ENTERTAINING ON THE EASY

HIP HOSTESS ILANA ECK COOKS UP A MID-MORNING MEAL FOR AN EASY, BREEZY BRUNCH

THE MAKE-AHEAD SPRING BRUNCH

No one wants to wake up at the crack of dawn to prepare a
beautiful brunch. The good news is that you don't need to.
With simple make-ahead recipes, you'll look fresh as a daisy
when your guests arrive for your spring brunch. Most of the
ideas and recipes for this brunch work well for either an Easter
or Earth Day celebration. Even if you aren’t planning to host a holiday event, a spring brunch is a nice way to lure family and friends out of hibernation after the long winter.

If you are new to entertaining or want to play host without breaking the bank, brunch is the ideal meal to host. Straightforward recipes dispense with the need for careful menu planning, and you don’t need a lot of expensive ingredients to make this meal special; anything other than dry cereal is probably a treat for most of your guests.

SETTING THE SCENE

Spring Tablecloth

Display fresh spring foliage, like large green leaves or daisies, beneath a sheer tablecloth to add some green to your table. Place leaves or flowers between paper towels or waxed paper inside a thick book for a week to dry and flatten them. Use double-sided tape or scrapbooking dots to attach foliage to a standard white tablecloth. Place a sheer cloth, such as organza, on top and it will look like spring has sprung right in your own dining room.

Fresh-Bud Vases

Enliven your table with an arrangement of mini bouquets set in juice glasses or small mugs. These mini bouquets are adorable and economical: A few bunches of inexpensive spring flowers pepper your entire table. Pick a few small-budded flowers in similar hues, such as tulips, daisies and daffodils. Trim the stems short enough so the flowers will peek over the rims of the glasses or mugs. If using mugs, place a small round metal floral frog in each mug to help shape and hold down the arrangements (the frog will show through clear juice glasses, so rather than using the frog, just fill them a bit tighter to keep them in place). After brunch, place one of the mini arrangements next to the sink in your bathroom and the rest on bedside or end tables around the house.

Brunch Cocktails

Encourage guests to linger (and give them an excuse to imbibe before noon) by serving a fun brunch cocktail. Traditional mimosas, Bloody Marys and Bellinis are crowd-pleasers, but you can shake things up by using an unusual juice, such as blood orange, pomegranate, blueberry or mango, and combine it with a dry champagne for a winning brunch cocktail.

Hip Tips

Use lots of bright flowers in colorful hues like yellow and pink to add a spring touch to your table. Tuck single blooms into napkins or place at each place setting to make your entire table bloom.
Set the table and set out serving platters and utensils the night before to make setup easier in the morning.
Streamline setting the table by wrapping utensils in cloth napkins and tying them with a grosgrain ribbon. Place utensil bundles at each place setting, or stand them up in a vase on a buffet table.

THE MENU

Here’s your make-ahead plan: Make apricot granola bites at least one day and up to five days in advance. Refrigerate granola bites in an airtight container with sheets of parchment paper between layers. Serve them as an “appetizer” in a candy or compote dish so guests have something to snack on while they wait for brunch to be served. Make the quinoa salad up to two days ahead, bring to room temperature and refrigerate in an airtight container. Take the quinoa out of the refrigerator about an hour before you plan to serve it. Make the quiche batter the day before and bake it an hour before guests arrive (be sure to leave the batter in a bowl and transfer it to the prepared quiche pan or other baking dish right before baking; otherwise, the quiche may stick to the bottom of the pan). The quiche can be made one day before, cooled at room temperature and refrigerated overnight. To reheat the quiche, microwave or preheat the oven to 300 degrees and cook until the center is warm and the cheese is bubbling. Cut the fruit and make the mango-lime dressing up to one day before (wait until morning to combine the fruit with the dressing). Make the mimosas as guests arrive.

Simple Spring Brunch Menu

Apricot granola bites

Crustless spinach quiche

Spring quinoa salad with asparagus and feta

Mango-lime fruit salad

Pomegranate mimosas

Coffee and tea

Hip Tips

Put the coffee in your coffee maker the night before and fill the reservoir with water. Right before guests are set to arrive, press the start button and you’ll have fresh coffee at the ready. For a larger crowd, make coffee in advance and fill a thermal coffee carafe. Place coffee on a tray with mugs, teaspoons, sugar and cream.
For an extra treat, buy fancy sugar cubes or sticks of rock candy and set them out with the coffee and tea.
Make a few pitchers of fresh-brewed flavored iced tea. Use mango, apricot or any other sweet tea variety to add a nice spring touch to your beverage selection. After the tea has cooled, add some sprigs of fresh mint for even fresher flavor. Serve it unsweetened with honey, agave nectar or sugar on the side.
If you’d like, supplement the menu with mini bagels and cream cheese, store-bought pastries, cinnamon buns or sweet muffins.

Ilana Eck is an attorney by day and the Hip Hostess by night. She writes a food and entertaining blog, www.hiphostessblog.com, offering recipes, tips and ideas for hosting with style. Ilana lives in New York City with her husband, Etienne, and doesn’t let her small space stop her from entertaining at home.