Happy Mother's Day...and the rest of the week.

Whew! I know I've been off the radar this week. Sorry bout that. It's been a leetle busy around here, as I know it is for most of us during this time of the year. With school ending it seems like we have something kid related every day!
This week was filled with tennis lessons, tennis socials, swim warm ups, birthday parties, and mommy and me days at school.
Speaking of the mommy and me day...here's the thing. I love BabyGirl. Duh. LOVE spending time with her. So glad she has a good time at school. However, the reason she goes to school three days a week is so that Mommy can have Mommy's Day OUT...not Mommy's day at school with BabyGirl. Oh, and teacher...if you're going to have them sing adorable songs for the Mommies, could you atleast wait until 9:05am to do it? God forbid some of the Mommies be a bit late for the whole Mommy Day thing. And I hate to be a nag, but could you also not plan to have Mommy Day the day before I'm hosting a brunch for 25 people? I know, I know, you were trying to make it coincide with Mother's Day and all, whateva. A little common courtesy would be nice. Because as we all know...it really is ALL ABOUT ME.
That being said, it was cute getting to see BabyGirl in action and I was lucky that my baby brother had come to town to help with the kids so I was able to ditch her with him afterward and get some errands done.
The brunch went swimmingly. We had about 25 people. Here was the menu.

Brie and Sausage Breakfast Casserole
Tomato Pesto Breakfast Strata
Fruit Salad
Spinach Strawberry Salad with Smoked Gouda
Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus
Bacon Twists
Bagels and Cream Cheese
Creme Brulee
Cheese Slaw

The Brie and Sausage Breakfast Casserole is delish. It's probably better for cooler weather events, but it's a can't miss dish. Here's the recipe. Definitely an old stand by in my house.

Brie-and-Sausage Breakfast Casserole

Ingredients
1 (8-ounce) round Brie*
1 pound ground hot pork sausage
6 french bread slices
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
7 large eggs, divided
3 cups whipping cream, divided
2 cups fat-free milk
1 tablespoon chopped fresh or 1 teaspoon dried rubbed sage
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1 teaspoon dry mustard
Garnish: chopped green onions


Preparation
Trim and discard rind from top of Brie. Cut cheese into cubes; set aside.
Cook sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat, stirring until crumbled and no longer pink; drain well.

Cut crusts from bread slices, and place crusts evenly in bottom of a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish. Layer evenly with bread slices, sausage, Brie, and grated Parmesan cheese.

Whisk together 5 eggs, 2 cups whipping cream, and next 4 ingredients; pour evenly over cheeses. Cover and chill 8 hours.

Whisk together remaining 2 eggs and 1 cup whipping cream; pour evenly over chilled mixture.

Bake at 350° for 50 minutes or until set. Garnish, if desired.

*Substitute 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Swiss cheese, if desired.


Yield
Makes 8 to 10 servings

Southern Living, FEBRUARY 2003

The Tomato Pesto Strata has been posted on Happy Housewife's Blog, which is now private. I'll throw ya'll a bone and repost.

Tomato Pesto Strata



1 cup milk

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 loaf French bread (cut into 1/2 inch slices)

2 cups loosely packed chopped fresh cilantro

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 lb. regular or smoked Gouda cheese

3 tomatoes, thinly sliced

1/2 cup your favorite basil pesto

4 eggs

pepper

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream


Coat a 9x13 pan with non-stick cooking spray. Mix the milk and white wine together and dip the bread slices in the milk mixture and then place in 9x13 pan covering the bottom.

Cover the bread with cilantro and drizzle with olive oil.

Layer half the cheese, half the tomato slices, and half the pesto. REPEAT cheese, tomatoes, pesto.

Beat eggs, add pepper. Pour evenly over casserole. Drizzle cream.
Cover with plastic wrap and chill overnight.
Place pan on cookie sheet (just in case it bubbles over)
Bake at 350 degrees for one hour. Enjoy!

It's delish.

The brunch went great. We served Mimosas and opened gifts and then everyone was off to Virginia Tech for the graduation. I was off to bed for a NAP!



The roses, daisies and belles of Ireland were store bought, but the peonies came from my garden. I LOVE them.



The graduate and her mom (my aunt)



The graduate (Emily) and BabyGirl. You may remember Emily from BabyGirl's third birthday. She was Cinderella. It's been true love between she and BabyGirl ever since.



Another hydrangea purchased from SAM'S CLUB, thankyouverymuch!



The pink and green dining room couldn't have been more perfect for our "Lilly" theme. Purse from To Bee Named, natch. I gave it to Emily last year as a thank you for dressing up as Cinderella at the birthday party. I was so glad to see that she uses it!



Girlfriend scored big with a complete set of Vera Bradley luggage complete with monogram. Perfect for travelling to all those Tech football games! (gag)

All in all, a great morning. We're so proud of Emily! I passed on my Mikimoto pearl earrings to her. They were a gift to me in college and I thought it was fitting to pass them to her. Every girl needs a good pair of Mikimoto's!