Making friends as an adult can be weird. Having couple-friends as a married adult can be even harder. Thank goodness for brunch! I’m a firm believer that great things happen around the table and that breakfast food should be consumed at all hours of the day.
My husband has a great group of guys he has been friends with for years. They have regular get togethers, including a weekly board game night. The three of us in the “wives club” realized there weren’t enough opportunities for us to get together as couples. As a result, the monthly couples brunch was born.
Roughly once a month one of us will host the group for brunch. Everyone provides a dish or two (I’m always ensuring there’s good coffee) and we simply enjoy the morning. If you are looking for ways to create connection within your friendship groups, I would highly encourage establishing a regular routine.
My biggest tip for establishing a regular brunch with friends:
Do not leave the current brunch without setting a date for the next one. This has been a game changer for us in making sure too much time doesn’t pass in between. As things are winding down we pull out phones (by we I mean the wives) and set a date. For our group we have a regular host rotation so we know who will be hosting the next brunch. The host home establishes what the main dish will be, and the guests bring something to compliment it.
I have loved getting to try out new recipes for our brunch days. If a friendship brunch is what you are are looking for, here a few dishes I’ve made to help you get started! (Keep in mind, our group is 6 people)
Mushroom, Spinach, & Swiss Cheese Quiche from Magnolia Table
For our very first brunch I really wanted to use my Magnolia Table cook book. I love the way Joanna Gaines keeps her recipes simple, yet so very delicious. I decided to make the mushroom, spinach & swiss cheese quiche. It was absolutely delicious! It was my first time making a quiche and used Pillsbury premade pie dough. I loved the flavors of the mushrooms and cheese with the eggs complimented by a flakey crust. I would highly encourage you pick up this cookbook for yourself, but I did find the recipe online here.
Easy Breakfast Pizza
I sort of made this recipe up for the week we hosted. Originally I wanted to do a “build your own pizza” bar, but decided it would be easier to make a few large pizzas. Here’s what you need:
- Pillsbury pizza dough
- Sausage gravy (I make my own using browned sausage, milk, and flour, but you can easily use a packet)
- Toppings: Cheese, Scrambled Eggs, Bacon, Sliced sausage, Veggies of your choice (I did green peppers, mushrooms and onions)
Make the pizza dough according to the instructions and pre-bake. Top the dough with the gravy (this is your pizza “sauce”). Add on the toppings you’d like. Then bake until it’s good and bubbly. We did three pizzas which was plenty for 6 people and lots of leftovers. Friends brought fruit for the side and some breakfast enchiladas.
Italian Breakfast Casserole
This Italian breakfast casserole was so simple and absolutely delicious for brunch! I loved the way the salty salami complimented the sweeter crescent dough. The ingredients were minimal and came together in under an hour. I typically wake up and make the dish for brunch the morning of, so I like recipes that are quick and easy. (Plus it’s brunch, so not terribly early. We start around 11 am)
Bacon Scones with Maple Glaze
One month the brunch host challenged us to pick a country and make a dish representing it. I absolutely love get togethers that have a theme! For this brunch I chose England and wanted to make scones. I found this bacon scone with maple glaze recipe. Here’s the deal, I know that this is not at all a typical English scone. However, I loved it was something sweet and savory. The salty bacon paired with a sweet maple glaze was the perfect combination of flavors. I had not made homemade scones before this and was pleasantly surprised how incredibly easy it was. The recipe calls for only 4, but I cut mine into 6 and it was just right. With so much food it’s easier to do smaller portions for our brunches. You want enough room to be able to try everything!
A few final tips
Having this brunch has given us the opportunity to come together as a group and gather around the table. It’s opened doors for conversations and connection. Whether you do dinner, lunch, brunch or drinks, be intentional and I promise you will see relationships bloom. Here are just a couple tips I have if a regular brunch/gathering is something you want to incorporating into your friendships as an adult:
- Don’t try to be perfect. I know when you are going to have people over it can be easy to stress about what your home looks like. These gatherings are meant to be fun, not a stressor. Provide some delicious food and a place for people to gather. And maybe freshen up the bathroom. Aside from that, don’t rob yourself of the joy of being with people because you are so stressed out about what they will think.
- Communicate in advance. In the weeks leading up to brunch we often do some “soft” planning of the menu. We often let the host determine the main dish and then the other two couples are able to decide what to bring to compliment it. This also ensures nobody doubles up on items.
- You aren’t feeding the masses. For us there are 3 couples, so only 6 people. A standard recipe is always more than enough because there’s three people, not just one. Making it “potluck” style also takes stress off the hosts, while letting us all try out plenty of dishes.
- Comfort is key. I think this may tie back into my reminder you don’t have to be perfect. We have an unwritten rule that the dress code is sweatpants. It is so refreshing to come in something comfortable and not have to stress appearances. Y’all know how much I love my makeup. But, days like this serve as a reminder to “come as you are.” I think we all need people we can be completely ourselves with.
- Schedule before you leave. I mentioned this above, but it’s worth saying again. If you want to establish something with intention, make sure you do not leave without making a plan for the next time. I have begun to use this not only for brunch but with lunches with friends. It has ensured we don’t find ourselves looking back and it’s been 6 months of saying we should get together without actually doing it.
Let me know if you give any of these recipes a try! Or, do you have a recipe I should make for the next brunch? Share the goods, girlfriend!
