What's Missing From This Brunch Menu??

Parent Cafe
1

Sunday I’m hosting a brunch before my D’s HS graduation. There will be about a dozen of us - my immediate family, her godparents, grandma and a my brother and his family.

I had a tentative menu set up in my mind a couple of weeks ago. Then, (and I’m not complaining, I’m grateful!) my family started volunteering to bring certain items. If you are willing to bring food into my house, I accept!

But with their items, the menu is feeling a little carb heavy. Please give me suggestions to balance it out. I will NOT tell family members to bring something other then what they offered to bring, so please don’t suggest changes from them!

Family member food items:
Waffle station w/from scratch chocolate waffles w/strawberries and shaved chocolate, whipped cream
(my 30 year old niece just bought the Mercedes of waffle makers and wants to prepare these made to order!)
Hash brown casserole (no meat, just potatoes/cheese/etc)
Mixed fresh fruit salad (just the fruit, no fillers)

I was thinking of doing an egg casserole, but now I’m thinking I don’t want to do the overnight eggs/etc. over soaked bread type - too much carbs! Who has a recipe for an egg dish that is lighter but NOT COMPLICATED? Meat or vegetarian. A veggie one sounds good.

Graduating daughter has requested homemade muffins - I bought these liners that are for muffin tops so was thinking of doing those - probably her favorite, banana/chocolate chip.

Probably a meat side - like turkey sausage I can just brown in the oven.

I was trying to think of one more savory type dish - something light - something saladish or maybe a lemony vegetable dish that is cold??? But not fruit?
(keep in mind AFTER graduation everyone is coming back to our house for gourmet pizza which we will pick up and I’ll have a large salad and graduation cake)

Finally I was thinking about a pitcher of some type of fun, non-alcoholic beverage - like a non alcoholic mimosa or something. I’ll have coffee and tea too. Any fun beverage ideas???

I’m ditching the homemade cinnamon rolls I originally thought about - no need with the waffles.

So if I went with the above here is what we would have:
Chocolate waffles and fixings
Hash brown casserole
Mixed fresh fruit
Banana chocolate chip muffin tops
Egg casserole
Sausage or bacon
Additional savory veggie or salad
Beverages

Ok. Now share your ideas/recipes. Nothing too complicated! I want this to be relatively “pain free” for me in the morning!
We will do brunch around 11am.

2

Maybe this? I think you could do the veggies the night before

http://www.thekitchn.com/feeding-a-crowd-frittata-squar-84989

3

D made a yam hash for our New Years’ brunch. There are a lot of recipes on line. I think hers had grated brussels sprouts as one ingredient. Hopefully that is not too similar to your hash browns.

Here is a link to a veggie oriented egg casserole: http://www.a-kitchen-addiction.com/cheesy-spinach-artichoke-egg-bake/

Steamed and chilled asparagus in a vinaigrette would be a prepare in advance easy addition.

4

Do you guys eat smoked fish? Lox? Or would you want something dairy like yogurt?

For eggs, how about a frittata? Like crustless quiche, it is an easy egg dish you mostly bake in the oven. You can put in whatever veggies you would like, but I typically use spinach and olives or artichokes. I would scramble 4-6 eggs then set aside uncooked. Then I would sauté the veggies and add a little spice (sorry, I make this up as I go along: a little salt, a little oregano). Combine the eggs and the veggies, then put in an oven safe skillet. Cook a few minutes stovetop then put in a hot oven, about 450, until firm. Then take it out and let it set.

Or shakshouka. This is eggs poached in spicy tomato sauce. Saute onions and finely diced peppers in a large skillet. Add some chili powder and cumin to taste, a little salt. Then add a big can of crushed tomato sauce. Once it is bubbling, drop in eggs to poach, as many as will fit in you skillet. Cover and cook until the eggs are firm. (Google this one; I made this based on taste, trying to recreate from what I ate at a restaurant.)

5

Lizardly, you make me smile. Shakshouka in a little different form is a family staple (my mom is from Morocco - we call it “hot sauce”).

No smoked fish thank you!

The asparagus is a good idea - anyone have a good lemony vinaigrette to suggest?

Also like the Kitchen Addiction recipe!

6

What about a cheese tray? Cheeses and smoked fish are tasty for breakfast (says Fang while eating cheddar for breakfast).

7

Do you have a market which makes nice quiches ready to go? That’s what I would do so I wouldn’t be bothered with actually having to cook anything that morning.

8

I thought about quiche but even quiche with crust sounds “heavy” with the other items.

9

True, but people can choose which part of heavy they wish to eat. One for carb eaters, one for fat/protein eaters. I love the asparagus with lemon idea too, easy to do ahead and just pop out of the fridge and serve cold.

10

abasket, if you use phyllo dough (frozen from a supermarket is ok!) to thinly line muffin tins, your mini-egg quiches will not be super carb heavy. Dang phone does not let me paste recipes, but there are plenty on the web.

11

^^^ Good thought BB.

I’ll be at Costco on Saturday. Can’t remember - do they usually carry any quiche???

12

I just saw a recipe for a breakfast casserole made in a crock pot. Layer hash browns, sausage, cheese, green onions twice then beat a dozen eggs with a half a cup of milk, salt and pepper and cook on low for 8 hours. Can’t imagine why you couldn’t substitute the sausage for other veggies and make a frittata this simple way.

13

yes! Nancy’s quiche. tasty little things.
If you are making a Costco run, maybe a big thing of V8? OJ and sparkling water makes nice fake mimosa’s, it is the bubbles after all!
I am thinking the frittata is a good choice. And perhaps offer a slow cooker with oatmeal? everything sounds like YUMMY, but strong tasting. perhaps something simpler for the not-morning-eater crowd?

14

The muffins seem duplicative of the waffles; sound like overkill to me, but then again, I’m not a sweets person, especially in the morning.

An easy versatile addition would be a honey-baked ham, and maybe some good rye bread and mustard.

I’d probably lean more toward a fritata than a quiche; a quiche sort of renders the hash browns redundant.

15

offer your guests sunscreen

16

abasket, I have served this many times…super easy, can be made night before and then baked in a.m. Good served warm or hot. Very forgiving, easy to substitute many other veggies. Use oregano for Italian bent. Cilantro for Mexican version, etc.

GARDEN VEGGIE CRUSTLESS QUICHE
½ Cup butter 1 yellow onion chopped
10 eggs 6 oz. Mushrooms, sliced
½ cup flour 4 zucchini or summer squash, sliced
1 tsp. Baking powder 1/2 C parsley, minced
½ tsp. Salt 3 tomatoes, sliced thin
1 lb. Cottage Cheese 1 lb. Jack cheese, shredded (divided)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease 9x13 dish.

Melt butter; whip eggs until fluffy, and add flour, b.p., salt, cottage cheese, melted butter and HALF of the jack cheese. In saute pan, saute onion in 1 Tbls. Butter, add mushrooms & saute. Add onions, mushrooms, squash, and parsley to the egg mixture.

Put in dish and top with remaining cheese, then with tomato slices. Bake at 400* for 15 minutes, reduce heat to 350* and bake 35-40 minutes, or until top is lightly browned.
Cool slightly and cut into squares. Serves 8-10.

17

Quiche is easy…and if you don’t want to make your own, many grocery stores have them.

Look up “egg Strata” on Google, and you will come up with a number of egg dishes that can be put together the night before.

Or…just add my favorite…deviled eggs…to your menu.

18

Haha on the sunscreen - the ceremony is inside! And our yard is shady. :slight_smile:

That was what I was thinking that the quiche/crust was still kind of dense. I’m thinking either the spinach/artichoke egg bake or Costco quiche if I find myself more frazzled by Saturday!

The muffins are a bit of overkill but a request by the graduate so… :slight_smile:

But Gosmom, now I’m reading your recipe and it sounds delicious as well!! And I really like the put together the night before option.

Disclosure: I’ve never even had a mimosa! (not a drinker) - not even sure what they normally entail!!!

19

Actually, I just noticed that you said the hash brown casserole has cheese and other ingredients besides potatoes. I really think a quiche, even a crustless one, is too much with that. Really, any cheesy egg dish is going to compete too much with those cheesy potatoes. You need simple things to act as a foil.

20

I think a platter of grilled or oven roasted veggies would be nice for that time of day. Also, any leftovers could easily be incorporated into family meals later in the week.

I’m an egg lover so a frittata or quiche (regular or crustless) would be great.