Mother’s Day Brunch

This Mother’s Day, rather than brave the masses at crowded restaurants, I decided to host my in-law’s for a brunch inspired by our trip to Dallas last weekend. Tea at the Adolphus was such a memorable experience that I wanted to re-create it for my family, and Mother’s Day seemed like the perfect opportunity.

We started with some homemade pimento cheese dip (recipe courtesy of Jack Allen’s) and Trader Joe’s Spinach and Artichoke Dip. I wanted to have an appetizer since guests would be arriving at different times and I wanted to wait for everyone to arrive to sit down for the full brunch. Having an appetizer gave guests something to munch on while we waited for everyone to arrive, especially since it was lunch time and everyone was hungry.

Mother’s Day Tea Menu

Coronation Chicken Salad
Egg Salad Sandwiches
Cucumber and Cream Cheese Sandwiches
Homemade Scones with Peach and Strawberry Jam
Chocolate Cream Cake from Monument Café
Mixed Berry Parfaits
Mimosas
Earl Gray Tea

When hosting a tea, it is easy to make several of the items ahead of time so your morning of preparations can be limited and not cause as much stress. I made the chicken salad, egg salad, and the scones the night before so all I had to do on Sunday morning was assemble the sandwiches and plate the scones.

I am all about doing as much as you can ahead of time! This leaves less to clean up before your guests arrive and makes everything run more smoothly. I didn’t make up the sandwiches the evening prior because the bread tends to get stale quickly, and I wanted them to be as fresh as possible so I only made up the sandwich fillings beforehand.

I will write up my recipe I used for the coronation chicken salad since I combined several recipes to get the flavor I was looking for. It was a fun experiment involving LOTS of curry and lots of taste testing.

We ended up having a lovely afternoon tea with the family, and everyone enjoyed having a quieter, more personal Mother’s Day celebration. What I love about tea is that is brings everyone together and elevates an experience without a lot of effort. It was lovely to celebrate my mother in law and all she has done for our family.