Michelle & Graham's Engagment Brunch

We woke up really early (like 6:30 am) Sunday morning to do the remaining prep work for Michelle and Graham's brunch. It was worth it. Everything turned out well and the happy couple was ecstatic. They were also pleasantly surprised by the slight nod to Spain (Michelle studied in Spain for a year, and also brought along her friends visiting from Galicia).

 Remember the potted hydrangea?

The happy couple

Michelle's friends from Galicia (they did the authenticity test on the tortilla española I made and it turned out positive)

 

G was in charge of beverages

G's very own ice tea (he made a concentrate the night before and prepared the serving that morning)

We served cava (Spanish sparkling wine) and orange juice

 

Many, including Michelle, had a Mimosa; isn't her ring gorgeous?

 

Former roommates: Chris, Andrew, and Graham (the man of the hour)

Lindsay and Lily (Andrew and Chris' significant others, respectively)

The table (we borrowed a lot of stuff from G's parents)

 

Michelle's brother and mother

Michelle's family: brother, David; mom; nephew; and long(est)-time friend, Tracy

 

Tortilla española: There's a funny story behind the  making of this, and it includes half of it landing in the sink

 

Chorizo frittata (oven baked eggs are so much easier than their pan fried counterparts)

 

The gang digging in--it really brings me great pride and pleasure to know that people enjoy my cooking (G helped a tremendous amount, btw--all the clean up and dirty work he took care of without complaint and of his own initiative).

 

Speaking of which, he also grilled the asparagus that morning (served with hollandaise)

 

The night before, I stayed up late making traditional and buckwheat crêpes (served with honey syrup and lemons)

 

Dried chorizo and "almost" jamon (aka prosciutto--can't get Iberico ham around here--but our Spanish friends remarked that it was very close)

 

Potato wedges (whipped cream for the fruit salad)

 

The fruit salad--I actually went through the effort of cutting everything up myself (because the fruit salad at the grocery is never as fresh tasting)

 

And finally...the CAKE! It's G's mom's mandarin orange and pineapple cream recipe (and it was so easy). I made the cake and froze the three layers the night before and made the frosting and finished it the morning of. Recipe in the next post.

CONGRATS, GRAHAM AND MICHELLE!