Mimosas are a girl's best friend.

I’m not really a morning person so I’m a huge fan of the meal known as brunch. You don’t have to be up early to eat it, in fact anytime between 10:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. is a good time to serve brunch.

A few weekends ago I enjoyed the most spectacular brunch. My wonderful Godmother Connie prepared an absolutely fantastic brunch which served as my bridal shower.

My very favorite part of my bridal brunch, aside from being showered with love by friends and family, of course, was the mimosa bar. Yes, you read that right, a mimosa bar. Mimosas are pretty much the best part of any brunch. Drinking alcohol in the morning is typically frowned upon, but not when it’s brunch and it’s a mimosa.

In case you are not familiar with this delightful beverage, it is so very simple to make. A basic mimosa is comprised of orange juice and champagne. My Godmother really went all out for my special celebration and these were not your typical mimosas.

Set up in a most delightful tablescape were crystal champagne flutes with colorful swizzle sticks, three different kinds of sparkling adult beverages including Champagne, Prosecco and Moscato, seven different juices, plus multiple kinds of fruit for garnish.

When I’m rich and famous, I want to have brunch with a mimosa bar every single day! My Godmother had all sorts of beautiful flowers and tropical decorations in honor of my upcoming honeymoon in Key West, but she really outdid herself with the mimosa bar. If you plan to host a special brunch event anytime in the near future, I highly recommend making it extra special with fresh fruit, juices and champagne!

The dishes served for this brunch were also superb. Connie made delicious mini-frittatas as well as some out-of-this-world french toast casseroles. To top off the brunch menu we had mini crab and shrimp quiches as well as tropical desserts like key lime tarts and piña colada cupcakes.
Aside from the mimosas, of course, my favorite was the frittata. A frittata is basically a crustless quiche. Connie used a muffin pan to make the mini frittatas so they were a perfect serving size for each guest. This is another great tip if you are serving brunch for a crowd.

You could really take your favorite frittata recipe and make it in the muffin pan to create individual serving sizes. Connie used Food Network chef Ina Garten’s recipe which included proscuitto.

Below is a recipe I found for frittata that also sounds delicious from The Girl Who Ate Everything.Com.

Muffin Pan Brunch Frittata (Recipe from TheGirlWhoAteEverything.com)
Ingredients
• Nonstick vegetable oil cooking spray
• 8 large eggs
• 1/3 cup whole milk
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 ounces bacon, cooked and crumbled (you could use diced ham or cooked sausage here too)
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 1/4 cup chopped spinach leaves (you could use 2 Tablespoons of chopped basil or parsley here instead too)
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray 2 mini muffin tins (each with 12 cups) with nonstick spray. Whisk the eggs, milk, pepper, and salt in a large bowl to blend well. Stir in the bacon, cheese, and spinach. Fill prepared muffin cups almost to the top with the egg mixture. Sprinkle tops with cheddar cheese. Bake until the egg mixture puffs and is just set in the center, about 8 to 10 minutes. The frittatas will be really puffy right out of the oven and will settle once removed from the oven.
Using a knife, run the edge of the knife around the edge and loosen the frittatas from the muffin cups and slide the frittatas onto a platter. Serve immediately.

Cheerful sweet pickles

If we get snowed in this winter, one thing we will not have a shortage of is pickles. I’ve made so many pickles this summer I feel like I might turn into a pickle. As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I have canned grape leaf pickles, spicy garlic dill pickles, fermented pickles and hot sriracha pickles. I’ve also done a few experimental pickling projects this summer.

A few weeks ago my friend Josh asked if I’d ever made pickled okra. I hadn’t and he gave me some to try. I recently read a really great article on okra from Our State magazine, the article mentioned eating okra raw. Now, I know okra is one of those love or hate foods for most. I like it fried and in gumbo, but eating it raw, I’m just not sure I’m that brave.

I’m actually not even sure I’m brave enough to eat it pickled, but Josh was so I gave it a shot. Josh so enjoyed my spicy sriracha pickles that I thought I would try pickling the okra with the same recipe. He said it is delicious and he’s already eaten almost an entire jar of them. I have to agree with his wife, however, who refers to whole okra as “alien fingers.” They did look rather intimidating and alien in the jar with the red sriracha brine.

Another pickling experiment I have been wanting to try for a while is a recipe called cheerful sweet pickles which I found in an old canning cookbook. Part of what intrigued me about the recipe is that you make it using those cucumbers which ripen under the vines before you see them and end up getting as large as footballs. I had several of these the other week and really didn’t want to waste them. The other intriguing part of this recipe is that it calls for Maraschino cherries.

The process for the pickles takes three days. On the first day, the large cucumbers are seeded, chopped into cubes, covered in salt and left to sit overnight. The next day, the cucumbers are covered in a brine of sugar, vinegar with cinnamon sticks and cloves. On the third day, Maraschino cherries and some red food coloring are added.

Sweet pickles are not usually my favorite, but these look so lovely I just couldn’t resist making some. The cookbook I used said they are great served with pork or roast or chopped and added to cream cheese to make a spread for sandwiches.

Here is the recipe:

Cheerful Sweet Pickles
• 9 cucumbers, yellow
• 1⁄2 cup salt
• 3 1⁄2 quarts water
• 1 pint vinegar
• 1 teaspoon whole cloves
•4 ounces maraschino cherries and juice
•2 teaspoons red food coloring

Directions: Peel, seed and cut cucumbers into cubes. Sprinkle cucumbers with salt and cover with water. Let stand overnight. In the morning heat to boiling and then drain. Loosely tie spices in cheesecloth and combine with sugar and vinegar. Heat to boiling. Pour over drained cucumbers and let stand overnight. The next morning heat to boiling and then simmer until cucumbers are tender - being careful not to overcook. Add cherries with juice and red food coloring. Ladle into hot, sterilized jars and seal at once. Process in boiling water bath (212 degrees) for five minutes.