Sunday Brunch

My husband has gotten used to my crazy whims. One of them is my desire to plan dinner parties with elaborate menus. I plan everything down to the minute – and I hate it when it doesn’t come together just right.

Fortunately he allows gives into me planning these affairs. He even helps me move all of the furniture in our front room around, so I can accommodate eight people.

Way back in December I stumbled upon an amazing menu plan for a brunch. I told him I wanted to do it and invite some of our neighbors. He said ok, but it just never happened until this last Sunday. It was a smashing success.

The menu came from Gourmet magazine. The December 2008 issue, to be exact. (My husband picked me up all these discarded issues at our local library for me. Isn’t he the greatest?)

For drinks I served Pomegranate Mimosas and Café au Lait. I changed it up a bit, though. We had church later that day, so my mimosas were non-alcoholic. I simply mixed pomegranate and orange juices with sparkling apple cider. They were so refreshing. I’m not sure about doing the café au lait again, though. We didn’t want to make them up until everyone was there, and the blender frothing the milk was a tad loud.

The “dessert” course was this amazing Cranberry Vanilla Coffeecake. As one of my guests said, “It looks like it should be dry, but it’s really moist.” I changed it up a bit since I was too cheap to actually buy a vanilla bean. I simply mixed vanilla extract with my sugar and sifted it once it dried.

Other dishes included Crisp Oven-Browned Potatoes and Maple and Black-Pepper Bacon. I think the bacon was probably everyone’s favorite dish, but who doesn’t love bacon? I made the Citrus Salad with Star Anise Syrup, but it was the most difficult to make. I really hated peeling those grapefruits and oranges. It was amazingly delicious, don’t get me wrong, but super-tedious. The Baked Egg Custard with Gruyere and Chives was made with gouda since I’m cheap. I think it turned out tasty with the smoky cheese. Instead of Turkey Sausage Patties, I used pork. The spices are unbelievably aromatic. I definitely recommend them.

I also made some tasty granola based off of the Gourmet recipe. I’ll share my version later in the week.

We chatted, laughed, and ate a whole ton of food. All in all, it was a fantastic brunch. Tell me, what is your favorite way to spend a Sunday morning?