Essential Items for a Fabulous Brunch

A great way to celebrate the weekend and the important people in your life is to host a brunch party. Here are some essential items help you host a most fabulous brunch!

(Starting clockwise from the upper left corner)

Williams Sonoma has a wonderful cake dome  that turns into a punch bowl, you can use this at your brunch to hold a blueberry coffee cake or use it for a sherbet punch. My circle of friends love oysters on the half shell. These can be served with lemon and tabasco sauce or a mignette. If you're nervous about oysters, shrimp cocktail is a great alternative. 

You need some flair at your brunch, why not use cute decorative napkins? I happen to like Caspari Napkins, they offer a variety of prints, you can find them at stationary stores, or gourmet markets. A frittata is a great way to serve eggs, you can add veggies, and a little protein. Serve up a frittata like this one with chard, sausage, and feta as featured on Epicurious. Potatoes are another essential brunch item, the recipe for these glorious roasted potatoes with shallots can also be found on Epicurious. 

(Starting from top left)

If you're like me, nothing beats a great cup of coffee, make sure to have plenty on hand, I love small batch coffees. Living in the Bay Area we are spoiled with Blue Bottle, Ritual Roasters and Four Barrel, if you don't live in an area that has a huge coffee culture Illy and Dunkin' Donuts (yes), have great blends. Starbucks and Peets are fine too. Make sure to have a cute milk pitcher and sugar bowl on hand too. 

You can't have a brunch without fresh flowers, get what's in season, you can find them at the local farmers market or grocery store. I like to stick with one variety, it's fresh and simple, cut the ends and put them in a simple vase as a centerpiece on your table.

Fruit salad is always a favorite, it's a fresh, wholesome and colorful side dish, you can of course have a little yogurt on hand if you choose, I love vanilla yogurt and greek yogurt like Fage (make sure to get fat free or low fat). Yes we're always watching our diets and don't want to hit the sweets too heavily, but a little coffee cake is always nice. My favorite is blueberry. Whole Foods has a great recipe, or if you're like me, you can pick up an already made coffee cake at your local bakery or while you're out shopping for your brunch. It will look great displayed in a cute cake dome like the one above from Williams Sonoma.

Make sure to have plenty of sparkling water on hand, serve it plain or with a lemon wedge! You'll want to stay hydrated with all these treats. I love me a bloody mary - everyone has their own recipe, or you can always buy the vodka (I like Absolut Peppar) a mix, and a few sides. It all depends on how much time you have, and how hands on you are. But regardless, these are an absolute must.

Some other items to make your brunch go smoothly, ice, have lots of it on hand, chilled champagne or Prosecco. Have all your items out, make sure to display your champy flutes, coffee cups, water glasses, silverware, dishes, and napkins. Yes they can be disposable, just remember to recycle and compost, just don't throw them in the trash! Finally you want some music, make a mix, and have it playing, it makes for a fun and upbeat mood.

So now you're all set to host a most fabulous brunch, now invite your loved ones over and celebrate the weekend with each other!!!!!