Brunch with Friends: Menu Four

So much Brunch with Friends! Technically, Brunch with Friends: Menu Three happened in February but after the big holiday and some serious photo review with guest photographer Dean, the post didn't see the light of the online world until March... which was only days before Brunch with Friends: Menu Four.

I've said before how much I enjoy having brunch with people. Dinners are great but there is something even better about a great brunch - which can lean more to the sweet or to the savoury, depending on your particular inspiration at that moment - where you can spend great time with friends, justify alcohol before the PMs, and say goodbye while still having your entire day ahead of you.

This particular brunch seemed to require a great deal of negotiation. Not with the menu but with disparate and conflicting schedules of the invitees, we booked this brunch in - no lie - January and then had to further tweak the date come March. Finalizing a date and time in the last three days before the proposed date felt like a battle won... then to the quick planning, purchasing, prepping, and prodding... then Brunch.

Brunch with Friends: Menu Three

Brunch with Friends has gone international with this instalment!

We were staying in Dean's home while in Buenos Aires (thus having a full kitchen at our disposal) and he had a great many friends both in town and also visiting... It seemed like too good an opportunity to pass up. Dean was game. And what friend is going to pass up a brunch invitation??

This was also the largest group that has ever sat down to a BWF meal... numbering nine guests. And we were up to the challenge!

Dean and I batted around ideas for brunch but were waiting to see what was in season and looked good at the market before setting the menu. I knew that I wanted to see some typical Argentine products on the menu - like Argentine chorizo and dulce de leche - but in what form was to be determined. 

Brunch with Friends: Menu Two

Well, I think it is safe to say that Brunch with Friends is going to become a regular feature here on wannafoodie. I spend hours dreaming up these menus and thinking about how to build levels of flavours into such warm, comforting, start-your-day food. How will each component connect with the other once it is on the plate? How do I make each component stand out while complimenting the others? How do I elevate the more simple components into something truly memorable? It has really been an energizing and inspiring experience... and hopefully one that you will get on board with.

This time, we were hosting Doug's sister Kate, her husband Alan and their daughter Emma (for shame! I didn't nab a photo of the family... next time!). Oh, and I can't possibly forget Boo, their pup, who came for a play-date with Charlie, our eleven month old black Lab. It was such a nice excuse to catch-up with Kate and Alan but also to see the ever-changing Emma, who two short weeks ago was barely walking and now is charging around without a care in the world. (How fast they grow!) 

The flavours that I played with today are ones that warm me as the weather cools... cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, pumpkin and citrus. They have been woven throughout all...

Brunch with Friends: Menu One

September and October have always been hectic months for me. Ever since I was a little girl, Momma R would tell me that I was busy as a bee during these months and would end up sick at some point during or towards the end of it. Well, true to form, I am sitting in a hotel room in Whitehorse and, instead of breaking bread with friends tonight, I am drinking neo citran and watching pixelated food network. At least, it gives me the opportunity to take a break, process some photos and give wannafoodie some overdue attention.

Our new plan for breaking bread and sharing time with friends is to host them for brunch. Brunch has always been one of my most favourite meals... it has the best of everything - sweet, savoury, boozy and a civilized hour! hahah. I enjoy dinner parties but Doug and I have a newfound appreciation for brunch parties - prepping in advance, hosting our friends, then still having our whole day to fuss and muss and reset for the week.

In the midst of our chaotic fall and just prior to leaving on our Mexican adventure and wedding celebration of our friends, Cary and Des, we took a welcome reprieve and invited the soon-to-be newlyweds to kick off our Brunch with Friends series.