Help! I'm hosting a brunch get-together

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… and don’t know what to serve! :eek:

A number of DH & my good friends are visiting our town. We’ll be hosting brunch. I love having people over, but don’t know exactly what to serve!

I’m thinking:
  • pancakes
  • muffins
  • eggs
  • sausage
  • fresh fruit
  • juice/ water / coffee …
but this list sounds too much on the side of “breakfast” … isn’t brunch an early “lunch” as well?

Suggestions? Thank you! 👍
 
Well, to me brunch is somewhere between breakfast and lunch. A lot of times it will include an egg based casserole like quiche or frittata along with some type of salad, veggies, fruit, breads,etc. I also think of eggs benedict when I think of “brunch”… but I don’t like eggs benedict!

Ultimately, serve what you like.

If I were doing a Mexican food theme, I’d serve migas (scrambled egg, cheese, chorizo sausage, peppers) with fresh warm tortillas, fresh salsa, and sour cream. I’d serve refried beans and some chips (maybe queso) with it, and then some sort of fruit like mango. I’d include some sort of mimosa or bellini type drink, perhaps one that has a mojito flare to it.

If I were doing an Italian or French theme, I’d go with a veggie frittata or quiche lorraine along with fresh mixed fruit and yogurt, bellini/mimosa, assorted juices, and some waffles.

Another idea is assorted breakfast breads like scones, muffins, etc, with fresh marmalade and/or jams, assorted aritsan cheeses, yougurt, and a build-it-yourself omlets and breakfast potatoes.

I also like Barefoot Contessa’s brunch menus and recipes.

The food network also has a lot of great ideas.
 
maybe it depends on time of day, 10ish or closer to noon, whether you add more “lunchy” foods. on the weekend anytime up to and including noon the eggy, breakfast bread type menu would work. also depends on if it is buffet style (pancakes are harder to keep warm than muffins for instance) or if you have time and set up for omelettes, waffles, heating tortillas for instance.

also depends on how formal you want it. do you want an alcoholic punch such as mimosa, or soup. do you want finger foods or sit down service with china plates. adults or kids, or mix.
 
SDMom said:
… and don’t know what to serve! :eek: …

but this list sounds too much on the side of “breakfast” … isn’t brunch an early “lunch” as well?

Suggestions? Thank you! 👍
Click to expand...
Brunch can be either. Your menu looks good, but you could do a few things different to make it easier on yourself. When cooking for a crowd, do as much prep work ahead of time as possible so you can enjoy your company.

Sausage, eggs and pancakes usually need to be cooked very close to serving time. Ham is a good choice for a large crowd and it’s easier than sausage. You could do some type of egg bake (with sausage in it if you like) that you prepare ahead of time, then bake right before serving. If you want pancakes, either get a large griddle to cook for a crowd, or look for recipes for rolled oven bake pancakes if you have enough oven space. Fruit can be cut up the day before the event. Muffins, (bagels, breakfast breads, coffee cakes, etc.) can be made or bought even earlier and stored in the freezer until the morning of your brunch.

If you want to get creative with something other than breakfast, there are lots of great choices for that too, but brunch usually still has some breakfast choices available. You could pick a “theme” and tie together breakfast with other foods from a similar theme. Salads are nice to offer if you want to add more non-breakfasty foods to the menu.

We’re planning a big brunch to celebrate a special occasion. I’m feeling a bit :eek: about ours too. I love having company, but still I get a bit worried about pulling it all together. Maybe we should both add some champagne or peach schnappes to our orange juice. 😉
 
I agree on the egg bake/casserole. Every brunch needs one.

Hashbrown casserole would be good too

Maybe an arrangement of sliced deli meats and cheeses with various breads (croissants, old world breads, and soft buns)

Breakfast breads like muffins and danishes

maybe roast a pork loin and have it sliced into thin pieces and pair it with a fruit salsa topping.

I wouldn’t mess with pancakes. They are way hard to keep, and I hate messing with syrup when I host a brunch.

I usually have iced tea, lemonade, and a orange juice base punch (though if you have either one of the citrus drinks you can delete the other).

If you needed one more ‘luncheon’ type item, a light pasta salad or pasta casserole would be good too.
 
If you’re wanting to go with more of a breakfast theme,I’d stick with casseroles like French Toast Casserole,egg casseroles,even the “cowboy casseroles”.

You didn’t say what time the brunch was set for,or how many guests you are serving. As the others said,do as much ahead of time as possible,so you can enjoy yourself as much as the others do!

Fresh fruit with the simple cream cheese/marshmallow cream dip is always popular.
My favorite on-line source for recipes/ideas is allrecipes.com. Just type in “brunch” and you’ll get a ton of ideas.
 
HERE’s a good menu that you can use. The author claims that everything on it is “make-ahead” so you don’t have to worry about neglecting your company when they arrive. 🙂
 
Oh, what fun! Now make it fun for you too.

A strata or two (like someone said, an “egg&bread bake”) those are oven-baked and maybe a zucchini fritata (starts stove-top, finishes in oven and can be served room-temperature. A jillion recipes for these on-line, with or without veggies. Skip the labor-intensive, tie-you-to-the-stove pancakes and sausage. Instead make sure there’s chopped ham or crumbled sausage in a big strata, maybe veggies/cheese in other. Fruits for sure, small melon slices (watermelon and cantaloupe), grapes, strawberries … whatever’s fresh and local.

Coffee, water, OJ for the die-hards. Juice boxes for the children.

Sweet tooth?
A platter of sweet rolls.
Need tangy?
A platter of sliced tomatoes with sprinkle of bleu cheese on top.
 
dang ever since I read this thread my stomach has been growling–have we picked a menu yet? I feel like going out to Denny’s for breakfast (it is nearly 10 pm).
 
You can always have several kinds of quiche, ham, bacon, crabmeat, with minced onion, green peppers and cheese, of course. You can make ahead and then bake before serving. A watermelon half cleaned out and stuffed with fresh fruit of all kinds and muffins, croissants etc. would be nice. If it is toward the noon hour, mimosas or a wine punch would be nice.

I have a no fail, easy quiche recipe if you need it.
 
Wow!!! 😃 ** THANK YOU SO MUCH** to all who’ve posted so far!!! There are so many ideas here, I’m not sure what I’m gonna go with, but I will definitely consider all of your (name removed by moderator)ut! 👍 I must admit that I had never heard of a mimosa before! :o I had to look that up online and it sounds yummy 🙂

I’ll let you know how our brunch party goes. It’s not until May 31, so I have some time!
 
Your breakfast items sound delish! For a more lunchy menu, how about:

A fruit salad
Quiche
Lasagne
Rice dish or Vegitable Dish
Deviled Eggs
Assorted Cheeses w/ rolls
Cinnamon Rolls
You could also order a sushi platter

For drinks:
Mimosa ( 1/2 orange juice 1/2 champaign )
 
Something that I don’t often see in my current part of the country is salmon on a brunch menu. We do a salmon roll using canned salmon mixed with a little Liquid Smoke flavoring. You mold the log and roll it in chopped parsley and serve with fancy crackers. It is a nice change from the usual sausage/egg fare, but I’ve seen both served at the same event.

I second the suggest for a fruit bowl or plate because many people are trying to limit carbs due to diabetes or other reasons.

Whatever you make, be certain that most of it can be prepared in advance and easily set out so that you can enjoy your time with your guests.
 
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