Ruby Wedding Meal - on a budget!

tartantotty

Its my parents ruby wedding anniversary in a couple of weeks and as part of their pressie I want to make them a ruby inspired meal, at their house (and as cheaply as poss!)

I had thought of roasted red pepper and tomato soup
venison/steak/roast beef in red wine sauce (meat dependent on offers at the time, whatever is cheapest!)
Pudding I am stuck on, I would like to make something seasonal but also fairly cheap as I dont have a lot of spare cash!

I am fairly decent cook so could cope with something a bit more complicated, but any ideas will be gratefully recieved!

csarina

summer pudding and whipped double cream?????? Poached pears in wine jelly? meringue pavlova filled with red fruit........

babyshoes

Umm, for pudding inspiration I think raspberries are still in season, as you can get varieties which fruit well into October. Some pick your own places will still have red berries, and are a lot cheaper than shops. A simple coulis is yummy with ice cream, or if you can get strawberries and redcurrants you could make a 'summer berries' fruit salad or crumble.

On the 'Great British Bake Off' recently, one baker made bikkies with a 'stained glass' window made from crushed boiled sweets which melted in the oven - perhaps you could try something like that in a red 'jewel' shape, maybe to go with coffee afterwards? Hers didn't work out so well as she read the recipe wrong, so something to practise in advance!

On the side of your stew type meat, perhaps make lovely white rice with bits of red pepper stirred in towards the end of cooking- that way you can use up all the red peppers you buy to make the soup, plus perhaps one extra. Don't forget to serve some green veg too though

What drink will you serve them? Do they drink red wine - or will it be red fruit juice?

Good luck, I think it is a lovely idea.

tartantotty

Thanks for the prompt replies!

I am thinking HM pavlova for pud now, and there are a few PYO places round about (I am lucky enough to be in Scotland, where IMHO you get the tastiest rasps!).
Love the biscuits with the jewelled effect, and I think I have a recipe in a christmas cookbook somwhere so will have to rake that out.

And duh, I just realised I could use my SC to make the main, and freeze it, and could so the same with the soup. Need to get a good recipe now and I am all set!

Thanks again! :T

tartantotty

and for drinkies, I thought a bottle of sparkling shiraz, and then something 'borrowed' from their wine stash in the garage (they are in a wine club so bulk buy the great deals!) :-)

csarina

You can make the pavolova base ahead of time, I use 3 egg whites, 6 ozs sugar and add a teaspoon of cornflour to the sugar. and a teasp of vanilla essence, make it in the usual way and tip the meringue onto a sheet of silicone paper, spread out and build up the sides to keep the fruit in, then into an ELECTRIC oven at 300 for 1 hour, turn off the oven and leave until the next morning, them wrap gently in foil and store in a warm dry place until needed. This makes a really crisp meringue which melts in the mouth, oh goodness I am slavering at the thought...its one of my favourite desserts for a celebration especially filled with raspberries and strawberries and topped with lashings of whipped cream.....scrummy............

Make some shortbread hearts to serve with it...........

meritaten

or - you could go retro and make them a meal from 1970!
the height of sophistication - prawn cocktail - served in those stemmed champagne glasses.
beef bourgignon
black forest gatuax (I can NEVER spell it)
also serve - cheese straws, cheese cubes with pineapple chunks (tinned of course) on cocktail sticks, little silverskin onions on cocktail sticks as hors de ouvres ( or horses doovers as we called them), and if you were really trying to be posh - triangles of toast with 'patty' or caviar!

tartantotty

meritaten wrote: »

or - you could go retro and make them a meal from 1970!
the height of sophistication - prawn cocktail - served in those stemmed champagne glasses.
beef bourgignon
black forest gatuax (I can NEVER spell it)
also serve - cheese straws, cheese cubes with pineapple chunks (tinned of course) on cocktail sticks, little silverskin onions on cocktail sticks as hors de ouvres ( or horses doovers as we called them), and if you were really trying to be posh - triangles of toast with 'patty' or caviar!

Ooooh i never even thought of a retro meal, and I love retro! And we call them horses doofers too! :rotfl:That may be a plan also!!

Butterfly_Brain

Dessert
Raspberry jewels - basically raspberries in jelly serve with ice cream or whipped cream

elf06

I always think that cup cakes are that little bit retro and I have a FAB recipe for black forrest cupcakes! I have only made them once but everyone who had one asked me to make more :rotfl:

Deans_2

A couple of ideas that I have used for a pre wedding meal and also a friends ruby anniversary - I used a heart theme:
Soup with heart shaped croutons
Beef in red wine that I made into a pie - using heart shaped cuuter I put hearts on top and the initials of the happy couple
Heart shaped pavlova! It really looked fab & was a bit of a show stopper - it was actually really easy to shape
We also had pink sparkling wine
Good luck and have fun!