My Wedding--It began with Polish Polka practice and ended with Pinochle!

I married my partner, John, on December 26th, 2015. I wanted a Christmas wedding, with all the decorations still up, lights lit, and colors of red, white, and gold abounding. I got my wish!

I love this picture. Sometimes simple is the best!

We had the wedding at St. John the Apostle MCC Church in Fort Myers, Florida. The church was awash in red poinsettias. We added two red and white floral arrangements to flank the altar. Pastor Steve Filizzi performed the ceremony. Wonderful friends served as attendants.

John and I at the altar after our wedding service.
The flowers from Cape Coral Florist were beautiful!

A picture of the wedding party.
We are truly blessed to have great friends!

One of the cookie trays.
There weren't any left at the end of the evening!

Cutting the "cakes." We had five! All different.
They came from Fresh Market in Fort Myers and were delicious!

Blake Becker was our caterer.
His friend, Nicole, was his assistant and bartender.
Blake's food was out of this world good!!! And he is a great friend!

 I made a side dish of Polish Hunter's Stew (Bigos) and kielbasa. I also made the cookies that were served and given as favors to take home in little gingerbread houses. 

We never danced the polka at the reception, but we did end the evening with a couple of rousing hands of pinochle at the hotel where relatives were staying.

How we spent our honeymoon--
after the reception playing pinochle with the family!
My sister, Felicia, joined, us later.

It was a magical day! I am so happy that John and I had the opportunity to join our lives together from now to eternity!

Our friends, Kurt and Jack, gave us this ornament.
It is very special!

Feel free to post a comment below.

Second Sunday Brunch at St. John the Apostle, MCC, in Ft. Myers, Florida - August 2012

I made quiche for fifty people for Second Sunday Brunch. Tried something different--a quiche made with chicken. It turned out great! I served it with a colesaw with grapes and raisins (my friend Jack made the coleslaw), herbed French bread and mini-pineapple upside down cakes.

I think next month I am going to try a Southern breakfast--Sausage gravy and biscuits, scrambled eggs with chive, cheese grits and a fruit salad.

Chicken, Mushroom and Asparagus Quiche

1 pre-made refrigerated pie crust

8 ounces (2 cups) Sargento® Artisan Blends® Shredded Swiss Cheese with Gruyere or 2 cups shredded swiss cheese, divided

1 cup coarsely chopped cooked chicken

1/2 teaspoon Grill Mates Montreal Chicken spice

1/2 cups thinly sliced and coarsely chopped onion, sautéed in 1 tablespoon olive oil, drained on paper towel

1/2 cups thinly sliced button mushrooms, sautéed in 1 tablespoon olive oil, drained on paper towel

4 slices crisply cooked bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces, optional

10 spears asparagus, blanched and divided

1 1/2 cups half and half

4 large eggs, slightly beaten

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 slice small tomato, optional

Quiches almost ready for the oven. Just waiting for their egg and cream bath.

  

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Spray 9 inch pie pan with butter spray. Place prepared pie crust in pie pan. Flute edges.

Spread 1 cup of cheese over bottom of crust. Sprinkle chicken with ½ teaspoon of Montreal Chicken spice. Spread on top of cheese.

Spread onions and mushrooms over chicken. Spread bacon over mushrooms.

Chop 4 spears of asparagus into 1” pieces. Spread over bacon. Spread remaining cheese over asparagus.

Combine half and half, eggs, and Dijon mustard and beat well. Pour over filling until filling is covered.

Arrange remaining six spears on top of pie. Place tomato slice in center.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until golden and set in center. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.  

2nd Sunday Brunch at St. John the Apostle MCC Church in Fort Myers, Florida - July 8, 2012

It's been a long time since I posted on my blog--too long. I've been experimenting with lots of recipes, not just Polish, but all kinds.

For the last couple of months I've taken the responsibility of putting together (with the help of lots of other folks) the 2nd Sunday Brunch at St. John the Apostle, MCC church in Ft. Myers. I really enjoy St. Johns--the message, the fellowship, and the brunches.  Here's a link to the church if you want to know more about it.

This past Sunday we had Monte Cristo sandwiches as a main course, accented with Peach Salsa and a Roasted Corn and Black Bean Salad. Dessert was Mini Fresh Cherry and Almond Cakes.

Note: This is not a picture of my sandwiches. I didn't have my camera around when I made them so I found a sample pic on the web that looks very similar.

Adam’s Baked Monte Cristo Sandwiches

4 tablespoons melted butter

4 eggs, slightly beaten

2 cups milk

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

½ teaspoon salt

18 1” diagonal slices of French bread

9 tablespoons prepared Pesto sauce

9 slices Honey baked ham

9 slices smoked turkey

9 slices of Swiss cheese

9 tablespoons French’s French Fried Onions

9 tablespoons peach preserves

3 tablespoons confectiners’ sugar

Spray 9x13 baking pan with cooking spray.  Spread 2 tablespoons of melted butter over bottom of pan.

Combine eggs, milk, mustard and salt in blender. Blend until smooth. Pour into shallow bowl. Dip 9 slices of the French bread into egg mixture and place in the baking pan. Put 1 tablespoon Pesto sauce on each slice and spread to edges of bread.

Top bread with one slice each of ham, turkey and Swiss cheese. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon French fried onions on top.

Dip remaining nine slices of bread into egg mixture. Top each slice with 1 tablespoon peach preserves and place bread on top of sandwich, peach preserve side down.

Brush tops of sandwiches with remaining 2 tablespoons butter.

Cover baking pan with tin foil and refrigerate overnight.

In morning, set oven to 350 degrees. Bake sandwiches for 30 minutes. Remove tin foil, set oven to broil and brown tops of French toast, 3 to 5 minutes. Watch carefully as toast browns fast.

Remove from oven. Place on serving platter if desired. Sift confectioners’ sugar over sandwiches.

Note: These sandwiches can be placed in a buttered frying pan and fried as you would French toast. Just be sure that you cover the pan for a few minutes until the cheese starts to melt.