A breakfast party menu
My mom made breakfast for our family every day when I was growing up. My siblings and I were homeschooled, so there was no rush to catch a bus or beat a tardy bell. She would make Dutch pancakes or Egg McMuffins or Cream of Wheat or waffles on a random Wednesday. There was coffee, there were two types of fruit juices—the whole shebang. My adult habit of making and eating a hearty breakfast every day is certainly a product of this.
So, yes, I love breakfast. And I love to throw a party. Which is why, at 10am on a humid Saturday in July, we found ourselves with 15 friends in our backyard sipping mimosas and coffee and eating breakfast foods. We asked everyone to bring a small item or two to share, and Skylar and I prepared the primary dishes.
When designing the menu, I prioritized dishes that could handle sitting at room temperature for a few hours, and ones that I could make ahead. While I’m a morning person, I wasn’t keen on a 6am Saturday call time.
Baked Oatmeal with Strawberry-Rhubarb Compote
I made this Bon Appétit baked oatmeal recipe with cranberry applesauce a few years ago for a Thanksgiving breakfast. The idea was to fuel ourselves for the long day of cooking ahead, but I think Skylar and I only ate a few bites that morning. Oatmeal, I realized, is too hearty for such a gluttonous day. But, I thought it would be perfect for a breakfast party, as it was casserole-esque (easy to reheat) and undeniably breakfast-y.
To replace the winter fruit, I made a simple strawberry-rhubarb compote a few nights before. Strawberries were in our CSA box and I was happy to use up the chopped rhubarb I had in the freezer from May.
The baked oatmeal was great, sort of like a morning fruit crisp. It’s hard to deny the strawberry-rhubarb combo, but I did miss the chunkiness of the apple from the original, which makes me think a stone fruit could make a perfect pair for this recipe.
Zucchini Quiche
I considered the zucchinis in our CSA box a cosmic sign that I should try the zucchini quiche from Alison Roman’s new cookbook, Sweet Enough. A common entertaining tip is not to make a recipe for the first time for a party. While I can’t deny the logic of that wisdom, I knew an Alison Roman recipe wouldn’t let me down.
I made the crust on Wednesday night, and on Friday night I made and baked the quiche. The springform pan I borrowed from my friend Eric was 10 inches in diameter, compared to the 9-inch pan the recipe called for, so the finished quiche was lower in profile than it should have been, but I think it worked out fine. The only adjustment I made to the recipe was adding garlic powder and red pepper flakes to the custard.
It was fantastic. This was my first time making a quiche (oops) and I was so pleased with how it worked, looked, and tasted.
Overnight Waffles
I debated whether pancakes or waffles were a good idea. They don’t age well on a buffet spread, which meant we’d need a made-to-order setup. But what is a breakfast party without pancakes or waffles? I settled on waffles as a waffle iron seemed like a more straightforward DIY setup than the stovetop in our small kitchen (we don’t have a griddle).
I have been teaching myself sourdough baking recently and had been wanting to try a sourdough discard waffle recipe, figuring they would have a delightful tang similar to buttermilk waffles. I made the Overnight Waffles from Tara Jensen’s Flour Power, which, in addition to sourdough starter, called for yogurt for even more tangy punch. (Here is a similar recipe.)
I ended up having to adjust in the moment as I’d miscalculated how much starter I had on hand, adding a little more yogurt and water and eyeballing the hydration. While adjusting a baking recipe is not advisable, I figured a batter could handle some improvisation, and I was happy to discover the next morning that I was right. I also realized afterward that I’d used Greek instead of regular yogurt, but that seemed fine, as well.
The waffle station was a great idea, but in reality I made one big stack of waffles as we had so much more else to eat and no one actually wound up making their own waffles. I really liked the waffles and thought they were a great use of sourdough discard, but I think I would rather have baked some other sweet-ish thing like cinnamon rolls or cardamom buns to remove some of the morning pressure and chaos.
The rest of the menu
Skylar made some breakfast potatoes and a Bloody Mary station. He was also going to make some sausages (I don’t eat or cook meat) and a breakfast salad but never got around to it. Our friends brought bottle after bottle of champagne for mimosas, but I think we could have had one more cocktail. Maybe a mojito?
On the coffee front, our friends made New Orleans style cold brew concentrate. I had a Chemex (also borrowed from Eric—thank you, Eric) and an espresso station.
Other friends brought pastries, sourdough bread, and fresh fruit.
I had the best of intentions when I planned to make a batch of homemade yogurt, but realized too late that I’d forgotten to start it. I was also going to make this Iranian drink, cucumber sekanjabin sharbat, but ran out of time on Saturday morning.
(By the way, I was thrilled to discover Homa Dashtaki’s cookbook, Yogurt and Whey, in the latest issue of Bon Appétit. I’ll write more about my homemade yogurt journey soon, but in the meantime I’m excited to find more ideas for all the leftover whey.)
The party was wonderful—having our home (and backyard) full of friends in the morning time felt a little bit like a sleepover, or summer camp, with the stacks of waffles and glasses of orange juice, and the hope of a long, summer day ahead. I’m thinking about turning it into a somewhat regular festivity. 🧇
Home Food is edited by Jillian Goodman.