Home | Sweet Spot | Spring 2006 Newsletter

Let's Do Brunch

Breakfast is often eaten on the run, and lunch may be no more than a sandwich nibbled alone at your desk. But brunch? The very word suggests a leisurely, sociable repast. No wonder it's become one of the most popular meals that Americans eat at restaurants!

But you don't need to make reservations—or spend a bundle—to enjoy the pleasures of brunch. Think of it as a friendly, informal way to entertain friends and family at home…and to surprise them with a bounty of sweet treats from your oven.

Take Your Sweet Time

The main appeal of brunch is its ease. Because brunch starts later in the morning than breakfast—usually around ten, but sometimes as late as noon—you have the luxury of time to prepare. Turning brunch into a buffet simplifies serving and liberates you to mingle with your guests.

To make your meal even simpler, get a head start. Although some baked goods, such as muffins, are best fresh from the oven, other dishes can be prepped in advance. Overnight French Toast with Berry Sauce is assembled in its baking pan the night before your event, then placed in the oven to bake while you set the table. And overnight marination in sugar (and, if you like, sherry or liqueur) will prepare the cut-up fruit for Grilled Citrus Bowls before a quick pass under the broiler and a dramatic presentation at the table.

If you're baking in the morning, streamline the process by preparing your ingredients the night before. Measure dry ingredients into a bowl and cover it with plastic. Remove eggs, milk, and butter from the refrigerator and place them on your counter to allow them to reach room temperature by morning.

Seasons and Reasons

Any Saturday or Sunday is a good brunch occasion, but spring offers plenty of special days worth celebrating: Easter (April 16), Mother's Day (May 14), and Father's Day (June 18), not to mention graduations, bridal showers, and class reunions. Or choose a fun theme such as one of the suggestions we offer here.

But first, decide what kind of brunch you'd like to serve. A full meal? Baked goods only? A buffet? If you're planning a full meal, eggs and meat or fish are traditional centerpieces; omelettes, frittatas, baked potato dishes such as galettes, and prepared items such as smoked salmon or trout are simpler to prepare and serve than made-to-order items such as poached eggs and bacon. Or impress your guests with Cheese Blintzes with Apricot Sauce without chaining yourself to the stove: Make and fill the blintzes (nearly identical to crępes) in advance, place them on a platter lined with plastic wrap, cover, and refrigerate overnight or freeze for up to one month.

For a more informal event, make a batch of On-the-Go Granola and make easy yet impressive parfaits: just alternate sweetened yogurt, fresh fruit, and granola in tall, attractive parfait glasses. Any leftover granola mix can go into Granola Carrot Bread, an irresistibly moist and nutrient-packed loaf. (The recipe also makes delicious muffins.)

Whichever brunch style you choose, be sure to have beverages ready before the first guests arrive. A carafe of coffee, hot water for tea, or pitchers of cold drinks such as Orange Lemonade, Paradise Punch, or Fresh-Squeezed Breeze will put guests at their ease and get the party off to a gracious start.

Eye-Opening Themes

Great food is important, but a fun theme is certain to wow your guests. Take your cue from one of these ideas, or invent your own.

That's My Girl: Any day is Mother's Day when you include more than one generation of guests! Celebrate the full spectrum of mother-daughter love, from bittersweet (tall glasses of Iced Cappuccino) to sweet-and-sour (delightfully tangy Lemon-Lime Squares) to joyfully, sentimentally sweet (a rich and delicious Peaches-and-Cream Cheesecake). Toast the occasion with zesty Tropical Lemonade accompanied by orange-frosted Champagne Brunch Cookies.

Read All About It: Your book group will give delighted reviews to this brunch menu inspired by great works of literature. Orange Currant Scones served with fresh Lemon Curd and Three-Citrus Marmalade are veddy, veddy British-perfect accompaniments for Jane Austen or Anita Brookner. Evoke the spirit of Marcel Proust with a platter of fragrant Madeleines. And what could be more Brit-lit than a towering, fruit-filled Strawberry-Kiwi Almond Crunch Trifle? Be sure to accompany the sweets with an assortment of teas made extra special when served with C&H Pure Cane Sugar Cubes. And in keeping with the theme, include something "novel"—see our Quick Tip about flavored sugars!

Into the Garden: Celebrate the return of long, sunny days with an outdoor brunch in your back yard or on patio or deck. Place small vases of short-stemmed flowers down the center of the table, and garnish the plates with sprigs of herbs and edible flowers such as pansies and nasturtiums. The menu? Filled with garden-fresh ingredients: tomato-and-red-pepper omelettes, rosemary home fries, Spiced Zucchini Bread, and Homey Apple Cake baked in a pretty fluted tube pan. For sipping, you simply can't get more garden-y than Minty Strawberry Lemonade. Pass a platter of Frosted Grapes as the sun starts to descend, and give each guest a small bag of Lavender Sugar Cookies to take home as a sweet memento.