KSWL, I had a very chi chi friend who unabashedly serves big buckets of KFC (along with elegant sides) at her pool parties. Personally, no.

bbstx, I think you recently posted about your Anova sous vide? Egg bites done in a sous vide are out of this world. I almost want to host a brunch just to serve them! As KSWL said, a variety of egg cups are a great thing to offer guests. Just a thought!

That’s not something I would do either Mtn, lol. However, I will say that after our recent dinner experience and finding out what people served and brought to the other host houses, I decided not to make a huge effort to cook anything fine or complicated or that even would be considered unusual with this crowd— they wouldn’t really enjoy it. I could make the menu I’ve chosen (described above) in my sleep for 10 or 30 people, so I’ll be able to focus on the decor instead. I probably would not make eggs benedict for a group now unless I knew everyone liked it. In the past I have been surprised by how many people do not care for poached eggs.

I agree it is helpful to know your audience! I am lucky to have plenty of foodie friends. There is one set of guests who i keep dumbing down my food for, but I still get the impression they want Kraft mac 'n cheese. I try mightily to find an interesect between their preferences and my standards.

BBSTX, if you want to make quail and you know your audience, do it. You could always offer enough other dishes or sides or a little buffet so that everyone can find something they like. And who cares what you call the meal?

Have to laugh, after replying here I returned to the NYT crossword. One of the clues was "brunch offering". The answer is crepe, which I don't imagine you're interested in serving!

Definitely not fine dining but they are actually very colorful and pretty on a platter. I use fresh eggs from a friend who keeps chickens and brings the eggs to choir 🐓

I try to make three different kinds, some with spimach, others with red or yellow bell pepper and onion, some with bacon and chese, etc. I don’t put parmesan in my egg batter either. Tried to post the Tasty video but this site doesn't support their format; go to the Tasty site or app and search for “egg cup”

Your menu sounds delicious but would be quite unusual for brunch in my area. My first thought was if quail might be a bit fiddly for your friend with Alzheimer’s? Not knowing him, but in my experience, sometimes things requiring fine motor skills, or that combined with the unfamiliar, can be challenging to eat.

That Kraft mac and cheese has some kind of weird stranglehold on my family. I never had macaroni and cheese growing up so when my kids were having it at others’ houses I tried making it. The boxed stuff is disgusting — IMO— but to this day my husband and kids PREFER it to anything i have made that is far better. There are a few boxes in our pantry even now bc DD makes it for our grandson when they’re visiting. Preemptive apologies to anyone who loves that stuff…

Sorry, BBstx, did not meant to go so wildly off piste!

KSWL, we just call that mini crustless quiche. So versatile. I used to freeze them for the kids for breakfast.

ETA - I *just* made mac n cheese yesterday with leftover elbows. I winged (?) it with what i had on hand (is that a word)?. Started with a roux, whole milk, dry mustard, then added cream cheese. Rich but a tad blah so I added parm. Then i put it in a pie plate and grated extra sharp cheddar on top. 10 min in the oven ... done. Rave reviews. But, yuck. right?

Do they, or you, like asparagus? Something very simple for dessert. Lemon something?

@teeda, Your memory is amazing. I do have an Anova Sous Vide and I love making egg bites using it. Let me know if you want my now T&T recipe. DBIL wants them every time he and Sister come to visit! I serve them with Millionaire Bacon. I’m sure the group would enjoy eggs bites and bacon and both can be made ahead and reheated easily. I want to go a little fancier for the birthday brunch.

I really think this group would eat quail. While I don’t view it as common or ordinary, I also don’t see it as exotic. Just sorta fancy chicken.

This is how the menu is now shaping up in my mind:

Homemade Pepper Jack Crackers (can be made ahead) on the bar with the fixings for Bloody Marys, Mimosas, and maybe a 3rd brunchy drink

Quail in Wine Sauce

Roasted Broccolini

Gruyere Grits

Biscuits of some sort

Dessert???

If I can’t find semi-boneless quail, then this menu (nod to kswl’s tried and true):

Same bar set up

Sous Vide Egg Bites

Millionaire Bacon and/or Honey Baked Ham

Gruyere Grits

Mixed Fruit (whatever looks best at the grocery)

Biscuits

Dessert????

ETA: crepes would be a lovely dessert, but, Teeda, you nailed it. That would probably be just one step too far for my kitchen staff. HA!

My oldest son did not like **quiche** so we had egg cups instead 😎 My SIL who is all keto loves them so they’ve been revived here over the past eight years. I still like crust!

I think a green salad instead of a roasted veggie makes it more lunchy or brunchy.

Someone in my cooking club made this bacon https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/pecan-bacon/ .OMG

I think your menu sound great, and I bet you will enjoy making it. You now have me interested in trying quail. I think I’ve only had it in “secret” Italian family recipe that used quail as a basis for a very delicious white pasta sauce.

And I would love your egg bite recipe!

I think it all sounds wonderful and what a nice way to honor your husband and his friends!

What I love about brunch (beyond the Bloody Marys) is the selection of options-- but I get that a buffet is less formal than you want. I also think that meal profiles can vary by regions of the county. I think both menus sound very good and I am sure your guests will be thrilled and honored!

December is the perfect time to get blood oranges -- I would definitely include them in a fruit salad or platter. Even a green salad!

I am one of the people who does not like eggs benedict-- actually, i am good with poached eggs, it's the hollandaise sauce.

@teeda Here is the sous vide egg bites recipe. It calls for broiling as the last step. I do not do that because I cannot abide browned eggs. They smell like a wet puppy to me.

I have made these with whatever cheeses I have on hand. I’ve also made with and without bacon. If I’m serving with bacon on the side, I make them without bacon. I haven’t experimented yet with add-ins like the ones @Kswl uses in hers, but I want to. I also want to experiment with just egg whites and then use the yolks to make sous vide creme brûlée.

The recipe below is cobbled together from 2 photographs. I need to get better at using Scan Text!

If you make ahead, refrigerate then reheat in the microwave for 30 seconds or so. You don’t want to re-cook!

Thanks bbstx. I’m going to try these this weekend. I agree with you on not browning them. I’ve added asparagus to mine at times and it was very nice.

I think the quail sounds good. I don't think it's any heavier than having the standard brunch meat of ham or bacon or sausages and is a little fancier for the occasion.

I have no idea, however, what grits are. I'm not sure you can even buy them here. We're just way too far north I suspect.

Grits are a type of cornmeal.

https://www.marthastewart.com/8051872/polenta-grits-cornmeal-differences-explained

If I were serving quail at 12:30, I would just call it lunch instead of brunch.

Sounds like you have a Plan A and a Plan B, Bbstx, which is all you need.

Is there any reason you wouldn’t get a very small cake from the bakery and call it a birthday cake? Let your bakery staff take that off your hands 😎

Mtn, as weird as your winged (two syllables on that one) mac and cheese sounds—very— it still sounds better than orange cheese product squeezed or powder shaken over innocent elbows who deserve a better fate. DS2’s girlfriend’s mother serves plain spaghetti with melted cream cheese. Double yuck.

I know I’ve told this before, but my mother made undoubtedly the worst mac and cheese since the beginning of time. Her recipe: Cook elbow macaroni until it is flabby. Drain. Place in casserole dish. Mix an egg or two with a goodly portion of milk. Pour over macaroni. (Notice no mention of cheese yet.) Slice mild cheddar and lay over the top of the macaroni. Bake until the macaroni is back to its dried state.

Thus, I never learned to like mac and cheese. I never fed it to my daughter because it wasn’t a dish I liked.

LOL bbstx egg?

I'd prefer plan b to a as quail doesn't sound brunch-y to me. But either way, I'm sure your guests will be happy.

This time of year, I think apples for dessert...an apple something with ice cream or whipped cream....apple cobbler, apple tart, apple crisp, apple crumble, apple pie, apple pan dowdy...and the fruit feels brunch-y to me.

If I were serving fruit something for dessert, then I'd probably not have fruit with the brunch, but a green veggie instead...maybe oven roasted broccoli or a green bean salad.

Bbstx that is the worst recipe for mac and cheese, ever, world without end, amen.

If you wanted to go full on Southern Living brunch you could make green bean bundles, wrapping a slice of bacon around parboiled long green beans for individual servings. Those are always popular, like anything with bacon.

Oly 😂😂😂. So glad Mom never thought about Raisin Bran as a topping!

Omg, Raisin Bran?!

I have a great baked mac n cheese recipe I got out of a cookbook in the ’90s. It has cream cheese and cheddar, and a buttery bread topping. So rich. So good.

Bb, what time did you say to come for brunch? I forgot. 😁

DH and I have a fav brunch place — they serve the best portobello and spinach eggs benedict. And of course Migas, Huevos Rancheros, all the usuals. Washed down with sangria. :D

Quail sounds very good and unique! Enjoy your brunch!

bbstx , OMG! Basic kid mac and cheese.

Cook mac in water until soft but not mushy

Drain. Add margarine. Add grated cheese, cheddar, not pre grated. Add milk to soften.

@Kswl, thanks for the reminder about the green bean bundles. They have totally slipped off my radar since my DMIL died 20 years ago. Every holiday dinner at her house included green bean bundles. They appeal to me if for no other reason than the nostalgia of them.

@Jilly, time is TBD. I’ll have to get back to you!

Once when I was looking for mac and cheese recipes, I ran across one on Food 52, I think it was, that included figs. I’m having a hard time reconciling mac and cheese with figs. Perhaps a topping of Raisin Bran is not so far-fetched.

I suspect the recipe called for cornflakes as some used to do in those days, but WHOOPS! out of cornflakes; well, raisin bran is close enough!

IDK, cheese and figs and french bread .... cheese and pasta and fig? Though it seems awful sweet and you'd have to have real foodies at your table to forestall a riot for doing that to a sacred favorite dish.

I am hosting book club next and I am thinking of doing a yogurt bar (we meet at 11am). I can get farm fresh greek yogurt, fresh fruit, honey, granola, nuts. What else would you like to see on a granola bar and what else would you serve with it?

There has been a lot of press about the avian flu contributing to a turkey shortage. Do you know if it has impacted quail?

I would choose your Plan B myself, both for time of day and the aging guest list. Someone with dementia might not know how to eat them -- pick them up as finger food or something else that could be uncomfortable to them and other guests. Your egg bites avoid those issues, and if a certain guest has trouble with utensils (my mother did), they will work much better as finger food than anything in wine sauce. I would think that menu would also be much easier on you.

Mtn:: bacon

Mtn, I would like to see berries of all kinds, blueberries and raspberries especially. In the dried fruit category I would like tart Montmorency cherries and mango ( snipped into small pieces with kitchen shears). I would probably also like yo see some homemade or craft fruit spreads like apple butter and peach butter.

KSWL, what would you serve apart from yogurt and things to with yogurt? Mini muffins or the like sound good but trying to think of other options too. thx

Whipping cream. :)

Probably not what you want with your bar but when I do a fruit salad I put out granola, and a lime juice/yogurt/honey topping and of course whipping cream. I always seem to get rave reviews with the mix of yogurt/lime juice and honey.

I should be writing on the thread for people who are not confident entertaining and feel overwhelmed by it, but I have to say that reading through this with all your little tips and bits of advice is so helpful.

(duh... brilliant to cut up the dried fruit. I would not have thought of it but it's totally brilliant and helpful. that's one example of good tidbits).

@lascatx, that is so sweet of you to consider that the guy with dementia might embarass himself eating the quail, but he really can’t do that among this group. The men of the group are pretty tight knit. And the guy with dementia is considered a sweetheart. If he did commit some sort of social faux pas, it would be overlooked and “forgotten” instantly. I intend to use semi-boneless quail. They only have leg bones. The rest of the bird is boneless. Nevertheless, I’ll check with his wife to make sure his knife skills are up to cutting meat.

Speaking of fig dishes, I had this at a restaurant in Freeport, ME, in 2015. It is figs and, IIRC, mascarpone cheese. It was an appetizer. I think the restaurant had ”brick oven” in the name. It was soooo good. Wish I could replicate it, not necessarily for my brunch, but sometime.

For the yogurt bar: pomegranate molasses!

Large flakes of unsweetened toasted coconut are divine on yogurt!

@salonva my sister and I discussed starting a blog called ”The Nervous Cook,” but then we found someone had already beat us to it. I think being nervous is pretty normal when entertaining. But, I believe with practice the nervousness can be tamped down.

yes, absolutely bbstx. I was always a nervous cook (for others) but it's gotten so bad now and I am so out of practice. We moved, so less interactions and then of course COVID... I am starting with baby steps and starting with coffee and... then may e I can work up to brunch;lunch and I will be thrilled.

I have to admit that I am loving all these meal planning and menu idea threads!

@salonva, brunch is the best meal for entertaining. As a cookbook I once read said, no one expects much out of you at 11 o’clock in the morning!

Love hearing what everyone is doing. All this brunch talk has me considering hosting the neighbors for brunch after the holidays. May try making the egg benny’s, will see how a practice round goes.

Having my family over for brunch tomorrow. Very relaxed meal; biscuits and sausage gravy, eggs, fruit salad and mini cherry pies. Served with mimosas.The sausage gravy recipe was passed down from my southern grandmother, I rarely make it but it is a favorite of everyone in the family. My son makes the best biscuits, so he is making those for us.

bbstx, I know it upset my dad when my mom had trouble eating or using utensils and you mentioned your friend doesn't do well in restaurants, though there are many reasons why he could have issues. Kind of brings back some memories. As for me, I'd rather my mom ate well and enjoyed what she ate. I'd give her chicken nuggets, mac and cheese and her favorite ice cream to eat with her fingers if she cared to if I could just spend another meal with her. It sounds like you and your group are like minded. Enjoy the visit.

Mtn, I would probably make a savory breakfast pastry, with a cheese and spinach filling or cheese, spinach and sausage, in puff pastry or phyllo. Those and muffins and yoghurt constitute an embarrassment of riches for brunch 🍱

When I did the ”girl’s movie night” to watch Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris, I was surprised at how well received the quiches were…a spinach quiche and a classic quiche Lorraine.