Greek-Inspired Brunch for Eight

Our new apartment is not air conditioned. It's okay, air conditioning is for wimps. Of course, that doesn't mean I don't spend most days draped over an arm chair unable to summon up the will to move, but still, who needs it? Besides, my lack of air conditioning has a distinct advantage: the windows on either side of my long narrow kitchen are kept open, and when there's a breeze, it blows through our potted herbs, making the whole kitchen smell like rosemary. 

I'd like to say it was the rosemary, or the chives or the oregano, that inspired this first brunch, but alas, the reason is much more mundane. My menu planning went like this: I like greek salad. I will make a greek salad brunch! With cake! And so a brunch was born. And, as luck would have it, it did use a lot of the herbs we have growing in the windows. 

Greek-Inspired Brunch

Serves 8

Tomato, Spinach and Feta Frittata 

Cucumber Salad with Olives, Oregano, and Almonds

Simple Honey Wheat Bread

Bacon

Fruit

Screwdrivers*

Peach Melba Cake with Raspberry Cream

And you know what? Greek salad turns into a delicious brunch. It was, I admit, a smidge prep-heavy, but that was my own fault. I decided that it was a great idea to make a cake that involves at least three (but no more than eight) hours of chilling time during the assembly, which meant that I got up about four hours before food time to finish the cake. Daniel also decided that we should make the bread by hand and bake it in the oven (instead of the trusty bread maker), which took about three hours all told, but since we were awake anyway, it wasn't lost time. But every thing else came together quickly with only a modicum of fuss. 

Making this particular brunch, if you're not making the cake, would go something like this:

Night before: Shop. Set bread in bread machine.

One and a half hours before: Chop cucumbers. Make cucumber salad dressing. 

One hour before: Blanch spinach and chop vegetables for frittata.

Half hour before: Put bacon in oven (20 strips was barely enough for eight people). Assemble Frittata and set it on the stove.

When the guests arrive: Assemble cucumber salad. I let my friends make the fruit salad so I don't have to worry about it. When the frittata and bacon are done, eat!

I'll explain the cake timetable with the recipe, later this week. Stay tuned!

*These were going to be mimosas, but we forgot that liquor stores aren't open on Sunday mornings. But hey, there was vodka in the freezer!