In My Hostess Era: How To Throw A Cutie Spring Brunch 🌸

This menu never fails me! ☕️

When my husband and I moved into our current home a few years ago, I remember breathing a sigh of relief at the size of our living and dining room. We were so used to one bedroom apartments where everything felt petite and cozy (read: a little cramped), and hosting people in our teeny apartment felt less than ideal. Looking back, this feels more like an excuse a nervous would-be hostess would tell herself (guilty)—but our home now is much more spacious. This, in turn, makes inviting people over feel way more accessible, and just a few months after my husband and I moved in, we hosted our first gathering: Easter brunch for my parents. 

Brunch is a perfect beginner gathering imo. It’s early in the day, it’s casual and the food is simple and delicious. Store bought is always fine (thank you Ina!) and it’s especially fine with brunch.  This was the third time we hosted my parents for Easter, and I have a fool-proof brunch menu that I’ve served at every one of them. It never gets old! With Mother’s Day around the corner, I figured my Easter brunch round-up can also serve as inspo for brunch with the women in your life you treasure most. 

Since this is my year to be extra with my gatherings, I did something special that I haven’t done before that I’m excited to share. But I will say out of all my hosting adventures this year, this one feels like the simplest. I was feeling some imposter syndrome this week during one of my Instagram scrolls—so many creators who share hosting content are throwing such elaborate gatherings. And while I certainly do aspire to be that kind of hostess one day, I had to remind myself that there’s so much value in the sweetness of simplicity. Like this brunch!  Let’s dive in. 

A Simple and Delicious Fool-Proof Brunch Menu 

If you ask me, an ideal brunch contains three elements: something savory, something sweet and something fresh. As long as your plate has these three things, you're golden! Here’s exactly what I’ve served at my brunch for three years running.

Something Savory

Quiche is a perfect brunch savory. It’s completely delicious, it’s not something you indulge in everyday, and buying one pre-made means just popping it in the oven. I briefly considered making one homemade this year, but as the day creeped up, I decided to go easy on myself and stick with my three-year tradition. I buy mine from Whole Foods. I haven’t tried any other pre-made quiches, but quiche lorraine and broccoli cheddar from WF are total winners. We get two for four of us so we can try two different flavors, plus we all get leftovers. We also serve bacon! You can throw it in the oven with your quiche or make it on the stove top, whatever you prefer. 

Something Sweet

The star of this year’s Easter brunch wasn’t a fancy tablescape or flower arrangement, but a three-tiered homemade cake (!!!) that served as dessert after our meal. I made Meghan Sussex’s honey lemon layer cake after eyeing it from her Netflix show and omg, it was stun. I followed this recipe, which is a little bit different from the original, and so so good. This one opts for whipped cream over buttercream and the cake turned out super similar to a strawberry shortcake, just with raspberries. The honey is subtle, so I’d really allow your cakes to soak in the honey lemon syrup. You can be generous with it! I debated making the cakes the day before and assembling them Easter morning, but I’m glad I did it all in one go. Also bestie, it took three hours. Buckle in!

If you’re not in the market for a three-tiered cake, I highly recommend getting a Kringle from Trader Joes. Kringle is puff pastry with frosting and filling and I’ve never tried one I didn’t like. Trader Joe’s carries them seasonally, and this time of year, they have raspberry Kringle! I’d ask your local Trader Joe’s how long they plan on stocking them just in case—one year they ran out before Mother’s Day and I had to pivot. You can also buy one now and freeze it! 

Something Fresh

My mom always brings a fruit salad to brunch, which is the perfect way to balance out the heavier foods like quiche and bacon. You could also do a simple green salad to go with your quiche, or even a crudite platter—but I think fruit salad is perfect. Especially if you’re saving your sweet for dessert!

A Sweet and Simple Tablescape

I love this time of year. I had fun setting the table to reflect the season! I’m so happy I decided to buy a set of white scalloped plates from HomeGoods earlier this year—they’re now dubbed dinner party plates and they look good with everything. I found the pretty floral… vase? Trinket dish? Not even sure what you call it, but I got it at an estate sale for $3. Woven placemats were thrifted, the napkins are vintage and the pink linen tablecloth was a Christmas gift (it’s from Casa Zuma!). Trader Joe’s is THE place for flowers, and I added a little lamp at the center of the table for ambience since it was a little overcast. I think it turned out so sweet, and I simply used what I had. A dream!

If you’re a newbie hostess, I totally recommend starting with a brunch if this sounds cute and cozy. I remember feeling so tickled the first time we hosted brunch—especially since my mom was always the one to host holidays. So take this as your sign to host a cutie brunch for Mother’s Day, or even just a random Sunday you want to make extra special! 

I can’t believe May is right around the corner, which also means summer is almost here. I’m actually looking forward to summer parties—yesterday was the first day of the farmers market and tbh, this feels extra exciting this year. I’ve never really been super comfortable in the kitchen, but now that I’ve been playing around with fun recipes all year, summer produce is calling to meee! I went to the market yesterday and bought a bunch of rhubarb—today’s plans include making Ina’s raspberry rhubarb crostata. Yum! I hope you have the coziest Sunday. Let me know what you’re up to in the comments! I love connecting there 🥰

See you next week!

xx, Kristen

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