BRUNCH

In response to my solicitation for suggestions for recipes, one of my followers has asked me for a brunch menu, so here we go. 

 I like to entertain at brunch, partly because breakfast foods are among my favorites - I love eggs -  but also because I can entertain 12 guests (at buffet) as easily as the usual six that I can seat at my dinner table. And since I usually have a brunch on Sunday and usually at noon, I can clean up after my guests leave and unlike cleaning up after a dinner party, which might mean washing glasses at midnight, I have some of Sunday left to enjoy after the dishes are clean and put away.

I have a few rules I usually follow for brunch. I set up the bar with appropriate glasses and ice and let my guests help themselves. I make the bloody marys and any other drink I'm offering but leave the liquor out. This way my guests can make their bloody marys as strong as they like. Other rules of mine are that brunch should always contain at least one dish with eggs and should end with fresh fruit, pretty in a nice glass bowl and a good palate cleanser after the other more egg-y tastes. And I always call brunch for noon on Sunday.

So, to begin, here's the menu.

Something first to nibble on, like olives and nuts. I usually buy marinated olives at my grocery store and serve my bar nuts, already described earlier in this blog. For drinks, I always have bloody marys, expected at a brunch, and usually creamsicles and white wine. Then the heavier stuff: an egg casserole, sausage and apples, hash browns, fresh  fruit and some kind of sweet rolls, like cinnamon rolls. I often finish a brunch with some candy, like chocolate covered almonds. I just leave it out and guests can partake or not. Usually there's some left for me to eat. Yum. I used to serve coffee but have found that guests don't expect it and so I've stopped providing it. (I have a French press coffee maker, so if someone wants coffee, I can make a small amount in a hurry.)

To begin, here's the recipe for my bloody marys and creamsicles. The rest of the menu will follow.

BLOODY MARYS

for 6; double for 12

Most who entertain at brunch have their own favorite recipe for bloody marys but I think it's a good idea to begin with a standard recipe and then modify it as you wish. Here's my standard. It may be a little too hot for me but then I usually cut down on the horseradish and hot sauce. Using half tomato juice and half clamato makes a better bloody mary but I'm always afraid one of my guests may be allergic to shellfish. Sometimes I use a little beefamato with the tomato juice.

Here are a couple of hints. I don't use my best Grey Goose for the vodka. While I don't use rotgut either (no Zelko!), there's no need to use expensive vodka when the taste of the drink will be mostly in the other ingredients. If you haven't used your bottled horseradish in a long time and it's brown on top, toss it out and buy a fresh bottle; it's not that expensive. And don't put ice in the mix. Just make it far enough ahead to chill in a pitcher in your refrigerator. Otherwise, the ice will dilute the drink. And skip the celery stick. Who wants a stick of celery up your nose when you're trying to drink a bloody mary?

4 C chilled tomato juice (or half tomato and half clamato or beefamato)

1 C plus 2 T vodka (if you're putting it in)

1/3 C fresh lemon juice (don't even think of using the bottled stuff!)

1 1/2 T bottled horseradish, drained of liquid (save the liquid and put it back in the bottle)

1 1/2 T Worchestershire sauce

1/2 t celery salt (if you have it; dont' rush out to buy it just for this drink)

3/4 t Tabasco sauce

3/4 t black pepper

1. Stir all the ingredients together in a pitcher and serve over ice.

CREAMSICLES

Many of my lady friends like this drink. It's just regular orange juice (buy it bottled but be sure it's without pulp) and vanilla vodka. Mixed together, the result tastes just like those old orange and vanilla ice cream creamsicles.

My mother's favorite drink was bourbon and orange juice, so if you're having creamsicles and have the orange juice, you can put out the bourbon as well. Some of your guests may like the bourbon straight.

For the wine, I always serve white wine, and on the light side: Pino Gregio, for instance, is perfect. Or you may want to experiment with a rose. Be creative.

Recipes for the rest of this menu will follow. Stay tuned.