Spring is in the air–what better way to celebrate than with a Ladies Brunch. C-Man was out of town so I decided to invite a dozen or so of my lady friends over for food, mimosas, and glass etching. Again, I went with make half/buy half. 

Made:

1. Spinach Mushroom Quiche – This quiche is so easy to make and you can easily adjust the ingredients. Ingredients:

• Pre-made frozen pie crust
• 1T soft butter
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup of heavy cream
• 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 cups  spinach
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp pepper

Preheat oven to 400°F. Butter surface of unbaked pie shell, cover with foil and pie weights (I use uncooked rice), and bake in preheated oven for 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, saute spinach and mushrooms in light oil until slightly wilted. In a large bowl, beat the eggs, cream, salt, and pepper together. Add sauteed spinach and mushrooms.

Pour mix into the pie shell and top with remaining cheese. Bake in preheated oven for 10 min. Reduce heat to 350, bake 30-40 min. or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

2. Tomato Basil Quiche – I’ve been wanting to try this recipe: Tomato and Basil Quiche and it was easy to bake two quiches at once. I used one cup of heavy cream instead of 1/2 cup of milk, 4 eggs instead of 3, and cheddar instead of colby-monterey jack cheese since that’s what I had for the spinach mushroom quiche. I tried one of the reviewers suggestions to dry the tomatoes on paper towels for 20 minutes and sprinkle with basil instead of frying them, but the quiche was still soggy.

3. Brie tartines – I modeled these tartines after the ones from Blue Dahlia. It was so simple–french bread, butter, brie, arugula, apricot jelly, and pecan bits. A smashing hit!

4. Candied bacon appetizer – I found this recipe a while back and knew it would be delicious: Candied bacon and apple canapes. I bought crackers instead of using pie crusts. The candied bacon made these babies go fast.

Bought:

1. Cinnamon rolls – A soon-to-be expiring groupon-like thing was used to buy a dozen cinnamon rolls from Cinnamon’s, a cute cafe run by an authentic French baker. These were really good, but too big for many takers.

2. Mini cupcakes – I had another one of those groupon-like things for Lick It Bite It or Both so bought 20 mini cupcakes. This was definitely not needed since so many people brought desserts.

3. Fruit salad – I hate peeling and cutting fruit. It’s so much easier to just buy it pre-cut from Costco. I added grapes and blackberries to pump it up.

Below is the spread with some additions from guests (sorry, so bad with taking pictures again!).

After everyone ate, we did some glass etching of pint glasses. It’s been a few years since I last glass etched but remembered it was easy and fun. All you need is an Xacto knife, Contact paper, Armour Etch, and some glass item to etch. Of course, I failed at photo-documenting what people made, but it turned out pretty well.

A sure sign of a good party: people didn’t realize how much time had passed until they were running late for their next activity.