Hosting a Brunch is often very stressful! There is all the food to prep, making sure everyone is having a good time and don't get me started on making sure everything looks nice! But what if I told you there was a way to make it stress free? Easy recipes, beautiful decor and fun for everyone! Here are my secrets to hosting a spring brunch!
1. The Set Up
Overview of the brunch set up
Decorating your house/apartment for a themed brunch is always important and fun!
Spring screams light, bright and colorful! Of course being a Girl's Brunch I went with a more pinkish & white color scheme but it could easily be more yellow, green, etc.
Since I decided to do a more buffet style brunch, I had to decorate the dinning table and the small buffet table. An easy way I found to decorate the whole room without necessarily decorating the actual tables was with balloons. I chose balloons from Ballooms (https://www.balloom.ca). On the other hand, centerpieces are a great way to decorate tables. One of my favorite centerpieces are flowers and these flowers from La Boîte à Fleur (https://www.boiteafleursmtl.com/). These are actually eternal flowers and can last more than a year!!
There are many ways to organize your brunch I decided to create more a buffet like brunch. So each person could go and pick which ever dishes they desire. This withdraws the stress of having to plate everything and making sure everything is warm for everyone.
For food presentations, I love to use cheese cutting boards and cake stands as they are easy to find (if not already at home) and also easy to move around.
couple of leaves of fresh & minced coriander (to taste)
4 pieces of Rustic Loaf bread of choice (I took mine at l'Amour du Pain)
pesto of choice
8 eggs (take them out 2 hours before prepping)
Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Place in square mold of 8 inches the red pepper strips, small tomatoes (uncut) and the shallot.
Add olive oil until approximately 1/4 of the mold is full.
Add a pinch of Fleur de sel (to taste), a pinch of pepper (to taste) and 1 tablespoon of oregano.
Cook until candied (between 20-30 minutes depending on the size of the tomatoes). When the tomatoes start to fall apart, drizzle the balsamic glaze to taste. Cook for 5 more minutes.
For the nut mixture, roast the pumpkin seeds for 10 minutes at 300°F.
Chop and mix the nuts with a pinch of Fleur de sel, pinch of pepper, grounded coriander and the fresh coriander.
Carefully place the eggs in boiling water for 6 minutes.
Remove eggs from boiling water and place them in ice cold water for 5 minutes. Afterwards, peel the egg and place in cold water in the fridge.
Cute the pieces of bread into 2 and drizzle olive oil on top. Cook at 350°F for about 10 minutes. Leave on the counter until time to assemble, to let them dry.
Assembly
Coat the crostini with some pesto.
Add a couple spoonfuls of the pepper and tomato mixture, a spoonful of the nut mixture, add grated parmesan to taste. Place the poached egg on top.
(Everything can be made in advance and placed in the fridge: 15 minutes before serving, place eggs in water, then boiled for 1-2 minutes to reheat. Place the peppers mix in the microwave for 15-20 seconds)
Crostini with ricotta, poached pears and candied pecans
Crostini with ricotta, poached pears and candied pecans
Ingredients (for 4 full crostinis):
4 pears peeled, cut in 2 and emptied
125g of maple syrup
30g of lemon juice
1 vanilla pod (split and scraped)
100 grams of pecans
3 tablespoons of maple syrup
pinch of Fleur de sel
150 grams of ricotta
4 pieces of Rustic Loaf bread of choice (I took mine at l'Amour du Pain)
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
In a big pan, heat the maple syrup and vanilla together until slightly caramelized.
Place the cut side of the pears in the pan and add the lemon juice.
Place in the oven for 20 minutes or until tender. It is important to coat the pears with the syrup a couple of times during cooking. (it is important to keep the syrup liquid)
Dice the pears and place in the syrup until time to serve.
Afterwards, place the pecans in the oven at 300°F for 8-10 minutes.
Place in a pan and add the maple syrup. Cook until caramelized. Then, add Fleur de sel while still hot.
Cute the pieces of bread into 2 and drizzle olive oil on top. Cook at 350°F for about 10 minutes. Leave on the counter until time to assemble, to let them dry.
Assembly:
Coat the crostini with some ricotta.
Add a couple spoonfuls of the pears with a drizzle of their juice, a spoonful of the candied pecans.
** Poached pear recipe taken from Patrice Demers
Citrus salad
Citrus Salad
Ingredients:
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of water
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
1 blood orange
2 oranges
1 grapefruit
mint leaves to taste and for garnish
Directions:
Make the simple syrup. Bring water, sugar and lemon juice to a boil in a small pan. Let cool down in the fridge.
Cut all the citrus in slice and remove the peel.
In a bowl, place all fruits and add simple syrup until all fruits are coated. Also place a couple of leaves of mint in the mixture. Let sit for a couple of hours.
When ready to serve, place the fruits in a serving plate removing the syrup from the fruits. Drizzle a bit of syrup on top and add mint to garnish.
Make your own Oatmeal Bar
Make your own Oatmeal Bar
People love to customize their own dishes. That's why I thought it was perfect to make an oatmeal bar! These oatmeals from Yumi Organics (https://yumi-organics.ca/) are so easy to make. Everything can be prepared the night before, which makes it so much easier for the hostess.
After that, just cut up different fruits (raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, mangos...), you can even have jams and maple syrup and voilà!!
3. The Ending
All guests love to leave a party with small gifts! I mean who wouldn't?! Here are cute gift ideas for a girly spring brunch!
