How to Plan a Brunch Dinner Party

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I've had many dinner parties over the years, but there's one theme that sticks out above all the rest as the most popular, by far: a "brunch" dinner party. Yes, my friends, as adults we have the opportunity to have breakfast for dinner, no questions asked. Here's how.

Planning the Brunch Dinner Menu

One of the big challenges of brunch for dinner is that most breakfast foods are either hot or cold, as opposed to other dinner party themes where you have lots of room-temperature options. An easy start to your brunch dinner are some nice rolls with butter and fresh jams - easy to prep and easy to set out early.
Crock pots are also great to have on hand for keeping items piping hot - sausage gravy for biscuits, for example. Here are a couple of handy brunch recipes I've used in the past that are true party pleasers.

Nick's Baked Eggs

Ingredients: (per serving)

2 eggs
2 slices of deli ham
1 teaspoon of heavy cream
2 tablespoons feta cheese
1 pinch salt
1 pinch pepper

Preparation:
Take the slices of ham and roll them into a log, then slice into thin strips.
Mixture:
In a small mixing bowl, combine eggs, salt, pepper, ham & heavy cream, whisk thoroughly. Place in a small (personal sized) ramekin or baking dish, top with feta cheese and garnish with a thin strip of ham.
Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 35 minutes. (You can bake up to 6 at a time.) Keep warm until serving.

Mom's Pumpkin Pancakes

Ingredients:

1/2 cup flour
Pinch of sea salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup milk (soy or almond milk substitute is ok)
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preparation:
Combine the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients in separate bowls. Then combine all together for your batter. Add some flour if your batter is looking too wet; add milk if too dry.
Drop small ladles of batter onto your hot fry pan or griddle; each side should only need about 1 minute. Don't overcook - you want them to be a light golden brown.
Keep warm until ready for serving with some butter and maple syrup.

Set Up the Mimosa Bar

When it comes to brunch cocktails, I notice people tend to fall into two camps: mimosa people and bloody mary people. I'm a mimosa guy, tried and true - though in the right restaurant, I won't turn down a top shelf mary. If you want to set up a bloody mary bar, take a look at these ideas from Wiliams-Sonoma. They've got you covered. As for setting up a mimosa bar... this a very Plum Deluxe thing to do. Nobody should turn down a dinner party invite that mentions sparkling wine. First, the wine.
For sparkling wines, I recommend always going with sparkling wines that are prepared according to "méthode champenoise" - the traditional way of winemaking from Champagne, which includes both champagne and wines not from Champagne. Don't worry - winemakers who do this are proud of it, so it will be mentioned prominently on their product.
Freixenet (pronounced "fresh-eh-net") Cordon Negro Brut is one of the best brunch wines, in my opinion, because it has such a strong, well-balanced flavor, meaning it works well with any juices, as well as well as just sipping it solo (though at least throw a strawberry in there for bit of flair). This is a Spanish wine, so it is a Cava. They also make a Cordon Negro Sweet Cuvée that is wonderful for dinner party sipping. When setting up your mimosa bar, I always offer to make each guest their first drink and then let them have at it. The best mimosa has just a touch more sparkling wine than orange juice - and both the wine and the juice should be cold. Nothing is worse than a warm mimosa! As for your mimosa bar, here are some items consider for changing it up a bit:

(Plum) Deluxe Mimosa: 1/2 wine, 1/2 orange juice, topped with a healthy splash of Grand Marnier
Pink Mimosa: 1/2 wine, 1/2 orange-pineapple juice, topped with a healthy splash of Grenadine
Merry Mimosa: 1/2 wine, 1/2 cranberry juice

Tip: If you don't have enough champagne flutes, mimosas work nicely in a stemless crystal tumbler glass, such as Riedel's "O" tumblers, or small sipping samplers, like shown above. Don't forget to have some coffee (decaf!) and tea on hand as well to complete the brunch feeling.

Complete the Set Up

Once guests have consumed their sparklings and their starches, they'll want to lounge. Make sure you have plenty of places for everyone to relax. If the conversation is struggling, I would suggest a couple rounds of the simple-but-fun card game Blurble (pictured above). It definitely gets the conversation going.
And as guests leave, ask who is next for hosting breakfast for dinner!

Who says the holidays are the only time for bubbles? Make it your resolution to sparkle 365 days of the year with Freixenet cavas. Our sparkling wines come in a variety of different styles to suit any moment or mood. Cordon Negro Brut, our classic Black Bottle Bubbly, is great as an aperitif before a night out on the town or at home with takeout pizza. Our brand new Cordon Negro Sweet Cuvee is the perfect match for brunch favorites like pancakes and eggs benedict. Visit FreixenetUSA.com for more information about where to buy Freixenet sparkling wines and learn how you could win a 2-year lease on a new 2013 MINI Cooper.

This is a sponsored conversation written by the author on behalf of Freixenet. The opinions and text are all the author's.

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