A Pleasant Surprise

It is always interesting to me when something you are trying to do doesn’t work out the way you thought it would, but what comes about instead is so much better.  It is such a pleasant surprise when that happens don’t you agree?

Years ago Jackie and I were planning to host a shower with two other friends.  The problem was we were having a terrible time coming up with a date for the shower.  We were planning, or trying to plan, a lovely luncheon for our guest of honor.  It seemed every date we through out as a possibility wasn’t working for one of us or wasn’t going to work for our guest of honor.  What crazy schedules we all must have had!  After 5 or 6 tries at finding an afternoon that would work, we decided maybe we should have an early evening shower with a light supper instead of a luncheon.  Everyone agreed that this was worth trying, so again we set out to find a date….would you believe we STILL couldn’t come up with something that would work all the way around?

In determination to find something that we could all agree on, someone suggested that if all else was failing maybe we could have a morning brunch shower.  None of us had ever been to a morning shower but since everything else wasn’t working out we decided to try it.  We settled on the time of half past ten in the morning.  Really it seemed odd to us at first but at least we had a date and time that worked for everyone, most especially the guest of honor, and we figured it was, after all, only one shower.  It was not as if this was going to be a regular thing.

Little did we know that it would be such a hit that for the next several years almost every shower we would host (and there have been many, many, both baby and bridal) would be a brunch shower.  The great thing about doing a morning event is that people come and enjoy themselves first thing in the day and then actually have the rest of their day to do the other things that people count on having the weekend to do.  Consequently, we noticed that there were fewer and fewer “regrets” to our invitations.

We have hosted brunch showers now so often, we can do it with great ease.  People never seem to get tired of this menu and they enjoy themselves every time.  Brides and mothers-to-be regularly request the brunch menu and morning time for their celebrations.  If you haven’t ever done it this way you should try it.  You might be very pleasantly surprised….we sure were!

Basic Baby Shower Menu
Classic Quiche
Yogurt parfait
Cinnamon rolls
Fresh fruit platter
Orange juice
Coffee
Tea
Cake Pops

Classic Quiche

Yogurt Parfait
These couldn’t be easier or more satisfying. This is one of those things that was a last minute idea that turned out to be very popular.   You can use any granola, any yogurt and any kind of berries you like.  We prefer this Vanilla Almond granola and Vanilla yogurt that you can buy at Trader Joes.  We use either raspberries or cut up strawberries or a combination of both.  Sometimes we even add in some blueberries and blackberries too.
 I started saving the little glass jars that some Italian yogurt I was buying came in.  They are about the size and shape of a baby food jar and so are perfect for serving the parfaits in at a baby shower.  If you have baby food jars those would work as well.

Alternatively, you can make one large parfait and let people take as much as they want and put it in little custard cups or sherbet glasses.  I pick these up every so often from my local thrift store.  I have many, many of these.   They don’t all match but that is the sort of charm about them when you see them displayed in a large quantity and lined up waiting to be used.

Simply create a layer of granola, berries and yogurt, and repeat until you’ve used all the elements.  Be sure and reserve a few berries to sprinkle on top as garnish.

Cinnamon Rolls

Of all the recipes I have collected or created over the years, this one is probably the most requested.   A warm soft cinnamon roll is almost impossible to pass up.  These are really easy to make…”how easy?” you ask.  If you can turn on the oven you can make these cinnamon rolls.  And don’t wait for a shower to make them…they a perfect anytime you want to have a treat for your family or guests.

1 cup milk
3/4 cup butter
1/2 cup warm water with 1 T sugar
2 pkg. yeast
1 cup cold water
2 eggs
1 T salt
3/4 cup sugar
7 1/2 cups flour (approximately)

Scald the milk and melt the butter together in a saucepan.  In a glass bowl dissolve yeast in the warm water with 1 T of sugar.  Allow the yeast to “proof”.  After about 7-8 minutes the yeast will be quite bubbly.  This is ‘proof’ that the yeast is good and active.

In a mixing bowl or the bowl of you Kitchen Aid or other mixer, add the ater, sugar, eggs and salt.  Stir together and add in yeast and warm milk, mix well. Now add in 5 cups of the flour.  Mix thoroughly in your mixer or by hand.  Dough will be very sticky at this point.  Add in remaining 2 1/2 cups flour and stir until completely mixed by hand or combine and stir in mixer.  When the flour is fully incorporated, allow to stand in a warm place for about 2 hours.  Pour the dough out onto a floured pastry board  and cut into thirds.  Roll one third into a rough rectangle about 1/4 inch thick.  Then spread with cinnamon butter.

Roll up starting with the long side of dough and cut into 16 slices.  Place ‘rolls’ in a baking pan barely touching.

This will give them room to rise.  Repeat with remaining 2/3 of the dough or keep the rest of the dough in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.  Allow the rolls to sit in a warm place to rise for about 30-45 minutes.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes or until the rolls are a golden brown.  Remove and let cool.  Turn out of pan and drizzle with icing.  Serve warm, because you really can’t wait any longer!

Cinnamon Butter
1 stick of softened butter
1 cup of sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon

Mix together and spread over dough

Icing
1 lb. powdered sugar
1/4 cup (approximately) heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix all together, adding more a cream a very little at a time as needed, until the icing is a drizzling consistency.

Cake Pops
 

Though dessert really isn’t necessary at a brunch with cinnamon rolls and sweet breads, they are a nice touch and just an additional couple of bites of something sweet to finish off the meal.

We usually serve all of these items on a buffet so as to allow people to take the things they like and have as much or as little as they want. We have also varied it a bit from time to time by adding a potato dish or a variety of breads like danish pastries, croissants and muffins, and bagels with cream cheese and jam.  No matter how simple or elaborate you decide to get with this menu, you simply can’t go wrong:)