Saturday, October 01, 2023

Champagne Brunch Menu


Champagne Brunch

I have been given the important task of planning my sister’s upcoming Kitchen Tea.   The thought of a champagne brunch immediately sprang to mind as my sister is a huge fan of going out for a long lunch, or brunch, with friends and family.  And she loves a glass of bubbly at any time of day!

 

My initial thought was to have a catered breakfast, and although I have used some excellent Brisbane catering companies before, I have decided to go the extra mile and prepare the menu myself (with some help from the wonderful women in our family).

 

This is a special occasion, and I know my sister will really appreciate having her family prepare the breakfast.  Our mother, grandmother and aunts are all wonderful cooks and certainly the process of spending the morning in the kitchen, creating a lovely spread for my sister, will only add to the day.  Like many families, the kitchen has always been the perfect place to catch up and share a laugh.  No doubt on this occasion there will also be some age-old marriage-advice sharing, as is the tradition of the kitchen tea.

 

I feel there is something special about hosting a lovely girly event, such as a kitchen tea, at your own home.  I have a lovely back deck at my house, and I envisage it dressed lavishly with pink and white oriental lilies and pink paper lanterns.  I will compliment the flowers and lanterns with pink and white table linen and champagne flutes.  With a clear vision of how I want the environment to look, it is now time to plan the menu.

 

Fresh fruit has always been a staple for our family, and of course strawberries go perfectly with sparkling wine.  So my mum will pick up a selection of fresh in-season fruit from the farmers’ markets on her way to my house and she will create one of her impressively large platters of fruit.  The fruit will be served with yoghurt as an entrée for our guests, and it will also be left on the table for grazing throughout the morning.

Softly poached eggs, served on toasted sourdough and accompanied by steamed asparagus and hollandaise sauce will be the main course of the Brisbane Breakfast.  My sister is watching her weight in the lead up to the wedding, so she will be able to replace the hollandaise with Dijon mustard if she prefers.  I find a little salt and cracked pepper is the only dressing that softly poached eggs require – they are decadent in themselves.

 

My grandmother’s scones will be the final feature of the meal, and will be served with plunger coffee and an assortment of teas.  My grandmother has a recipe for scones that was passed down to her from her mother and my whole family relishes the fluffy, creamy scones.  For those of us not concerned by calories, some lovely whipped cream and my aunt’s homemade Rosella jam will accompany the scones.

 

With the satisfied stomachs, from here we will relax and enjoy the company of the wonderful women that make our family what it is.

 

Cheers to celebrating women and their important roles within the family.