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Sunday Brunch Menu For 60 In Pittsburgh, Only An Hour For Cooking


babka

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My brother's getting married in July, and I've offered to host an informal brunch at his house the morning after the wedding. I've done this with small groups of friends for past weddings, and it's a good way to recover from a hangover and hang out informally with the newlyweds, with no stress on their part, before everyone flees home across the country again.

This time, however, it's getting complicated. First, the number of guests has hit 60. Secondly, the logistics are such that there's not much time for cooking or shopping before the brunch actually starts:

Wednesday, July 12: Drive to Pittsburgh

Wednesday-Saturday, July 15: Pre-wedding assistance duties, wedding Saturday evening, play & drink at the reception until the wee hours of the morning.

Sunday, July 16, 10 AM: Brunch starts.

Everyone I'd normally press into helping with the brunch, myself included, will be coming in from out of town for wedding duties from Thursday through Saturday, which means there isn't much time for cooking....and while I'll have help in the kitchen on Sunday morning, nobody wants to roll to it much before 9 AM.

So I'm struggling with the menu. So far I've got a couple of sweet, yeasted breakfast loaves, bagels & cream cheese & salmon, fruit, and bread & cheeses & cold-cuts, but it's the warm dishes that seem to anchor brunches, and I don't have any of these yet. Maybe a couple of stratas, or--???

Help!

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babka,

Your best bet for supplies and ideas is to head down to the Strip District next to downtown. Go to Sunseri's for the cold cuts and cheese. Go to Wholey's to pick up some lox. Go to the junk store (always forget the name, to me it's always been the junk store) for cheesy and cheap 'burgh paraphanalia.

PM me about where in the 'burgh you'll be and I'll come up with some other ideas for you.

And while we're at it -- only 2 more months 'til football season!!!!!

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So I'm struggling with the menu. So far I've got a couple of sweet, yeasted breakfast loaves, bagels & cream cheese & salmon, fruit, and bread & cheeses & cold-cuts, but it's the warm dishes that seem to anchor brunches, and I don't have any of these yet. Maybe a couple of stratas, or--???

Help!

Frittatas are good for this kind of thing. They can be served either right out of the oven or at room temperature. They're easy to make and hold pretty well. If you have the ingredients on hand, you can always whip up a few more if need be. For my husband's 40th birthday brunch (about 30 people) several years ago, I made a number of different types of frittatas, including crab, cheese, and vegetable selections. I really wish I had kept a menu for that because the dishes I came up with worked really well, and I've wanted to refer to a list of those foods since then and I don't have one :unsure: .

I remember doing several yeast breads/coffee cakes; bagels with cream cheese, red onions, and lox; fruit salad; green salad; the frittatas; some pinwheel/wrap sandwiches; and something with potatoes that i can't quite recall.

Quiches would be an alternative to frittatas, made in advance when you have time and then reheated. Or you can prep a bunch of fillings and heat some soft tortillas so people can assemble their own soft tacos (or breakfast burritos).

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