The Ideal Brunch

Hi everyone,

I'm so glad yesterday was a sunny day- cold but sunny. I had the pleasure of hosting two of my best friends yesterday for brunch. They are friends of mine from church and we try to meet for coffee at least once a month on a Tuesday. But our regular spot for coffee now allow all dogs in which isn't good for me (animal dander allergy).

So I invited them over for Brunch yesterday and boy did we have a spread! I may have made too much food! But I'd rather make too much food than too little. That way you can send your guests home with leftovers (they went home with a goody bag!)

But what makes the ideal brunch? Well there is plenty you can do and you don't have to do everything nor make anything. Here's our Pinterest board with some ideas to help get you started.

https://uk.pinterest.com/LilyFoodBakingBlog/brunch/

I did a mixture of continental and a cooked brunch. Croissants, Buttermilk Pancakes, Sausages, Scrambled Eggs, Bacon and more. I didn't make everything from scratch, some things I did buy but we enjoyed it none the less.

One thing I did do was prepare a few things in advance the day before. I made a plaited loaf and shifted the furniture on Monday evening as the loaf has to be proved twice which can be time consuming but well worth it. And also having your husband move your furniture around for you is a blessing. He also went out to the shops for me on Monday evening to get the last few bits I needed.

Here are the plaited loaf and buttermilk pancake recipes:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/paul_hollywoods_bloomer_84636 I use Paul Hollywood's Bloomer bread recipe and instead of shaping it into a bloomer, I split the dough into 3 sections. I then roll each section into a long sausage shape, attached them together at the top and start plaiting it as if I was doing a plait in my hair. Once I reach the bottom, I attach the ends together and tuck both the top and the bottom underneath to create smooth edges. Once the second prove is done and it's ready to bake, I brush over a little whisked egg to give it a nice shine.

Once ready it should (in theory) look like this:

The buttermilk pancakes were super easy to make and I used a recipe from BBC Good Food by John Torode:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/buttermilk_pancakes_10390

We also had scones (which I'll admit I am useless at making- mine come out all crumbly which isn't good but I am working on it). I did buy these from Tesco's. One of my friends Becca did ask how best to have a scone and I did explain about the Devon/Cornwall debate. Jam then cream or cream then jam? My husband has butter, then jam then cream. I have jam then cream. My friend however had the perfect solution- it doesn't matter which way the jam and cream goes if you turn it into a burger style way of eating it. It's a genius way of eating scones and also you can then step back from others debating the whole jam/cream scenario. If only I'd got a picture to prove how great an idea this is!

And what's a brunch without fresh juices, tea and coffee. I had all three on offer. I even brought out one of my cafetières to use. I didn't have any coffee that would suit so I got creative and used my regular Nescafé to make it instead. I put 6 spoons of coffee in it thinking that's enough for 2 cups for each of us. It was more than enough because when I asked my other friend Debra if she knew what to do with a cafetière she was surprised as to how much coffee I'd put in let alone the wrong type of coffee. We made it work though and I learnt a very wise lesson. Buy the right coffee and stick to the instructions instead of improvising! 6 spoons of coffee makes for a very, very strong brew! Hot water and the kettle to the rescue!

If you're reading this Debra, thank you so much for rescuing the coffee!

I forgot to take a before picture of our brunch but it looked so delicious we just dug in. I however got a picture of afterwards to prove that it's a good idea to have brunch and it doesn't have to be fancy shmancy at all.

The flowers in the vase are artificial and come from The Range (which I brought about 2 years ago?). The napkins are from M&S (I believe) and we brought them a few years ago. The napkin rings we inherited/got from my husband's family- his grandparents? And our dinner service was a wedding gift. It's Churchill Blue Willow which is easy to replace as it is a very popular dinner service. You can even find bits here and there at charity shops. The glasses were a wedding gift. The mugs for coffee were brought for me (two from my sister, one from my husband). The one on the right hand side I use daily for my coffee or two. The cutlery is from John Lewis & Partners and was purchased with some money that was given to us as a wedding gift. The table runner is also from M&S I believe.

I made some place cards out of A4 white card and used a blue biro to write our names. Sometimes it's the little things that count. I do the same for when we have guests over for any occasion- Christmas, Birthday's, Dinners etc. It gives a little something extra I think.

We had such a great time catching up and having fellowship. To me that's very important when you can't always get out because of your health. And I love hosting people. Next time I will make some Boxty as an addition to the Irish Breakfast feel I gave to brunch yesterday.

I promised Debra not to add black and white pudding. Not everyone is enthused by them so it's okay. I'm not overly keen myself.

I'll let you know when I host brunch again. Do let us know if you've hosted a brunch. What does your family serve for brunch? Is there a specific recipe you make? Do you have any traditions for breakfast/brunch? Have you ever made an error with brunch?

Enjoy the recipes and remember cooking/baking is all about fun and having time with friends/family.

Lily xxxx

Ps. I promise not to almost ruin the coffee again.