Mother’s Day Brunch
Perhaps you forgot about Mother’s Day (yes, it’s THIS WEEKEND) or maybe you always leave things to the last minute due to an overly ambitious work or social schedule, but either way, brunch must hit the table. We’re here to rescue you with some last-minute Mother’s Day brunch ideas.
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Pick Up and Go
Picnic
Pack up a picnic and head out into the gorgeous weather we will have this weekend. Grab some BC Bubbles such as a bottle of Haywire the Bub or my favourite cider, Sea Cider, the non-alcoholic or the alcoholic version, and hit the park or backyard with a basket full of pre-made sandwiches, veggies, dips, chips and crackers, cookies, fruit, and chocolate. There are many places you can grab a picnic to go including Dirty Apron.
Fried Chicken
Fried Chicken and all the fixings are a very tasty option, Kitsilano’s Chewies Biscuits, Chinatown’s Juke Fried Chicken and Commercial Drive’s DownLow are all great choices. You could make your salads and sides or order from the restaurants’ selection and pick up a Mother’s Day dessert box from Tayybeh with Date and Sesame Cookies, and Baklava. Tayybeh is right next to Chewies by the way. Fried Chicken pairs amazingly with Champagne, Sparkling Wine, and Cider, just saying!
FISH-Cuterie Board
Fresh Ideas Start Here seafood market (eatfish.ca) has a ready-to-go board with prawns, albacore tuna, smoked sablefish, candied salmon and more, all ready for you. No need to source and put out yourself.
Dim Sum and Dumplings
Most grocery stores have dumplings in the freezer section that only require a quick steam, but I’d suggest a quick run down to Chinatown where you can pick up from Kam Wai Dim Sum, or order in from some of the places that open early such as Eat Heritage, Floats, Jade Dynasty.
Sushi
Pick up a tray of sushi from your favourite sushi spot.
Brunching At Home
Drinks
You used to be able to throw a pot of coffee on and serve a bottle of bubbles, but now there are many considerations. Everything from the type of milk you serve to accommodate dietary needs to drink choices for those who are not drinking alcohol, or those who don’t feel like wine earlier in the day.
Coffee
No matter the type of coffee maker you have, make sure you have coffee ground, either done ahead yourself or purchased that way and consider stocking both decaf and regular. I’m drinking Mogiana Coffee as it comes from a family farm in Brazil that is sustainably farmed with a people-first culture and is readily available at local grocery stores. Set up a little station with coffee, milk, cream, and dairy-free milk, I’m making almond milk this weekend as a project, but don’t y’all get carried away! Grab some oat or almond milk and don’t forget sugar, honey and sugar substitutes if required.
Mimosa/Drink Station
Depending on the number of guests, a mimosa station could save you a lot of time mixing drinks in the kitchen. Perhaps some freshly squeezed juice alongside some sparkling water and sparkling wine and a selection of garnishes to fancy things up. Grab a local bottle of BC Wine and support local. Haywire has some great sparkling as does See Ya Later Ranch, both at the BC Liquor Stores. Don’t cheap out here so people can pour a glass without needing juice to make it drinkable. This is your mother’s brunch! Keep things on ice in a cooler or a bin if they’ll be out for a while.
As mentioned above, I also am a huge fan of a sparkling non-alcoholic cider from Sea Cider on Vancouver Island, the Temperance series. Choose from either Bonnie, apple with blackberry and lavender tea, Cherie with apple and cherries, Roxie with raspberry and lemon or Ava, apple, and Elderberries. Local liquor stores and Fresh Street Markets carry these, and you can mix them with gin or a non-alcoholic spirit such as Lumette for an excellent cocktail.
Assign people tasks so you don’t need to run around trying to keep everything stocked and neat.
Food
There is no need to spend hours in the kitchen and buy a few ready-to-eat items rather than trying to handmake everything from scratch. Not even Martha Stewart makes her own puff pastry!
Brunch Board
You’ve heard of charcuterie boards, so why not a brunch board?
An easy idea is a bagel board with cream cheese, smoked salmon or vegan smoked salmon, hard-boiled eggs, red onion, avocado, capers, sliced veggies such as cucumbers, burrata, bacon, lemons and of course bagels or flatbreads for topping. Do another board with fruit, nuts, cheese, yogurt, and honey for drizzling.
Yogurt Parfait Station
Grab some granola, such as Terra Bread’s delicious version, crumble up some oatmeal and raisin cookies, and a few different flavours of yogurt and set them out in nice bowls alongside a variety of fruit and allow people to build a parfait or yogurt bowl.
Fresh Baked Croissants or Cinnamon Buns
Many local bakeries, such as Bench Bakery, and even President’s Choice, have ready-to-bake croissants. Your house will smell amazing, and people will be impressed with your culinary skills. We like to cut these in half and then lay them out with scrambled eggs, and bacon and add some tomatoes and lettuce and let people make their own breakfast sandwich.
The Bench Bakery also has ready-to-bake Cinnamon Buns, Scones and Chocolate Chip Cookies.
Simple Quick Quiches/Tarts
Speaking of puff pastry, you can make so many impressive things with a package of store-bought, but it is usually frozen so be sure to grab that the night before. If you simply roll out the pasty you can make a tart by topping it with everything from tomatoes and herbs, asparagus, and cheese, or make bacon and eggs. You can make it ahead and reheat it. You can also make waffles with puff pastry by rolling it out and topping it with things such as peanut butter or chocolate spread before topping them with another sheet of pastry and cutting them into cute shapes that fit in your waffle iron.
Breakfast Quiche
Ingredients
¼ pound store-bought puff pastry, thawed
8 ounces (about 12 slices) of bacon, cut crosswise into ½-inch strips
1 medium onion, halved and thinly sliced
3 large eggs
½ cup heavy cream
Salt and fresh ground pepper
1 ½ cups grated (4 ounces) Gruyere or Swiss cheese.
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll the pastry to a 10-inch square (trim the edges with a paring knife). Place pastry into an 8-inch square baking pan, folding corners to fit. Prick the bottom of the dough with a fork.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add bacon; cook, stirring occasionally, until pieces start to brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Add onions; cook, stirring occasionally, until bacon is crisp, and onions are lightly browned, 5 to 7 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer the mixture to a plate; let cool slightly.
Scatter the onion mixture over the pastry. In a small bowl, whisk eggs, cream, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Pour the egg mixture into the pastry shell. Sprinkle cheese over top. Bake until the filling is set, and the top is golden brown, about 40 minutes.
