The best kind of holiday party is a brunch party.
| |  | | A Brunch Party Is the Best Holiday Party | | | | | We are in that time of year when the world around us feels as though it comes to a brief stop. Work obligations slow down (or at least our desire to work does). Time with friends and family takes center stage.
Rather than the typical evening cocktail party or holiday dinner, I prefer inviting folks over for a daytime feast. The reason is two-fold. Brunch fare is often less time-consuming to prepare than either cocktail party finger food or a multi-course dinner. And (most importantly) this gets guests out of my apartment before sunset, giving me ample time to be snuggled up watching my programs by 6pm.
A win-win. If I'm feeling extra motivated (read: hopped-up on a full pot of coffee), then a big composed salad like a classic cob or niçoise offers the wow factor this time of year demands. A sourdough coffee cake with a round of espresso martinis makes for the perfect dessert.
Another day I may just pick up a bag of seeded bagels from my favorite Brooklyn spot, Peter Pan (and a custard filled donut for the road), and lay out a tray of smoked salmon with plenty of schmear, capers, and onion. Or snag some tinned fish like smoked mussels and sardines, caviar (because it's been A YEAR, again), bakery-made bread, and boil up the perfect jammy eggs for a serve-yourself breakfast board. The corpse reviver cocktail, bracingly cold and batched out in a pitcher, is the ideal wake up call for either of these semi-homemade brunches.
And when it's pure comfort I want to serve my guests, a sheet tray of crispy, cheesy breakfast nachos or a platter of cream-cheese stuffed french toast or chocolate babka french toast is exactly what's happening on the table. That, along with whatever BYOB drinks my guests want to bring, because by this point, I've done enough.
I love this time of year for the chance to act like a tourist in my own city, to reflect and set some intentions for the year ahead, and to host small, low-lift gatherings like these. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | The Spruce Eats Presents It's Elementary | | | | | | | | | |
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