crushed oreos with some buttercream added. OMNOMNOM. It was even tasty and moist a year later after being frozen!

Did anyone else think their cake was still delicious a year later? My brother and SIL said theirs was OK, just dry, and another said that theirs basically liquified when it came out of the freezer?

RedRover · #43 12-20-2009, 11:46 PM

I am a Yinzer (a native of western Pennsylvania) and cookie tables are a big part of the culture.

When I was a little boy, my brother and I would wait up for my parents to come home from a wedding. We knew that my mother would have a paper plate wrapped with a napkin; both of us knew that there were cookies under that napkin.

In Yinzer culture, once the engagement is announced, every female relative (and close family friend) start baking. Cousin Sally might always make ladylocks, Aunt Kate might make her famous nut horns while the mother of the groom might make apricot horns. The best man's mother will make pizzelles (a thin, waffle-like cookie usually flavored with anise). As a rule, one only purchases specialty cookies, such as pizzelles.

Cookie tables are more of a tradition for southern (Greek or Italian) or Eastern European (too many to list) communities. Close friends and neighbors will bring their particular ethnic cookies, so Italian pizzelles will on the cookie table at a Polish wedding.

Yes, the wedding cake and the meal are more important. However, while no one might admit it, every one notices how many cookies and how many varieties were at the table.

kddani · #44 12-21-2009, 07:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhoenixAzul

Did anyone else think their cake was still delicious a year later? My brother and SIL said theirs was OK, just dry, and another said that theirs basically liquified when it came out of the freezer?

We had a lot of leftover wedding cake, so we would have a piece every now and then. Quite honestly I thought it got pretty icky after about 2 months in the freezer.

Hence why our baker gives their customers a free anniversary cake on their 1 year anniversary. They don't want us associating freezer burnt, funky tasting cake with their bakery.

Really, nothing should be in a freezer (especially a regular freezer and not a deep freezer) for a year. Especially not a baked good!

AZTheta · #45 12-21-2009, 09:50 AM

This thread has been great! I'm baking all day today, thanks to the incredible recipes and links that have been provided. The thought crossed my mind: Greek Chat cookbook (I have too much time on my hands right now)... I might just cut and paste and make my own.

The Cookie Table is (sadly) not a western US custom, but maybe it will migrate to the Southwest and the next wedding reception I attend will be as memorable as some that have been described in this thread.

Aside: my wedding cake was incredible; there was nothing left to freeze. In my experience, freezers "destroy" most foods after a few months anyway, no matter how carefully items are wrapped and packaged. My freezer is just for ice cubes and ice cream!