As the holiday is usually very close to the Spring equinox, it is a wonderful time to bring color back to the world as you celebrate and revitalize your faith and spirituality with family and close friends. Easter traditions vary from culture to culture but many of the main themes remain: rebirth, not only of Christ but also of the natural world, celebration of faith and a feast to enjoy with loved ones. Hosting an Easter brunch allows you to share time with special people in your life while also allowing time for morning church services and afternoon egg hunts.
Getting Started
Planning an event has a tendency to create stress, especially if it isn’t something you do very frequently, so it’s best to plan the event and break the work up into smaller manageable tasks.
To plan an Easter brunch you’ll need to:
Create a Guest List & Send Invitations
Create a Tablescape
Plan Your Menu Host
Your Event Planning ahead allows you to not only stay within a budget, but also to have fun and be creative with your invitations, your tablescape and decorations. The colors of Easter are bright yellow and a wide palette of beautiful pastels, that all coordinate well with each other and create a cheery mood to celebrate.
Create a Guest List & Send Invitations
Before you plan any part of the event, you’ll need to create a guest list, so you know how many people you will be hosting. Your invitations will set the tone for the type of brunch you’d like to host as well, whether it is casual or more formal. There are all kinds of invitations you can buy or you can DIY. You can also use an online template to create a beautiful invite that is a blend of printing and personal if you don’t feel especially crafty. Make sure you let your guests know if you expect them to wear festive attire and to RSVP. Ask for the RSVP on a specific date before the event so you know how much food to prepare and have seating for everyone. These casual yet crafty invites are easy to create and are available at Martha Stewart
Create a Tablescape
Creating the table for your brunch allows you to be creative and if you plan ahead you don’t have to spend a lot of money to create a truly gorgeous tablescape. Depending on the weather you may choose to dine outside or inside and your tablescape should play off the elements of your setting. You can be as simple or creative as you feel comfortable with and have the time for.
Table Cloth
How you dress your table sets the mood for all the other items you’ll place on the table. Your tablescape should reflect the style in your invitation as well and should be set up to work well with the foods and drink that you serve. You can use a simple elegant white table cloth like one from Room For Tuesday.
You can also add more color and dimension to the table by layering a colored tablecloth, with placemats and napkins like this tablescape at Dining Delight.
Flowers
Flowers bring a tablescape to life and add their beautiful aroma to the room. When choosing flowers, remember that you can use live or potted plants and greens as well. While bouquets are great you can also make a beautiful flower setting with a single bloom, like these gorgeous peonies from Country Living
Or even use fresh spring herbs and garden vegetables like this one from Better Homes and Gardens.
You can add more color to your vase by filling it with candy, like this fun colorful arrangement by She Knows.
Dishware
The dishware you use can be one style or a blend of colors and patterns. The type of dishware and how much you place on the table is determined both by the look you are going for and how big your table is. You'll want to add cleaned and pressed napkins and cutlery to each setting and remember to add polished glasses for water and drinks.
This dishware setting from the Domestic Curator blends different colors and style for a fun festive look.
Using a simple dishware set-up, with smaller mason jars, can look just as elegant and festive as more colorful settings, like this setting form Pepper Design.
Gift
You can also place a gift for your guests on the table. The gift should be spring inspired and could include a small flower bouquet or plant, a candle or even a hand decorated egg.
The Meal
Planning a brunch can be very fun as you can choose a mix of foods. The bonus of hosting a brunch is that with a properly planned menu, you won’t be spending time in the kitchen, you will be able to spend time with your guests. You can enjoy classic and delicious egg dishes, scones, savory meats, and so much more at brunch. Brunch foods don’t have to be served hot or made to order and I’ve put together 2 simple menus one more breakfast and one more lunch, to give you some ideas. Remember you’ll have more fun if you make foods that you like and use simple easy recipes.
Breakfast Brunch Menu
Fresh Fruit
Pastries
Egg Muffins
Mini Bagels & Bagel Bar
This menu couldn’t be more simple or delicious. For this menu I recommend using a blend of fresh seasonal fruit, either in a bowl or on a large platter, my recipe below for egg muffins and a box of pastries from your favorite bakery.
If you are in the mood for baking, try making scones and serve them with farm butter, whipped cream honey or jam. I like this recipe from Martha Stewart for Mummy’s Sweet White Scones.
My recipe for egg muffins are below. You can always a side of savory meat such as bacon, sausage or ham if you want to make the meal more substantial. You can double or triple the recipe, or instead of muffins, pour in mixture into a pie pan for a crust less quiche.
Egg Muffins
Makes 6-8
6 eggs, beaten
½ cup goat cheese
2 cups mixed vegetables, diced (red bell peppers & spinach)
1 tablespoon mixed herbs, chopped (basil, oregano, dill, thyme, tarragon)
salt and pepper
pinch of cayenne
oil for the muffin pans
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and lightly oil a muffin pan. Whisk together the eggs, add the vegetables, herbs and seasonings. Fill muffin tins ¾’s full and place a dollop of goat cheese in each muffin. Bake in the oven for 14-16 minutes until the eggs are set.
Depending on how many guest you are serving, this recipe can easily be doubled or tripled. You can also use this recipe to make a crust-less quiche, simply by pouring the egg mixture into a pie pan.
Simple Bites has a wonderful example of a DIY bagel bar. I would use mini bagels instead of full size for Easter Brunch.
Lunch Brunch Menu
For the lunch brunch you can still have savory and sweet, but with a few twists.
Spinach Strawberry Salad
Pasta Carbonara
Sweet & Hot Plum Glazed Ham
Yellow Butter Cupcakes
Let's start with the spinach salad
Spinach
Strawberry Salad
Serves 6-8
8 Cups of Baby Spinach
½ Cup Red
Onion Thinly Sliced
¾ Cup
Sunflower Seeds, Roasted and Salted
2 Cups
Strawberries, Sliced
¾ cup of
crumbled feta cheese
Juice of 1
Lemon
3
Tablespoons Olive Oil
Salt and
fresh cracked Pepper to Taste.
This is one
of the easiest salads to make and it is so pretty, simply layer all the
ingredients on a large platter (you can do this before your guests arrive)
Drizzle the Olive Oil and Lemon Juice over the top, add Salt and Pepper just
before serving.
Easter just would not be complete without an Easter ham. Sweet-Hot Plum Glazed Ham is a great choice if you are looking for a unique home made glaze.
Yellow Butter Cupcakes with Dark Chocolate Frosting
Bake these cupcakes the
day before, frost and decorate in the morning for a fun and festive sweet
treat.
Drinks and Eye Openers
No celebration
is complete without having a special drink to make a toast. In addition to some store bought or homemade infused water pitchers , ice teas , and lemonades , Drinks can be a
little more colorful and creative to really kick your brunch off to a bright
and classy start.
Here are some of our very own eye openers to toast an Easter gathering.
This Bloody Mary is perfect for a breakfast brunch!
Strawberry Blueberry Sangria is not only easy it’s pretty and it tastes great.
Here are some of our very own eye openers to toast an Easter gathering.
This Bloody Mary is perfect for a breakfast brunch!
Strawberry Blueberry Sangria is not only easy it’s pretty and it tastes great.
Easter is a time of rejoice and family , no matter how you celebrate or food you serve. Have fun, make it your own, and enjoy your company, enjoy celebrating and enjoy your art of living.
0 comments:
Post a Comment