Mothers Day Brunch Part 2: Menu planning

I truly enjoy planning party menus, and I tend to take a lot of time doing it. I will spend hours looking up recipes, looking at what's on sale at the grocery stores, etc., before finally deciding on what to make. Fortunately, I have a few tricks I use to make it easier for me and give me some direction during my recipe searches.

Most people would never realize this if I didn't tell them, but I follow the same template menu for almost every party:

Fresh fruit/appetizer platter

Green salad with dressing

Bread

Pasta (for dinner) or quiche/frittata/egg bake (for brunch)

Chocolate dessert

Non-chocolate dessert

Alcoholic beverage

Non-alcoholic beverage

This template leaves tons of room for variation and works with almost any cuisine and during any time of year. Choosing specific dishes for each item on this menu can be overwhelming, but it's not nearly as overwhelming as it would be without the template. The main rule I try to follow is to use lots and lots of fresh, in-season produce and herbs. Not only is this healthy, but it makes each dish seem completely new.

Fresh fruit/appetizer platter- I usually serve this before the meal. I arrange whatever fruit is in season and on sale (I usually purchase fruit specifically for this purpose). I will also add whatever cheese, nuts, and/or olives I have lying around.

Green salad with dressing- I typically add a cheese, a fruit, and a nut to the salad, and top with an fresh herb and olive oil based vinaigrette.

Bread- I always bake it myself, even if it's just take and bake from the store. It tastes so much better when it's fresh from the oven. Sometimes I'll include a special flavored butter or olive oil dipping sauce.

Pasta/egg dish- again, vary the vegetables, cheese, and fresh herbs according to what's available and you can create limitless unique meals

Desserts- desserts tend to be the most time-consuming part of the meal, so I try to choose make-ahead desserts that I can make the night before the party.

Alcoholic beverage- usually wine or a wine-based cocktail. Wine always feels more elegant than other types of alcohol.

Non-alcoholic beverage- I like to have some type of flavored tea available, but will usually have a few choices on hand.

It is important when choosing recipes to consider what you can get in season at a fair price that will taste delicious. Try to choose foods that are appropriate for the season: butternut squash-stuffed ravioli in the fall, strawberry shortcake in the spring, etc. Trying to make these dishes out of season can be expensive and disappointing.

Almost all of my recipes are designed to feature one special ingredient. Always make sure this ingredient is of the best quality you can afford. This includes not only fruits, vegetables, and herbs, but cheeses, nuts, olives, olive oil, and chocolate. Don't ruin your hard work in the kitchen with shoddy ingredients!

My other key to a successful meal is to do whatever I can on some day other than the day of the party. I do all the cleaning I want to do ahead of time. I also decorate and set the table. Then I chop all the vegetables, grate the cheese, etc., the night before. This way I don't spend the day of the party working so hard I'm too exhausted to have fun. If I have procrastinated and am feeling overwhelmed on the day of the party, I have a drink of whatever the alcoholic beverage du jour is before my guests arrive :)