Ladies Brunch

Last Friday was all about girly fun and togetherness. It was actually a long overdue catch up with some of the fellow female pakistani expats living in Germany. I hosted a brunch at my place and it was so nice to just kick back from the typical stress our routines have to offer and relax, chat non-stop in our mother tongue and catch up on each others lives after such a long time. Too bad we couldn’t complete the group as not all invitees were lucky enough to make it to the meetup. As usual!!! Silly us, we always pledge to meet more often but never succeed in doing so because there will always be one of us who's not free.

Here´s what was on the menu

• Cranberry scones with lemon curd
• Tunisian farka
• Chicken puffs
• Mini pancakes with blackberries and maple syrup
• Curd, granola, red berries and home made raspberry sauce cups
• Multi layered peach and almond torte
• Cheese and salami platter
• Baked egg baskets (used the same recipe but baked small röstis in a muffin tray instead of cooking in the frying pan)
• Mustard chicken bites with sweet n sour red sauce
• Breads
• Coffee
• Tea
• Fruit Juices

Okay please dont let your jaw drop too far after reading all this. It might appear too extensive and complicated but its not! All you need is a bit of planning and preparation!

One way that I like to keep myself organised is to decide the menu first, then print out the recipes for each dish. Then I type all the ingredients and set up a shopping list in Excel. The groceries are usually done two days prior to the main event - the decorating  stuff and serveware even earlier! When I’m cooking, I make sure not only to keep the printed recipes handy but also set my ipad up on the counter so that all tips and notes are at my fingertips!

A day ahead of time I

• baked the almond sponge
• prepared and refrigerated the lemon curd 
• made the scones dough, cut them into shapes and popped into the freezer
• soaked couscous in the sugar syrup, chopped and roasted the nuts for making farka
• perpared fruit purees for the curd cups and torte
• marinated the chicken bites and prepared the red sauce seperately
• prepared filling for the chicken puffs
• assembled the torte and placed in the refrigerator to set
• placed drinks in the refrigerator to chill
• ironed my dress and took out the matching accessories
  
  
  
  

Before taking the quick shower and getting myself ready for the guests this is what I managed to do

• prepared choux pastry and baked mini puffs, filled them with the chicken mixture
• spooned curd, berries, granola into cups/glasses
• filled ramekins with the prepared farka and nuts
• spooned red sauce into serving glasses
• grated the potatoes and baked small nests in the muffin tray
• baked scones
• arranged the salami n cheese platter
• prepared the pancakes batter
• cleaned the living room and dining area (I couldve done that a day earlier..arrrrghhh)
• set the table and co
  

When the first guest arrived, I was ready to bake the mini pancakes and throw the eggs in the oven.

The living room was full of humble, intelligent and ambitious women and my dining table was full of colourful goodness.