The backstory (there's always a backstory)
For weeks, the plan was to go to this cozy and iconic brunch spot about ten minutes from our house with our friends and pastor. Fr. Ben is our friend, too; I just want to give him the distinction of also being our priest. When time came to make reservations, the place was booked completely.
I mulled it over in my mind before offering Jim the options. We could reschedule and go another time. However, there’s often a loss of momentum when you do something like that. The rescheduled event isn’t as special, you know? Or we could find another restaurant. I am very proud of having conquered almost every brunch nook in the east metro, so we weren’t at a loss for alternatives. But then…I do love any reason to host a gathering.
After all, I am my mother’s and mother-in-law’s daughter.
Jim, of course, being more drawn and introverted, preferred the rescheduling. But he’s so happy to make me happy that he agreed to host brunch here.
I am so thankful for my husband and marriage. We tackle things as a team, of course, but I recognize that am blessed with the kindest, most thoughtful man in my life. He cleaned while I went for groceries. When I returned, he had my flour, sugar, yeast, measuring spoons and cups ready. He’d looked up my croissants recipe in anticipation. He ran out to get fresh mint when I didn’t have any. He’s my favorite person ever.
We powered through the morning preparations. The day before our big brunch bash I had made a project management-type schedule for each dish–what it was, how long it took to prepare, to cook, what serving ware it required. This helped immensely in staying organized and calm. With every cutting board, knife, whisk, and bowl that I completed my tasks with, Jim was ready to wash, dry, and return to the cupboards. We were in perfect sync. We even had a few minutes before our guests arrived to bask in our hard work with mimosas.
How to time brunch
Timing and logistics is everything when hosting a meal. It’s a difficult task to make a multi-dish buffet when you only have one cook, one stove, and one oven. So you can understand how my discovery of the warming drawer under our oven was revolutionary. I was able to make everything ahead of time and keep it hot until our guests arrived. Check your own oven for this nifty appliance. I always thought it was for storing cookie sheets. Silly me.
Approaching the schedule, I looked at what I was making and decided what could be made ahead of time and sit well under a 200°F warming drawer while I made everything else. For my menu, this included pancakes, bacon, shredded carnitas (for breakfast tacos!) and tortillas–made in that order. I decided I would make the scrambled eggs just as the last guests arrived, and the potatoes would be the only thing to occupy the oven.
I also thought about what could be made a day ahead or get outsourced. Croissants, of course, could be done early since they could be served at room temperature. My fantastic mother-in-law dropped off her delicious blueberry scones the morning of.
After the big stuff, I considered the accoutrements–salsas for breakfast tacos, cheeses, avocado slices, butter, syrups, mascarpone-espresso whipped cream for pancakes. Then I broke everything down by serving bowl, container, dish, plate, tongs, and spoons. I placed labels on the counter where I would place everything.
I know this sounds insanely tedious, but the absence of stress prior to hosting was well worth the level of preparation. One of my favorite quotes is by Abraham Lincoln where he says, “If you give me four hours to chop down a forrest, I will spend the first three sharpening my axe.”
Presentation is everything
It’s not that often I get to break out the good china or use an absurdly tall cake cover, so I cherish these get-togethers for the simple reason I get to pull out all of my toys and showcase something I spend 90% of my time thinking about. It’s one thing to know how to cook well. It’s another to get to put it on display.
Cake plates, fun straws, tea towels, Tom Collins glasses, tiny skewers for drink garnishes, and flowers. Lots and lots of flowers. This was the most fun I’ve had preparing a meal! I think the croissants felt like New York City models flipping its layers to the sound of house music for a photo shoot.
While our time spent preparing everything was rewarding in itself, the best part definitely was spending it in really good company. The last year has been hard on many people, and the time interacting with others has been severely cut down. How refreshing it was to talk face-to-face with friends and have honest conversations about recent events! We are already looking forward to our next brunch club and hoping to add more faces to it.
Our brunch bunch
Recipes
Carnitas Breakfast tacos
For the breakfast tacos, I went SIMPLE. Trader Joe’s has a ready-made carnitas that you basically microwave for 3 minutes and shred. THAT’S. IT. TJ’s also has delicious salsa–Salsa Authentica and Salsa Verde. The only work I really did was crumble some queso fresco, sliced an avocado, and made scrambled eggs (made with heavy cream…)
OH. And pickled red onions. Then I wrapped flour and corn tortillas in aluminum foil (two tortillas per pack) and dropped them in the warming drawer until it was time to eat.
Double. Chocolate. Chip. Pancakes.
Double chocolate chip pancakes with mascarpone-espresso cream was a big hit at brunch club. I just followed this recipe and doubled it. It made six stacks of three silver dollar pancakes–perfect for brunch for six people. You don’t want it to be so big that you can’t fit other yummy stuff on your plate!
I added a splash of Kahlua, substituted sour cream with mascarpone, and sprinkled in espresso powder to the whipped cream and it balanced the sweet pancakes nicely!
Don’t skimp on the Luxardo cherry on top, either.
Croissants, biscuits, and scones
Croissants are one of my signatures, and I didn’t change a thing for this brunch. I actually learned how to make croissants from Sally’s Baking Addiction, though I modified the recipe a little.
And speaking of Sally, my mother-in-law made these beautiful blueberry scones using the recipe from Sally’s website. Here is the recipe link.
EVERYONE loved these scones. They were a huge hit! The glaze on top was perfectly crackly.
Cheesy potato casserole
The cheesy potato casserole is a family favorite, and it’s such a simple recipe. For serving ~8 people, use half a bag (32 oz) of frozen hashbrowns (thawed), a can of cream of chicken soup, 8 oz of sour cream, half a stick of butter, 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese, 1 tsp salt, and 1 tsp onion or garlic powder. Spread into a buttered, 9″ casserole dish. Then melt another half stick of butter, toss with 2 cups of cornflakes, and dump them over the casserole. Bake for an hour at 350°F and serve!
Brunchy libations: mimosas and mules
My mom taught me how to make a proper mimosa, and I have gladly handed her wisdom down to Jim and Joe, whom I put in charge of preparing them.
1 oz of Gran Marnier or Cointreau liqueur
1/3 cup Orange Juice
1/3 cup Champagne or Prosecco
That’s it. In that order. Don’t prep ahead of time. Tilt the bottle when popping the cork and when pouring. Garnish with berries.
I stole the blackberry champagne mule recipe from Half Baked Harvest because I LOVE her blog. I also really dig how she used to do a cocktail recipe every Saturday! I might continue copying her and start doing that!
I am already SO EXCITED for the next gathering with these incredible people.