Sunday Brunch for Mother’s Day

I was over the moon excited to have my family and my dear mother here for Mother’s Day 2021!! It was just like old times. We originally talked about the men grilling, but I haven’t entertained in so long that I was eager to do it myself.

We had a casual brunch on the porch, followed by an afternoon of fun in the sun. I’ve finally had a minute to breathe in the end of school year craziness and wanted to share the menu and recipes. I set the table in blue and white since it is the favorite color scheme of the three mother’s in the family. The table cloth is from India Amory. The candle lanterns were a gift to me, from me. :-) I’ve had all of the place settings for countless years.

We pulled up the extra porch chairs to have seating for 10 around one table.

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Sunday Brunch Menu

Our menu consisted of old favorites – things I’ve been making for years.

• Cheese and charcuterie
• Jalapeno Cheddar Crackers
• Endive Orange & Roquefort Salad
• Chicken Salad from Chicken Salad Chick – Old South, Dixie Chick, Sassy Scotty and Fruity Fran are a great variety for a group
• Palmetto Cheese
• Mini croissants and Kings Hawaiian Butter Rolls
• Strawberry Cake
• Infused water
• Sweet tea
• Blushing mimosas

Cheese and Charcuterie

I always like to have something out to much on while putting the finishing touches on a meal for a crew. This one was devoured. You can see some of my favorite cheese and charcuterie items here:

Capital Bee Co. Inspired Charcuterie Board

Jalapeno Cheddar Crackers

I make these all the time for all the occasions. They are kind of my signature dish!

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ¹⁄8 teaspoon baking powder
• 14 tablespoons (13/4 sticks) cold unsalted butter, 1/2-inch-diced
• 5 ounces extra-sharp white cheddar, grated
• 1 tablespoon minced seeded jalapeño pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon chipotle chili powder (I used chipotle chili pepper as it was the only thing similar I saw at Publix.)
• 3 tablespoons ice water
• 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon milk, for egg wash
• Fleur de sel or sea salt

Place the flour, kosher salt, and baking powder in a food processor fitted with the steel blade and pulse to mix. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the cheddar, jalapeño, and chipotle chili powder and pulse again. With the food processor running, add the ice water all at once. Continue pulsing until the mixture begins to form a ball. Dump the dough onto a floured board and roll it into a 14-inch log. Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
Cut the dough in 3/8-inch-thick slices (should make 32-34 crackers). Place the crackers on the prepared sheet pan, brush with the egg wash, and sprinkle with the fleur de sel. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until golden brown. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.

Endive Orange & Roquefort Salad

Dressing:
½ teaspoon grated orange zest
¼ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
¼ cup good olive oil
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the salad:
2 heads Belgian endive (I substituted a large container of mixed salad greens to save time!)
½ cup walnut halves, toasted
¼ pound French Roquefort cheese, ½-inch-diced (I used crumbled gorgonzola because I didn’t see roquefort.)
1 sweet red apple, unpeeled, cored and medium-diced
4 ounces baby arugula
1 orange

In a small bowl, whisk together the orange zest, orange juice, olive oil, vinegar, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/3 teaspoon pepper. Set aside.

Cut the heads of endive in half lengthwise, remove the triangle of core at the base of each half so the leaves separate, and cut the leaves in half again lengthwise. Place in a large bowl. Drizzle the leaves with the vinaigrette and add the walnuts, Roquefort, and apple. Add the arugula and toss. Zest the orange into the salad with a strip zester. Peel the orange and remove the white pith around the orange with a small sharp knife. Cut the orange sections between the membranes and toss them on the salad. Discard the membranes. Sprinkle with salt and serve.  Serves 6.

Strawberry Cake

This recipe is from a friend and is delicious! I could eat the cake without the icing – almond cake is my absolute favorite.

Cake

• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 eggs, room temp
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp almond extract
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/4 cup whole milk

Strawberry Icing

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1/3 cup strawberry jam (I use Bonne Maman always!)
• 4 c powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1-2 drops red food coloring
• 1-2 cups fresh strawberries

Preheat oven to 375. Spray 2 8″ cake pans with Baker’s Joy. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, up to 4 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating in between. Mix in extracts.

Separately, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add half of the flour mixture to the bowl and beat on low until just combined. Add 1/2 cup milk and combine. Add remaining flour mixture and milk and mix until combined.

Divide batter between two pans and bake 30-35 minutes until toothpick in center comes out clean. Cool completely.

For icing, in a stand mixer cream butter until light and fluffy. Add jam and beat until well mixed. Add powdered sugar, one cup at a time, until desired consistency and sweetness is reached. Whip in vanilla and salt. Add food coloring to achieve the desired pink color (2 drops is plenty). Frost cooled cake layers, adding sliced strawberries between layers and topping with a mix of whole and halved berries.

Blushing Mimosas

This is a Daddy-O recipe. You can see more details here:

Daddy O’s Blushing Mimosa

We mix a “batch” in a nice pitcher. 1 to 2 Cups orange juice, 1 to 2 Cups pineapple juice, 1/4 cup grenadine. When ready to serve, pour 2-1/2 oz (or as much/little as desired) “mix”  in  glass and add 4oz Prosecco. We make the “mix” ahead of time and chill well before serving. NO ICE!

To slice, cut a whole orange in slices across orange, starting at the stem end. Discard very end slices. Stack slices and then cut in half. Makes for a nice garnish. Also, garnish with a couple of cherries, strawberries, or raspberries. I like to thread them together on a cocktail pick.

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It was an absolutely lovely meal!

As for the rest of our day, it looked a little like this….

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I hope that you enjoyed a lovely weekend!

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