Wedding Shower Schizam

recipe below

Well, yesterday we hosted a wedding shower for the lovely Abby & Mike. It was quite fun – we had food & flowers, football & friends, plus presents, a game, and cake. Then a little more cake. Yum.

The backdrop was Laurelhurst Park, an undeniably perfect summer party setting. It was a bit chilly, but beautiful & verdant, with plenty of other picnic-goers out and even a wedding or two, which upped the festive atmosphere a notch.

We topped off the night at The Backstage, one of Portland’s newest McMenamin’s additions. None of us had been there before and were pleasantly surprised. The space is pretty unexpected – rustic and industrial with very tall ceilings, catwalks, random doors 20’ up old brick walls with no ledge to perch on, a tasteful neon sign here & there, and several largess chandeliers to add a bit of glam. Lucky us, we got there early enough to snag a table (for girl chat) and a pool table (for boy bravado).

Back to the shower, here’s what we served:
- Cucumber-cream cheese sandwiches
- Tomato gazpacho
- Crab salad with crackers
- Ripe & delicious cherries
- Butterscotch cake*
- And some assorted beverages

I’m sharing the recipe for the crab salad because it was very very good. Ryan whipped it up in 5 minutes and most of it was eaten up in 10. We found it in a recent Oprah magazine and changed it a little to suit the ingredients on hand.

Crab Salad
serves 20 (!)

¼ lb. crab meat, cooked & chopped
¾ lb. mini shrimp, cooked & de-veined
1 c. sour cream
2 T. mayonnaise
Zest from 1 orange & 1 lemon
2 T. minced chives
4 T. minced parsley
Juice from ½ lemon
Salt & pepper

Combine all ingredients in large bowl until well mixed. Chill for 30 minutes before serving. Serve with crackers or crusty bread.

FYI, the original recipe called for 1 lb. cooked lobster meat – we chose a combination of crab & shrimp because we couldn’t find the fancier stuff.

Enjoy!

*No exaggeration, this is the best cake ever. We got the recipe from our long-time friend Jess. Just this morning Ryan said it should be served to Congress as they’re deciding whether or not to go to war – the cake is so very delicious it would inevitably turn their moods from sour to sweet and result in a happy outcome for everyone involved. And I have to agree. The cake is that powerful.