It certainly wasn't the best tablescape, but for an Easter brunch that was put together with husband working the whole week while also taking care of a sick toddler, I'll take it. I used matching cloth napkins over baskets to create the different levels so they would blend in. (btw, please ignore my son's empty Easter plate before eating!)
Please make sure to visit my Pinterest pin board to find all the recipes & inspiration!
Our brunch included the following pins:
Carrot Crescents filled with Egg Salad
I loved these even though they were a little tricky to make since I had never done this before. I did a better job with wrapping around some than others. I did make them the night before and kept them overnight in a ziploc bag. This was fine. Also, I loved the way the egg wash gave them a shiny texture, even if it lessened the intense orange color. Beware though, between this and another Easter project, I used a whole little yellow bottle of food coloring. I would definitely buy the natural orange color if I do this again.
Lavender Summer Fruit Salad
I couldn't find dried lavender to use for this recipe - and though, I usually have some from my own garden... I didn't. However, I used organic wildflower honey and it gave a lovely scent as well as taste. I look forward to trying this again with the actual lavender. The mint was a lovely touch as well. I couldn't find any good fresh peaches so I added half a can of sliced peaches. If possible, I would always use fresh fruit, and would probably leave out the canned peaches if they were my only option again. I also added strawberries just because we love them and they fit in well.
My carrot utensils
These were a cute simple way for our guests to carry everything together. I tied them up with green curling ribbon the night before (sorry no picture, lol). It's a great way to make plastic silverware 'festive' when you don't have quite enough silverware or don't want to use your own. You could do this with any colors, but for Easter, making them look like carrots was perfect. TIP: To make it easy for your guests to untie your silverware, start to tie a double knot, then don't pull the second loop all the way through. Your guests can simply pull that loop free, and voila - no scissors needed.
Bunny Buns
For these, I used the Pillsbury breadsticks (sorry Rhodes, I didn't see yours available). They came out okay - for the second batch I pressed down the ears a bit more and made bigger tails. Some looked like a cute little bunny from the back, some just looked like crazy breadsticks. They were cute enough, tasted fine, but I'll probably look for something a little more festive next year.
Individual Veggie Cups
Mine included green, red, yellow & orange bell peppers as well as carrot sticks, celery sticks and snap peas (because I love them). I put ranch dressing at the bottom. Next time I'd use shorter cups and more dressing. Only bad thing about these was the fact that I had quite a few left over and veggies and you can't keep the veggies in a bag after like you could a veggie tray. I'd make fewer and have things ready to go if you need more - they're a snap to make.
Triple Pea Salad with Tarragon Dressing
If you like salad, you like peas, definitely try this salad! It got rave reviews from everyone. I kept the dressing separate so guest could add the amount they preferred. I made both the peas and dressing the night before. I took the peas out a bit before we ate so they were about room temperature and this worked well. I ended up adding a bit more sour cream to the dressing because the white wine vinegar added a little more bite than I like. You can certainly adjust this to your tastes.
Creme Brulee French Toast
This is made in the crockpot and unfortunately, I did not take a picture of it served with the caramel topping on top (warmed, of course). I made it the year before and will make it yet again next year. It's a family favorite and it's easy to make. I made it early Saturday morning to soak in the fridge, put it on to start cooking about 2am on Sunday, it was ready to go about 10:30am. One thing to note: I did cut the sugar this year, almost in half, because it's quite sweet because you use the sweet bread, plus the caramel sauce. Try it yourself and see what you think before you make it for a bunch of people and adjust the sugar to your taste buds.
Not pictured - whoops!
Sausage and Leek Egg Bake - This is definitely one of my favorite egg casseroles. You can spice things up with hot sausage if you prefer. My Mom made this and it was delicious. Since we had this and the ham, we didn't make any bacon, lol. We happily ate the leftover casserole the next day and it reheated well.
Mini Caprese Salad - I forgot to take a picture of these that I made for an appetizer but we've made them for several parties now. They are super easy & yummy. Just make sure to have a small bowl for toothpicks near where you put them out since guest tend to eat them in one bite and they're great since you don't really need an appetizer plate! Note: This time, I completely forgot to buy fresh basil so I was just going to put the tomato and mozzarella ball on the toothpick when I remembered I had fresh mint from the fruit salad... so, my Mom helped me put that on and they were actually quite good. :-)
Other menu items (not pinned) included:
Smithfield Ham http://www.smithfieldhams.com/
Rainbow bread from Wolf's Bakery http://www.wolfsbakery.net/ (A staple at our Easter feast every year, plus it's a popular gift for our friends!)
Hashbrown Casserole recipe from a friend - this is going to be a staple at Easter brunch. My Mom made it with the country hash browns and it was delicious. I think next time we'll try it with the shredded hash browns and decide which we like better. If anyone interested, I'll ask my neighbor if I can pass on the recipe since I have no idea where she got it from or if it was inspired from other recipes.
Peach Pie and French Apple Pie from Baker's Square. The peach was delicious but I was not impressed with the french apple. The crumb topping wasn't really a crumb topping as much as it was brown sugar thrown over the top. I definitely prefer their classic apple pie - lesson learned.
There you go! It's not much; it wasn't a huge brunch; but it was certainly a great place to start with my 'pinterest-inspired holidays.'
