Summer's Bounty Brunch

Cheers

The Buffet

Small-Bite Desserts - Your Choice

Trip to Bountiful

• If you’re a gardener, this menu can really showcase your handiwork!  If you're not, check out your local farmers’ markets or roadside stands for locally grown produce.  Lucky for all of us, grocery stores now carry all of the wonderful vegetables you’ll need to prepare this brunch.
  
  
• We’ve so many ways to make this menu delicious. Another time try Tomato and Onion Tart or Corn, Cheddar and Tomato Quiche for the zucchini pie. Green Beans with Tomatoes and Cotija could replace the tomato salad.

You Say Tomato . . .

• Among summer’s most glorious products is the vine-ripened tomato.  No matter which way you slice it, dice it or toss it, the tomato is a versatile, delicious treat.  A few tomato tips for you:
  
  
• Did you know that the tomato is not a vegetable but a fruit?
  
  
• To seed a tomato, cut the tomato crosswise in half and squeeze each half gently over a bowl to remove the seeds.  Chop the tomato as directed in the recipe.
  
  
• Don’t store tomatoes in the refrigerator.  Cold temperatures ruin the flavor and make the flesh pulpy.

Herbs for Hospitality

• If you need a small gift for your brunch guests, perhaps for a shower or birthday party, continue the summer bounty theme.
  
  
• Place tiny terracotta pots filled with various herbs at each place setting.  Add small plant markers to the pots, and your gift doubles as a place holder.
  
   
• If some of your guests are meeting for the first time, an alliterative connection between the first name and the herb will help your guests remember who they met.  For example, use mint for Michelle or Mike, dill for Debbie, basil for Barb and rosemary for, well, Rosemary!
  
  
• Or send the honored guest home with made-by-you Lemon-Rosemary Slices!

Serve It with Style

• Serve this cool summer brunch buffet style on platters or in bowls of generous size.  Buffet style is often easier for the hostess.  Don’t worry if you lack a few serving dishes—be creative.
  
   
• If your pie plate for the zucchini pie is showing wear, set it in a shallow basket or on a serving tray and dress it up by tucking a pretty towel or piece of fabric around it.
  
   
• Use footed bowls, cake stands or tiered servers if you have them. Those serving pieces are meant to party!
  
  
• If not, give your serving table a multi-dimensional look, by placing boxes of varying size on the table, then covering them with linens. Place bowls and platters on top.
  

Up to 2 Months Before

• Bake and freeze Mocha Streusel Coffee Cake.

Up to 1 Month Before

• Bake Triple-Berry Mini Cheesecakes (if served), using recipe’s Do-Ahead Tip.

The Day Before

• Chill ingredients for Peachy Mimosas.
• Prepare dressing, and wash vegetables and herbs for Tomato and Herb Salad; refrigerate dressing and herbs.
• Thaw Mocha Streusel Coffee Cake.
• Make Tiramisu Bites or Triple-Layered Brownies (if served); cover and refrigerate.
• Bake Mini Raspberry-Almond Swirls (if served) through Step 5; cover and refrigerate.

The Morning Of

• Thaw Triple-Berry Mini Cheesecakes in the fridge.
• Make Impossibly Easy Zucchini Pie, using recipe’s Do-Ahead Tip; cover and refrigerate.
• Prepare Garden Bounty Fontina Salad, using make-ahead directions in recipe; cover and refrigerate.

Last-Minute Prep

• Offer guests Peachy Mimosas as they arrive; offer cheers!
• Bake Impossibly Easy Zucchini Pie.
• Toss Garden Bounty Fontina Salad.
• Finish Tomato and Herb Salad.
• Finish topping for Triple-Berry Mini Cheesecakes or Mini Raspberry-Almond Swirls.