The Importance of Brunch

I love a good brunch.  Invite a large group over, be it friends, family, or co-workers, and cook a group sized meal that consists of breakfast and or lunch items.

According to my friends at Wikipedia, Brunch is a combination of breakfast and lunch.  The term is a portmanteau (a new word formed by joining two others and combining their meanings) of breakfast and lunch. Often, it is a heavy meal meant to take the place of both breakfast and lunch.

Today I hosted my family for brunch.  We had baked grits, a frittata with asparagus and mushrooms, potatoe casserole, and fresh fruit.  Overall it was a simple meal to make.  I've made more complicated meals in the past.  I've also made some simple ones.  Some of my favories include:

• Twice baked potatoes with eggs
• Buttermilk waffles with fresh strawberries and real whipped cream
• Quiche (various flavors)
• Scones (various flavors)
• Baked cheesy grits with green chilies
• Baked Eggs with bacon, scallions, and cheese
• Blueberry pancakes with bacon and maple syrup
• Mushroom and spinach omelet with English muffins
• Flax seed, oat bran, and fruit and nut muffins
• Frittata (various ingredients)
• Potatoe pancake with shallots
• French toast with vanilla and cinnamon
• Breakfast casseroles (various ingredients)
• Breakfast Pizza
• Monkey Bread
• Juevos Rancheros
• Toasted sourdough bread with lox, cream cheese, capers, and eggs

I"m sure Food Network, All Recipes, Food and Wine, and cooks.com have a ton of other ideas and recipes for good brunch fair.

But Brunch isn't only about the food.  Brunch is also about sitting around the table with friends and family, being grateful for what we are sharing, and what we have.  Its about laughing, and joking, and catching up with everyone.  A perfect example of this is when I was at a villa in Spain with friends.  Every morning we broke bread together, drinking coffee or bloody mary's, taking turns cooking for each other, discussing the previous day's events, or that day's planned events. 

Brunch, like other meals shared with loved ones, is about connecting.  Connecting with the food, connecting to wine, connecting with each other, and maybe even connecting with yourself.  As a fellow blogger said, "Good food even simply prepared takes on an aura of delight that can do more than just fill our stomachs. It can sustain our spirit."  I think that is what connecting over food can do, sustain our spirits. 

So next time you invite friends over for brunch, take a moment to look around at your guests, how they are interacting with each other, and with your food, and be grateful for the bounty, the spirit, and the love in your home.