Oofda!

A bit of radio silence on my end for the past week or two.  Honestly?  The brunch kinda took it out of me.  Don't get me wrong--we all ate and drank ourselves content.  But getting ready for that kind of gig can leave a person a little worse for wear, it turns out.  Thank goodness my friend Erika, her new puppy, Molly, and my favorite boy toy (a.k.a. Greg) were there to save the day.

The weekend started out calmly enough.  I played a bit of hooky and took off early from work on Friday.  Saturday morning we took Molly to the park to play with all the other dogs.  Molly responded to this by hiding between Greg's legs in an adorable sort of fashion.  Next: to the farmers market for flowers, etc.  Off to kickboxing and back home again to spend the afternoon in the kitchen.  I made two quiches, two batches of scones, and a strata.  Doesn't sound like much laid out in a single sentence like that, but I was delirious by the time I finally found the couch late that evening.

Sunday morning rolled in and Erika and I were up with the sun--and the puppy--to get everything ready.  By the way, puppy and 4th floor apartment?  Not completely disastrous, but not the best case scenario, either.  Molly did not once use our apartment to do her business...but the 1st floor lobby and hallway were another matter.  We can only surmise that Molly had decided she was no longer completely inside, thus permitted to do as nature intended.  This is why Erika owns a neon green backpack with a spray bottle of carpet cleaner and a scrub brush.  She's good with a scrub brush.

So, Sunday found us cutting mountains of fruit.  Peeling and slicing sweet potatoes.  Juggling one oven and three dishes that needed last-minute baking.  Erika, in her generosity, made twice the waffle batter expected.  Her job henceforth was to push waffles on every soul through our door.  I'd like to report that she was quite successful on this front.  Erika also cleaned our bathroom and the washed down the furniture on the roof deck, lest it leave unseemly black marks on our guests' clothing.  Meanwhile, Greg swept, moved furniture, gave valuable tablecloth placement insight (not kidding--he's got a knack for it), and generally acquiesced to any whim or directive I had to give.  And I decided to forgo the mascara after all.  Too much fuss, ya know?

And it was beautiful.  Jammie, our friend from LA, arrived as a surprise, bearing a fabulous bouquet of lilacs.  The weather was pleasant and the roof deck a splendid escape.  We learned that mimosas made with fresh ruby red grapefruit juice most definitely surpass the traditional orange juice variety.  Twenty people and five hours later, I felt happy.  And ridiculously exhausted.  Note to self: more than a handful of friends, potluck is a must.

Unfortunately, we didn't get photos of everything, but here is the brunch menu in full.

Fresh Fruit Salad

Blueberry Scones with Lemon Glaze

Cherry Almond Granola with Yogurt

Banana Bread

Buttermilk Waffles with Syrup, Strawberry Sauce, and Whipped Cream

Strawberry Muffins (a la our lovely friend, KJ)

Mushroom and Leek Quiche

Smoked Salmon Potato Crust Quiche

Turkey Sausage Strata

Thick Cut Bacon

Sweet Potato Fries

and to drink?

Juice Spritzers, Mimosas, Bloody Marys and Coffee

The strata went first, followed closely by the quiches and KJ's strawberry muffins.  Greg and I are still making our way happily through the granola, and we just polished off the last of the bacon and waffles this past weekend.  A brunch to be remembered.  And not repeated any time too soon.