Brunch!

I hosted brunch before a UVA tradition: Foxfield.

The real challenge: How do you make two quiches, breakfast potatoes, mint simple syrup, lay a table, entertain guests, keep the dog out of trouble, and manage to get dressed and look fabulous while getting all that stuff done? Answer: It's all about planning!

Here are the two quiche recipes I used:

http://amicuscupcake.blogspot.com/ - the goat cheese and pesto quiche

www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/aaron-mccargo-jr/asparagus-and-cheddar-quiche-recipe/index.html

I've never made as many changes to a recipe as I did to these. On the goat cheese quiche, the onion cook time was too long/hot, as was the bake time. Some of my onions burnt, so I picked them out before mixing my ingredients. I baked the goat cheese quiche at 325 for 45 minutes and that was plenty.

On the asparagus quiche, I used only 1 tsp of salt. That 1 tablespoon is WAY wrong. I decided to get pretty with the look of the asparagus quiche by using fresh asparagus stalks on the top. The presentation on these quiches was *muah*, although I did think that the asparagus quiche could have been baked a touch longer. I did 325 for 45 minutes, and it might have been a little more solid with 50 minutes. But they still tasted great. The little touch of Dijon in the asparagus quiche gave it some bite.

I did all my prep work the day before, so in the morning all I had to do was roll out my crusts (giant pain!) and combine things. This was a very good plan, because cooking/baking in the morning is hard before I've had a cup of coffee.

While the quiches baked, I got dressed, and then made the potatoes. Thanks mom for that fabulous apron!

Here's the recipe for the potatoes:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/smoky-paprika-home-fries-recipe/index.html
The potatoes had great flavor, but honestly they needed some serious salt and pepper. Mostly salt. I also thought some cayenne or maybe some diced jalapenos would have added a little somethin' somethin'.

For mint juleps, because you can't have a southern horse racin' party without mint juleps, I made a mint simple syrup using fresh mint leaves that I allowed to heat with the syrup for a few minutes. I then strained them out, and popped the syrup in the fridge. Made for well mixed mint juleps with some serious mint flavor.

Overall, this was a successful operation. I had a little trouble starting, but having all my ingredients ready and all my supplies laid out on the counter really helped jump start my productivity.

This was a beautifully executed brunch, and I want to say thanks to everyone who brought something. It wouldn't have been as awesome without all your contributions!