Mother's Day Brunch

By: Allrecipes Staff

Serve up all of mom's favorites on her special day.

Mom's Flower Power

With colorful tulips, daffodils and other spring bulbs in abundant supply, shower Mom with flowers.

Mix her favorite flower, whatever it is, with one or two spring flowers. Arrange in a wide-mouthed vase and place in the center of the table. Choose complementary colors: yellow and pink tulips with stems of dark iris, for example.
Stick with Mom's favorite color and select flowers in only that hue. For purple, display grape hyacinth in shot glasses or votives and place one at each setting. Make a centerpiece with stems of purple iris. Add colored table linens to complement or contrast with the flower choice.
Choose a hydrangea plant--pink, blue or white--as a centerpiece. Place tall candles of a contrasting color on either side.
Create a food/flower centerpiece: array individual pots of flowering chives alternately with whole baby artichokes down the center of the table.

More Mother's Day Brunch Ideas

Pick your main entrée, either Quiche Lorraine or an Orange-Pecan French Toast casserole, and start prepping anytime on Saturday.

Gameplan

The day before:

Cook bacon for Brunch Potato Casserole. Prepare another 6 slices if making quiche.
Make entrée of choice: bake quiche as directed, cover and refrigerate. Or assemble French toast casserole but do not bake; cover and refrigerate.
Boil potatoes and assemble potato casserole but do not bake.
Make dressing for strawberry-spinach salad. Cover and refrigerate. Rinse spinach; spin dry. Wrap drained spinach leaves in paper towels; place in serving bowl you plan to use and refrigerate.
Make Pistachio Fluff Fruit Salad. (This one is more attractive to kids than the spinach salad, and is suitable for dessert.) Cover and refrigerate in serving bowl.
Place Champagne, or a sparkling wine like Prosecco, into refrigerator to chill. Squeeze fresh oranges or buy fresh-squeezed orange juice. Chill.

About 2 hours before brunch:

Pull potato casserole from refrigerator. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake casserole for 70 minutes. Cover with foil and keep warm.
Thirty minutes before potatoes are done, pull French Toast or Quiche from the refrigerator. Let stand at room temperature. Bake French toast at 350 degrees F for 35 minutes. For quiche, reduce oven temperature to 250 degrees F. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until heated through.
Clean and slice strawberries. Add to serving bowl with spinach and nuts; toss gently. (To prevent greens from wilting, add dressing just before serving.)

Brunch Beverages

Serve at least one special drink so you can formally raise a toast to Mom. Garnish mimosas, Bellinis, or cosmopolitans with edible flowers or fruit slices.

Set up a drink station with large pitchers of freshly squeezed orange juice for mimosas or spiced tomato juice for bloody Marys. Let guests mix in alcohol to suit their tastes.
Pull out martini glasses and serve pomegranate cosmopolitans. Add one ounce of vodka to a shaker with 1/2 ounce orange liqueur, 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice and a splash of pomegranate juice. Shake over ice and strain into a martini glass.
Prepare Bellinis with chilled Prosecco and white peach puree. (Use the flesh from one ripe peach per glass, or puree frozen peaches and add to taste.)
Give kids a drink station. Replace alcohol with sparkling grape juice but offer similar mixers and grenadine. Let kids spear maraschino cherries and orange slices on toothpicks to garnish drinks, or give them party umbrellas.
Have each guest take a turn raising a special toast to Mom. Talk about one particular thing you're thankful for, or just give a heartfelt thanks for everything she's done over the years.