How to Make a Quick Brunch

Whether it's celebrating a birthday or just a casual get-together, making a meal is a great way to spend time with your friends and/or family. It also is cheaper than dining out, and lets you control what you are putting into your food. Brunch is a great idea; less formal than dinner, it comes between breakfast and lunch so you can sleep in on the weekends but have a great way to start your day. Here's some ideas on how to make brunch when you don't have a lot of time or are tired.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• *Coffee + Coffee pot (or instant)
• *Some teas
• *Orange juice
• *Pancake mix
• *Griddle or flat pan to cook pancakes
• *Skillet for egg dishes
• *Milk and herbs for eggs
• *Sausages of choice
• *Cut-up fruit
• *Cheese and/or hummus + crackers

How to Make a Quick Brunch

1. Start with beverages. Let's say when you go out to Starbucks, you have one friend who orders a non half-decaf, another who like drip with lots of milk but no sugar, and yet another who prefers tea. Your friends will know you are not Starbucks. It's good to have one fruity drink, one warm beverage and of course glasses of water. Buy orange juice, and ask one of your friends to pick up some champagne like Brut so you can make mimosas if your guests want an alcoholic beverage. Make a pot of coffee just as they are arriving, and have milk (like 1%) and sugar available. Plan on making a second pot after everyone is done eating. For those who want tea, have a couple of varieties displayed and simply microwave or boil water beforehand.
2. Pancakes are great and filling, but make it easy on yourself: buy a mix. There are some great options out there ranging from Buttermilk (which tend to be light and fluffy) to Multigrain (which tend to be denser and grainy). In most, all you add is water or milk, oil and/or eggs. Know your guests: if they are largely health-conscious, multigrain might be a good option. While making the pancakes, drop in different add-ins: for example, you could have one batch made with blueberries, another cinnamon and walnuts and another plain. To keep them warm as you cook up each batch, preheat your overn to 170 degrees and then as you finish each pancake, stick in the oven on a lined pan.
3. After you make pancakes, cook up some eggs. Rather than taking time to make omelets, simply scramble some eggs with a bit of herbs like rosemary. A good way to do this is to crack open 2 -3 large eggs per person in a bowl, wisk with a little milk, add in herbs and then on a nonstick skillet or with a little melted butter, pour in the mixture, wait until the edges solidfy and then "scramble" in the skillet. Again, you can do this in batches to insure the eggs cook fully, and keep them warm in the oven in a large oven-safe bowl or plate, until you are finished and your guests arrive.
4. Buy some fully cooked sausages that simply need to be heated. There are vegetarian and vegan options like soy sausages avaiable. Bacon might taste great, but these sausages cook quicker and can even be microwaved.
5. Finally, buy some pre-cut fruit (cantalopue is a great idea) and serve with a couple of different cheeses either before or after the meal. Other great fruit options that you don't have to cut up are grapes and strawberries which you can just wash and serve in a nice bowl. You can also buy some hummus at the store and serve with crackers, stalks of celery and baby carrots.

Tips & Warnings

• *Keep it relatively small. Invite a small but diverse group who might not know each other so well, to make for interesting conversation. 6 people is generally a good size (including yourself).
• *If someone insists on bringing something but you have everything you need, suggest non-edible things like flowers or music. It can improve the overall ambience.
• *Invest in some good quality maple syrup and cut up some slabs on butter on a sharing plate so your guests can take as much as they want.
• *Even if fruit says it's prewashed, wash anyway for sanitary reasons.