Javaher polo

Last saturday, at Paul and Ali's wedding, we had javaher polo, which means jeweled rice. The dish is made of basmati rice, rice with saffron, orange peel (though in this Wisconsin version we had caramelized julienne carrots), barberries (they reminded me of cranberries, tart and tiny), and almond and pistachios slivers. The different colors represent jewels such as diamonds, rubies and emeralds for the marriage.* That was Paul's nod to his Persian heritage: food! It was incredibly delicious.

If I may add also, it was a wonderful wedding, and I was extremely lucky to witness two of my best friends from college get hitched finally! I will get a list of the very good wines soon to post on this blog (let them finish their honeymoon!). I remember some Spanish champagne (tasty, less sparkling than what I've tasted from Reims)... And as pre-desert we had the excellent chocolates by Gail Ambrosius, with flavors like rose, passion-fruit, caramel with sea salt, and dark-dark-dark. (I also highly recommend her chocolate bars, and the green tea-infused chocolate buddhas). Hands down, the best chocolate I've ever had.

* Source: persianmirror.com