Mini Brunch Party

For Kelly’s birthday month, we decided a classic birthday party was the perfect way to kick off our Any Excuse to Party collaboration. Now that it’s September and my birthday month, I knew immediately what I wanted to do. Throw a mini brunch party! Where yes…it is just as it sounds…everything is mini! We’ve got mini floral arrangements, mini churros, and more.

Any Excuse to Party: Mini Brunch Party

I love miniature versions of real things. It’s weird, but who cares. I think they’re just so darn adorable! So, when Kelly and I got to planning our very own mini brunch party – I went a little crazy. I couldn’t stop thinking of new mini ideas! However, we narrowed it down here to make it a very doable party in case you decide to throw one as well! Here’s what we came up with:

Decor: Soft pinks and neutrals

by Kelly: Just like with the florals, let your menu be your muse! We loved how putting our mini foods on display was really all the decor we needed. Use cake stands and other trays at varying heights, colors, and textures to create visual interest, and scatter some florals in between (because you can never, ever have too many flowers!) for pops of color. I took inspiration from Gabi’s sea salt shot glasses for the color palette, using soft pinks and neutral blues (speaking of, I’m in love with these chambray napkins from Kitchen + Kraft!) to soften the bright colors of the flowers and to make our menu items the star of the show.

Eat: All the mini foods!

Don’t worry, you don’t have to bread mini chicken pieces and fry it up for this Any Excuse to Party. Not at all. We made this one as easy as can be. The food’s (almost) all frozen! Trader Joe’s is a godsend, if you live near one, that’s where we picked up some of the most important pieces of this mini brunch party – the mini churros, the fresh ingredients for the quiche, and the mini breaded chicken. Can you say yum?

Mini chicken & waffles

• Buy frozen, breaded chicken pieces (Trader Joe’s has the best!) and mini frozen waffles (Eggo’s is a good bet).
• Cook both according to their respective instructions. Once they’re ready, grab a plate and place each piece of chicken on top of a waffle.
• Drizzle maple syrup on top and secure it with a tooth pick.

Mini quiche

• For the mini quiche, we actually used my new favorite breakfast recipe – this Ketogenic Rosemary Quiche (with maple ham, yum!). Instead of cooking it in one big dish, we split them up among 6 ramekins. Simply halve the recipe!

Mini churros

• Again, Trader Joe’s to the rescue. Cook the mini churros according to the directions. Top off with the extra cinnamon sugar.
• For an extra special touch, melt some chocolate for dipping!

Glazed orange scones

• Kelly made these the night before our party and hot damn were they delicious! I don’t even love orange-flavored foods and I was obsessed. They were nearly bite-sized so I may have had one (or three) too many. But honestly, they were #worthit. Here’s the recipe she used if you’d like to try them out for yourself (you will).

DIY: Mini Floral Bouquets

These mini bouquets are the cutest darn things! They’re the DIY project, but also can be used for decor and as a little take-home surprise for your guests. Grab the full DIY project instructions on Kelly’s site!

Drink: Strawberry Mezcal Shot

Instead of making a simple shot for our mini brunch party, we actually made a cocktail to be split among my adorable himalayan salt glasses from UncommonGoods. It’s got a smoky feel thanks to that mezcal, but we went light on the liquor since it was quite early when we were enjoying these. These Strawberry Mezcal Shots taste sweet and fresh, thanks to my favorite ingredient – mint, and then have that surprise little smoky kick. A perfect combo in my opinion for a tasty brunch cocktail!

What you’ll need:

• 1 cup fresh strawberries, washed and roughly chopped
• 6 sprigs fresh mint
• Juice from 1/2 lime
• 1 oz. mezcal
• 1 oz. agave

Instructions:

1. Muddle the strawberries in the bottom of a shaker with 2 sprigs of fresh mint and lime juice.
2. Add mezcal and agave, top with ice and shake vigorously for 20 seconds.
3. Split among your adorable shot glasses and garnish with a sprig of mint.

Flora: Complement the food

by Kelly: When I think brunch, I think bright pops of color that complement the food – warm colors like orange and yellow (fresh OJ, anyone?). In this case, we used our menu as our muse and went for some Zinnias in our favorite brunch-inspired hues. Brunch set up should be quick and easy, so use vessels you already have around your home. We used milk bottles and a himalayan-sea-salt-candle-holder-turned-vase to match Gabi’s gorgeous sea salt shot glasses! For an extra special surprise for you guests, incorporate personal mini bouquets at each place setting. Check out our DIY to find out how to make your own!

There you have it – a full blown, mini brunch party! We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did. I mean really, the food and mini floral bouquets – does it get any better? Now it’s your turn, what events do you have coming up this season? What excuse to party would YOU like to see on By Gabriella?

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