I love September. Temperatures are finally beginning to drop, school is back in session, pumpkins have made their first appearance, football games are on all weekend long … it is all so much fun!
Now that Benjamin has been taking more regular naps, I’ve had a lot more time to be in the kitchen to try out new recipes. Warren and I hadn’t been social in ages (thanks to the little guy), so we decided to have a few friends over on Sunday for brunch. It also gave me an excuse to try out our new dining room table.
While I didn’t properly set the dining room table with silverware, I used some warm colored linens, mix-matching some placemats and napkins from my mom’s generous collection with a few of our own.
The very fancy “buffet table,” our kitchen counter, had two sections: the store bought section and the homemade section. Below is the store bought section consisting of fruit and yogurt, a coffee station and salmon pinwheels from Central Market.
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Here are the dishes that I made from scratch, and while there were a few hiccups along the way, they seemed to turn out ok.
The first was this “Ham and Cheese” Casserole made with pancetta and gruyére. This took a while to prepare because I tripled the recipe, but it was almost gone by the end of the brunch which was a great sign.
This French Toast Casserole was a last minute addition, and it was so easy to prepare. It turned out to be a hit – it is decadent, but delicious!
I also made this Cheese Grits Soufflé. This dish was pretty good, but it sank a bit in the middle – next time I won’t make this ahead of time like I did for this brunch.
While I also made this Pecan Sour Cream Coffee Cake, I must admit it was untouched. I think I prepared too much food. Warren’s work friends had really enjoyed this cake when I made it earlier in the week.
We also made this Maple Glazed Bacon. It was pretty good, but next time I might try a different recipe.
Brunch was so much fun. It was so great so see everyone, and overall, I think the dishes that I made were a success (or our friends are great liars). I’m pretty sure that I had more fun than anyone cooking and baking all of this comfort food.