How to Host an Easy Brunch

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So today we're going to talk about brunch. And how to deal with hosting it at the very last minute with virtually no time to prep.

Have you ever ended up having people over for a spur of the moment meal, and had a minor panic attack that you didn't have time to plan and have no idea what you're going to do? This weekend the only plans I thought I had were doing some shopping for my sister's upcoming bachelorette party in Florida and a long-awaited get together with my girlfriends on Saturday night. Buttt my husband apparently had other plans.

On Friday evening, while sitting in the driveway leisurely drinking an IPA and watching Riker ride bikes with his new neighborhood friends, he informed me that we had plans with his family to go to the boardwalk all Saturday afternoon (after Riker's first soccer game at 8:00 in the morning), and also that he had invited a bunch of friends and their children over for Sunday brunch. Um...ok. For me, the "plan every last detail and everything must be perfect Type A dinner host", this was way stressful. I had no time to really plan anything and not much time to cook since we'd be out all day/night on Saturday. I had a little freakout, and then decided to just go with it. And I ended up having a really great weekend. I loved seeing all our friends and family, enjoying the beautiful weather and seeing our kids having fun running around together. I'm really going to try working on not getting so worked up about impromptu plans and be more spur of the moment, because a lot of times those days end up being the best days.

But that said, if you find yourself in a situation where your significant other informs you that you're having people over for brunch (or any meal) at the last minute, here are 4 tips to get you through it.

1. Don't Stress Out
I plan everything to the nth degree. But sometimes all that planning makes it way more tiring that it needs to be. A few months ago I read this blog post called "Friday Night Meatballs: How to Change Your Life with Pasta", and it really made me think about how every meal and gathering of friends does not have to be "special." What's special is that we're getting together. We all just want to see each other (okay and have some food and drinks most likely), but no one is going to judge if the table isn't perfectly set or the house is a little (a lot) messy. If you haven't read that article, I highly suggest it. Let's all be more impromptu about getting together with our friends and not worry about all the details. Who cares about place settings and crumbs on the floor when you're sipping a mimosa with your best friends watching these joyful little babes run around with glee?

2. Make it a Potluck
With #1 in mind, making a gathering a potluck makes things way easier on the host. When people offer to bring something to my house, my first instinct is to say, "Nope, just come, we've got it." I like people to just come and relax. I enjoy being a host. But it doesn't have to be that way every single time. This was a casual spring brunch and all our friends offered to bring a dish, so we let them. It made me way less stressed, and I think everyone actually liked bringing something. People brought their A game to this potluck.

For brunch it's nice to have a mix of breakfast and lunch / sweet & savory items, so we coordinated accordingly. And by "coordinated" I mean there was a text chain where everyone threw out ideas. One friend brought a gorgeous fruit & yogurt parfait bar and some roasted breakfast potatoes, and another friend brought flatbreads with fig jam, prosciutto, arugula, goat cheese and balsamic glaze (vegetarian ones for me and Heather).

3. Make Only One "Wow Factor"Dish
Another issue I have is over-thinking the menu. I go down the Pinterest rabbit hole and make a mile-long list of things to cook. But lately I've been trying to just make one or two complicated items and keep everything else simple.

For brunch I feel you have to have something egg-based and some kind of bread, as well as a salad. It's a classic combo. I had my heart set on making a homemade bread bar, so that was my one "wow factor" item. Everything else looked nice but was super simple to make.

The Bread 
I used this recipe for whole wheat bread because you don't have to knead it or let the yeast bloom. It takes time, but not much effort. And it came out great - less dense and crumbly than other whole wheat recipes I've tried. I made the dough first thing when I woke up so it was ready to go by brunch time.

For toppings, I made a few compound butters, a cream cheese spread and then some straight-from-the-jar organic strawberry jam.

Topping 1: Herb Butter using unsalted butter with fresh parsley and basil, dried thyme, lemon zest, sea salt and cracked pepper.

Topping 2: Sweet Orange Butter using unsalted butter, a few teaspoons of organic cane sugar, orange zest and a squeeze of orange juice. (Look at that color! It's all from the orange zest since the butter was white.)

Topping 3: Sundried Tomato Pesto Cream Cheese (unpictured) using homemade pesto I had in the freezer and the stash of sundried tomatoes I always have in the fridge.

Topping 4: Strawberry Jam. An old standby.

I put the "bread bar" on the kitchen island so people could snack on it right when they came in, while other things were cooking. It was something a bit unexpected and fun, and everyone seemed to like it. I also think homemade bread makes people feel like you made something special, but it's made from just a few simple ingredients that are always in the pantry, so it's a win win. Bonus: It makes your whole house smell amazingly yeasty, comforting and warm.

The Frittata
I like to make quiche for any special breakfast or brunch. But quiche meant I also had to make crust, and since I was already making the bread, I forced myself to quit the crust and opt for a frittata instead. Frittata reminds me of my grandmother; when I was in college she used to make it quite often and serve it with a simple green salad. This one included kale, caramelized onions and Vermont sharp cheddar; it had a great fluffy texture and nice salty bite from the cheese.

To make it, I  caramelized onions in some ghee (you can use oil or butter), then removed them from the pan. In the same pan I cooked a bunch of chopped kale with some sea salt and pepper. Once it was done, I added the onions back in. Then I whisked together 10 eggs with a splash of milk, salt, pepper and about 5 oz. of shredded cheddar cheese. I poured the egg mixture over the veggies and cooked it on the stove over medium heat for a few minutes until it start to set. Then I popped it in the oven at 450 for about 10 minutes until it was golden brown on top. Once it came out of the oven, I turned it over onto a wooden board and topped it with fresh parsley and Parmesan cheese.

Frittata is great for brunch because you can toss in literally whatever veggies, meats or cheeses you have on hand, you cook everything in one pan, and although it only takes about 30 minutes and very little effort to make, it has a really nice presentation.

The Sides
Lox is also a breakfast favorite of mine, and these little cucumber rounds with cream cheese, lox and dill took all of 10 minutes to make. These are also nice because lox is pricey - especially when you buy wild caught - but I only needed one 6 oz. package to fill a whole platter of cucumbers. A little goes a long way when you use it as an appetizer.

I also threw together a spinach & arugula salad with dried cranberries, orange segments, toasted walnuts and goat cheese, tossed with a homemade balsamic & raw honey dressing. Spinach and goat cheese salads are a no brainer in our group of friends - they're always gone in a flash.

{It looks so much prettier before it gets doused with cheese and dressing, doesn't it?}

Other Stuff
Matt still has some steaks in the freezer from our annual Vermont Natural Beef cow purchase, so he marinated a big steak in the morning and then threw it on the grill when everyone arrived. One steak cut into strips was plenty given all the other food around (we actually had a bunch leftover), but it's nice to have some kind of meat for the carnivorous crew.

I really debated making something sweet, like muffins or a lemon bread, but forced myself to cross it off the list. Not needed! There was plenty of food, and the sweet stuff probably would've barely been touched and then it'd be sitting at our house all week.

All in all, this menu was pretty simple to make and took about 3 hours total - even with a toddler and 10-month old running around between our feet all morning, even with trying to do a quick vacuum and toy pick-up, even with Matt very ambitiously doing some yard work before everyone arrived, and even with everyone getting showers (though I'll admit, I didn't make it to blowdrying my hair). If it weren't for all the distractions, I probably could've cooked everything in less than two hours.

4. Use What You Have
I based the menu almost entirely around what I already had in the house. I didn't want to have to make a big grocery list and spend an hour at the store. Instead, I just thought about what I had on hand that I could easily turn into a few dishes. I did have to run to the store early Sunday morning to grab lox (simply because I really wanted it) and some strawberry jam (I was low on jam and figured the kids might want it for the bread, but honestly, I could've made do with what I had). That made things much easier.

5. Ask Someone to Bring the Bubbly
My last tip is to have someone bring some bubbly. My friend Heather kept asking what she could bring, and really there was plenty of food already coming, so she offered to bring mimosas. They were the perfect addition. Mimosas make it a party. They feel a little special and fun, and sipping them sitting around the farm table while watching the kids play in the playroom made for a very relaxing Sunday morning. ;)

Note: Champagne actually gives me a bad headache and makes me extremely tired so I rarely drink it, but Heather used Prosecco, which has a lighter carbonation and doesn't seem as sweet to me, and it didn't make me tired or headachy at all. So if champagne goes straight to your head, try Prosecco.

Happy spring brunching!

Grilled Lemon Dill Potato Salad

Happy two months to this little lady!

It's really hard to believe Carson is two months old already, and in one short month I'll be going back to work. It's been such a joy to be home with my family this summer, watching Carson grow and packing Riker's days full of fun. And packed, they sure have been!

Even though I'm often tired, I get stir crazy staying inside all day, so it seems like almost every day/night we're out doing something, newborn and energetic toddler in tow. We've had the county fair, rides and fireworks at the boardwalk, beach days and pool days, countless walks in the park, a day trip to Philly, a birthday party at a bouncy house, a family day at a local winery, and even a float down the creek.

In between all the fun, we've also done a ton of work on the house, which we're trying to finish up quickly since we're having my sister's engagement party here next weekend. I've also been able to do a lot more cooking now that Carson is sleeping more. I am really loving this summer!

One thing I've loved the most is the number of friend's BBQ's, family parties and impromptu dinners we've gone to. Speaking of BBQs, if you're getting a little sick of the same old side dishes every weekend now that we're at the end of July, I present to you the grilled potato salad.

I've made this twice for family parties this summer and it was a hit each time. It's a refreshing twist on a classic potato salad, which I love because I'm not a big fan of the traditional mayo-laden kind. It has great char flavor from the grill, a little crunch from the onion, a nice zing from lemon, vinegar and capers, and a fresh flavor from the garden herbs.

Love those grill marks!

I'm also a sucker for warm salads. This can be served right off the grill or at room temperature, which makes for an easy dish to make and then take with you to a party.

Off to the beach!

Grilled Lemon Dill Potato Salad

Serves 8

Ingredients
5 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and sliced thick
1/2 red onion, minced
2 Tbsp. fresh dill, minced
2 Tbsp. parsley, minced
4 Tbsp. capers
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. dijon mustard
Zest and juice of one lemon
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
Salt & pepper

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil; parboil the potatoes for about 5 minutes, until they are just fork tender but not quite cooked through. Drain and set on a baking sheet. Drizzle potatoes with olive oil and then grill for about 2-3 minutes on each side, until they are completely cooked through and slightly charred.

To make the vinaigrette, add olive oil, vinegar, mustard, lemon zest and juice, garlic powder, salt and pepper to a jar; shake or whisk until combined.

In a large bowl, combine the cooked potatoes, onion, dill, parsley and capers. Pour half of the vinaigrette over the salad while the potatoes are still warm so they absorb some of the dressing. Reserve the other half of the vinaigrette to pour over the salad just before serving. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Quinoa Burgers with Spicy Mayo, Avocado & Arugula

Remember I mentioned I had to do some recipe testing the other day? Well, success was to be had.

This month's Recipe ReDux theme was about using heirloom kitchen tools - things that were passed down to us and that we love to use on a regular basis. I actually don't have any hand-me-downs in my kitchen (a shame, I know), but I do have some favorite tools I grew up with that I've since purchased for myself - pasta maker, wooden spoons (the only kind of spoons I use!), CrockPot, canner...but I have to say the tool I cook with constantly and could never live without, which comes straight from my childhood, is my trusty cast iron skillet. I love it because it cooks at crazy high temperatures, nothing ever sticks to it, it crisps up protein like nobody's business but then also makes nice creamy sauces, and I can sear fish or whatever in it and then finish cooking them in the oven - and they come out perfect every single time. Love, love my cast iron.

I knew I'd be using the cast iron when creating this month's recipe, but I wanted to do something different than my standby seared salmon filet. I have been planning to try making quinoa burgers, AND it was 70 degrees and sunny on Saturday - a perfect day for "burgers" - so that's how the magic started.

Actually it started with cooked quinoa and a whole mess of fresh veggies. The veggies got sautéed in the skillet with some ghee (clarified butter) and seasonings.

Then those veggies were removed from the pan and tossed with cooked quinoa and some other flavorings and then formed into patties. And then those patties were put right back into the same hot cast iron skillet. See, love this pan - I can use the same one for the whole dish. Single dish cleanup! 

Once the patties were cooked, I stored them in a warm oven (in the same pan) to keep warm while Matt and Riker got washed up for dinner. We ate these at the bar with a side of baked carrot fries. It felt like a bar kind of meal.

The patties got topped with a squeeze of fresh lemon, a simple spicy mayo, slices of fresh avocado and a pile of fresh arugula. I didn't use rolls since the quinoa is already a carb, and honestly - with toppings like that, who needs a roll?

The end result was, in Matt's words, "killer." He must've used that word at least three times. I love that kind of kudos at dinner! The burgers were crunchy on the outside but a little soft in the middle, and you could really taste the sweet carrots and red peppers as well as the sharp, salty parmesan cheese. They were perfection. And if the toppings don't strike your fancy, the burgers would be just as good on a bun with a slice of cheese and some ketchup or sriracha sauce.

I will for sure be making them again and again, with all different flavor combos. I think they'd also be fine frozen and then reheated in the toaster oven, so next time I plan to make a big batch and keep extras in the freezer. My new summer jam!

Quinoa Burgers with Spicy Mayo, Avocado & Arugula

Makes about 7 burgers

Ingredients

1 cup quinoa

2 cups water or vegetable broth (if using water, add 1 tsp. salt)

2 tsp. ghee or flavorless oil (like grapeseed)

2 small carrots, minced

1/2 red pepper, chopped

1/2 small onion, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/8 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

2 eggs

3 Tbsp. almond flour

2 Tbsp. ghee or flavorless oil (like grapeseed)

Lemon, Spicy Mayo (below), avocado and arugula for toppings

Cook quinoa in broth or water according to package directions. Set aside.

Bring a cast iron skillet to medium/low heat and add the 2 tsp. ghee. Sautee the carrots, red pepper, onion, garlic, salt and pepper for a few minutes, until softened. Remove the veggies from the pan and place in a large mixing bowl.

To the cooked veggies, add the cooked quinoa, parmesan cheese, eggs and almond flour. Mix well. 

Bring the cast iron skillet back up to medium heat and add the 2 Tbsp. ghee. Once the ghee is melted, form the quinoa mixture into patties and place immediately in the pan. Cook about 3-4 minutes each side, until golden brown.

Serve immediately, or keep warm in a low temp oven until ready to serve.

Serve with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, a light spread of spicy mayo (below), slices of fresh avocado and a handful of arugula (with additional lemon if desired).

Spicy Mayo

4 Tbsp. mayo (I use Spectrum Organic Mayo with Cage Free Eggs)

1 tsp. fresh lemon juice

1 tsp. salt

1-2 Tbsp. hot sauce, depending on your spice preference

An InLinkz Link-up

Weekend Highlights 2

Time for another edition of Weekend Highlights! It was a busy but really fun one, especially with all the great weather we've had the last few days. The big item on the agenda was Matt's cousin James & his fiance Ali's wedding in Philly, which meant we spent the whole weekend with family out in PA.

But backing up, on Friday I skipped my usual work-at-home day and went into the city for a Social Change Summit at the United Nations. It was a neat little treat for a work day, and we got to hear case studies from some big guns like Dove and Invisible Children (the org. behind the Kony 2012 video campaign).

They also fed us a really nice lunch in a room overlooking the river. I had vegetables aplenty during the salad and entree course, so took down the chocolate mousse & mango cake with no guilt.

We got to Philly around 8:00 that night and spent the evening catching up with my sister Amanda and her boyfriend Justyn. They live only about a mile from where the wedding was on Saturday night, and were watching Riker for us while we attended, so we figured we'd save the $ on a hotel room and just bunk with them instead. Plus, it gave us a chance to hang out all day Saturday as a family. Amanda found a great spring/Easter event a few minutes from her house (almost everything was free!) which was a perfect way to spend a sunny Saturday.

They had an Easter egg hunt, pony rides, petting zoo, face painting and all kinds of other stuff. We were hungry after all that, so headed into the cute town of Manayunk for an outdoor lunch at the local brewery.

I loved getting to sit outside and soak up all that sunshine! We split zucchini fries for an appetizer, and for my lunch I had a jumbo lump crab cake (I ditched the roll and just ate the crab cake with the salad).

A long uphill walk back to the car and then a cat nap back at home, and then it was time to get ready to watch James & Ali get married!

More on that in an upcoming post - too many details for one weekend roundup. :) It was a fun evening for sure, though.

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Sunday started with morning tea at my sister's, followed by lox bagels and killer iced coffee at the cutest little coffee shop in Manayunk.

Lox = love. Bellies full, we met up with Matt's parents at the park where James & Ali got married (it's a huge park where Matt loves to go mountain biking) for a morning hike. This place is so beautiful. I'm not in prime hiking mode right now being over 7 months prego, so had to go fairly slowly, but it was some good exercise and fresh air nonetheless.

We got back home around 2:00, picked up Butters from the kennel and the rest of the afternoon included some digging for the new patio...(okay, actually me laying on a blanket and ordering groceries online while Matt dug)... 

...and takeout sushi (cooked for me) and summer rolls for dinner.

Such a perfect Sunday. Entire weekend, really. And I'll tell you, the taste of warm weather we had made me seriously ready for summer!

How was your weekend? Did you get to spend some time outdoors?

Food of the Week

Good Sunday morning! I feel like the last few weeks have flown by in a blur, and it's only going to get busier around here for the next month. I have 5 baby/bridal showers, one 50th birthday party and family coming into town twice...all in March. Yikes! It's all great stuff of course, but it'll be busy for sure. I actually have to get ready soon to head to a bridal shower a couple hours away, but it's been a little bit since I've had a chance to do a weekly food catch-up, so I was determined to do so this morning.

Let's catch up, shall we?

Over the last two weeks or so our meals have swung a wide spectrum. I recently signed us up for Door-to-Door Organics, which delivers a box of organic produce and other items right to our house every week (a huge time saver, especially since we usually need to run out for extra fruit every weekend), and am loving it so far.

I've been making tons of chopped salads with the fresh produce we've been receiving (mainly for lunches), as well as stir fries and even a pasta dish with roasted shrimp, brie, my stocking stuffer saffron and lots of fresh asparagus and tomatoes. 

Seafood has also been making plenty of appearances. Last weekend when we were in the Poconos, Matt and the guys made a smoked brisket with homemade barbecue sauce and coleslaw, but I had a grilled tuna steak instead of the meat. It.was.amazing.

I could not get enough of the homemade sweet & spicy barbecue sauce combined with the crunchy, tangy slaw. It was the perfect meal after coming home from a chilly day on the slopes. 

Pause from food pics here to enter kid pictures...

This was before we put the skis on Riker. He was much happier then. Once the skis went on, it was total meltdown mode. Ah well, we'll try again next year. He had much more fun playing in the secret hideout at the cabin we were staying in. 

I can't take the cuteness.

Okay, back to the foodie pics.

When we got back home on Sunday we stopped to eat lunch outside at Fins, my favorite Cali-style burrito place. It was so gorgeous out (60 degrees!) I just could not fathom sitting inside at home, especially after being in the snow all weekend in PA.

I got a coconut fish wrap with Asian slaw and pickled onions. It didn't disappoint. We even got to spend a few minutes at the beach afterward. Perfection!

We also had Matt's mom's birthday that night, which included grilled shrimp, veggies and quinoa for dinner and the traditional Baratta family ice cream cake for dessert.

We've been eating a fair amount of fish at home, too. Last week Matt made homemade fish cakes with the striped bass he caught a while ago and which has been in our freezer. We eat them bun-less with homemade tartar sauce and a side of garlicky kale or spinach. They don't look that great, but they are really tasty.

Friday night we had a seafood feast of fresh clams & mussels, and seared salmon with homemade yogurt dill sauce. Matt picked up the seafood from our local fish market and it was super fresh and so good. We also made some coconut flour-dusted sweet potato fries on the side. Gotta have something to dip in all that delicious clam broth!

Veggie filled meals of salads, stir fries and seafood aside, we've also had a few "fun" meals...

1. Taco Night (with lettuce taco shells, salsa verde and queso fresco)

2. Nacho Night (uuuh, definitely not as healthy as lettuce tacos, but it was a snowy day, and, well whatever)

3. Indian Night (using a spice packet, paneer and naan we got at the local Indian food store, on top of quinoa with broccoli, peas and tomatoes)

Sometimes you just need to break things up with some spice in your life.

I did all my meal prepping yesterday for the next two weeks, and we have some good stuff coming up in all the same categories. I'm looking forward to trying a few new recipes I found on Pinterest as well, including curry cauliflower & sweet potato soup. I need to get all my soup fixes in now since spring is on the way!

Alrighty, off to get ready to shower my cousin's baby this afternoon. :) Enjoy the rest of your weekend!