092119_HER_A20.pdf
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Here Comes The Bride
The Huffs had to win over the bride. She was appreciative but also
very skeptical about entrusting her wedding meal to two volunteers.
“(The bride) didn’t even want me to cook at first, and it wasn’t
because she was mean. She just couldn’t believe someone would opt
into this situation,” Steve said. “I’ve done these large meals several
times, but I don’t think she was really sold on it at first. They thought,
‘This is a nice idea, but who is this kid, and does he really know what
he’s doing?’”
Steve realized acceptance of the offer would require a face-to-face
meeting.
“I knew a phone call wasn’t going to cut it,” he said. “We met at a
Sioux Falls bar and restaurant, and we had drinks and appetizers.
I figured, if she’s uncomfortable with our idea, fine.”
Steve soon realized he and the bride shared a passion for great
food. For the bride, the wedding meal meant more than just feeding
hungry guests. The food, like the wedding ceremony and the rest of the
reception, needed to be special.
Steve respected the sentiment and didn’t want it any other way. He
described one “ah-ha” moment during the conversation.
“She was adamant about Israeli couscous, because she wanted
the big pearls,” he said, referring to the grains made from semolina
or wheat flour. “The Israeli couscous is 10 times the size of regular
couscous. I like it, and I admit it’s better, richer and more filling.”
Steve offered suggestions for the menu, and he listened to the
couple’s ideas. Together, they drew up collective ideas for the perfect
menu.
“I realized she was very serious about her food. She knew what she
wanted, and she knew how to do it right,” Steve said. “And when we
were done (with the conversation), she realized I knew what I was
doing and would do it right.”
Steve and the couple made follow-up phone calls on the menu.
Steve reassured them that he could get the ingredients at a Yankton
supermarket and butcher shops.
Tracy felt confident about pulling off the mega-meal, but she also
knew it brought a number of challenges.
“I think the only other one comparable to this event was my
hairdresser’s wedding. We love her and her husband. We said, ‘When
you get remarried, we’ll cook for your wedding,’” Tracy said.
“I think it was the craziest thing I’ve ever done in my life. We split
the bill with her father, who is a very good chef as well. We had 150
pounds of brisket, and her father made 200 pounds of pork.”
Steve held another memory of the joint effort. “We hand cut all of
the meat at the church. I used an electric knife and had ‘hand hooks’
for two days,” he said, demonstrating with claw hands.
Road Trip!
The planning for the recent Sioux Falls wedding meal went beyond
the menu. The Huffs also needed to figure the logistics of how to
prepare the food at their home and then transport it nearly 100 miles
to the backyard wedding.
Tracy likened it to another of their culinary experiences.
“We’ve done the Super Bowl party and have taken it to somebody
else’s house,” she said. “We’re doing much of the same thing here,
except the Super Bowl party was in Yankton and this wedding is in
Sioux Falls.”
Talk about making the ultimate road trip.
Why tackle the effort in two different cities?
“The wedding is being held at (the groom’s) house, so we don’t want
to mess up his kitchen,” Tracy said. “And we have the four smokers
here at our house, which works great. We can also use our kitchen to
prepare the meal.”
When it comes to making the meal, there’s no place like home, Tracy
said.
“We’ll try to do a lot of the prep work here (in Yankton) and
make the food here,” she said. “We’ll use roasting pans to get it there
(to Sioux Falls). Once we’re at the wedding, we’ll spend more time
reheating and those types of things.”
A summer meal can satisfy all tastes, Tracy said.
“It’s really funny, but over the summer months, some people like hearty
meals and others want it light,” she said. “It’s kind of a mixed bag, so
you get a ‘tich’ of both kinds of food to satisfy people. In the summer,
you can have both the hearty and light foods.”
In the Midwest, barbecue and smoked meats go well in any setting,
Steve said. “For this wedding, we have a good troika of beer can
chicken, the smoked traditional brisket with a really good rub and
pork. I’m really proud of this pork. The pig gave well,” he said.
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