Splurge Party - Waffle Bar Brunch

Waffle Bar

So it was my turn to host our splurge group for this month and I decided to do a brunch complete with a waffle bar, make your own mimosa's, amish breakfast casserole, sausages and yogurt parfaits. The party idea was a hit with my friends and super easy to host too.

My plan of attack to pull off the party was as follows:

One Week in Advance:
- purchase all non-perishable food and paper items for the party. Store these items all together so it is easy to find the day of the party and so that nobody uses the goods in the house.
- put together your cooking schedule or timeline. You will want to make sure you are not trying to juggle 4 things in the oven or 5 on the stove top.

4 Days in Advance:
- Start cleaning, I usually pick up the stray items that get left all around the house. Then I will organize any counter space and wipe down the appliances and cabinets.
- Pick out music. We have satellite tv, therefore my favorite go to are the music stations for parties as I am not a big music person.

3 Days in Advance:
- Purchase any alcohol that is needed (in this case, the champagne) and store properly

Make your own Mimosas!

- Clean the foyer or front hallway where the guests will be walking through - everything look right? I do a walkthrough to the party space to make sure things look neat and tidy.
- Clean out the fridge to make room for your party groceries and dishes

2 Days in Advance:
- Do the grocery shopping for the party!
- Vacuum and mop
- Set out all serveware to make sure you have what you need
- Press table linens (if using)

1 Day in Advance:
- Clean the bathroom (make sure you have extra TP)
- Sweep your front steps
- Prep any dishes that an be made ahead of time. For this brunch, I prepped the Amish breakfast casserole, rice krispie treats and cut the fruit.

It's Party Time!
- last minute room check to make sure everything looks neat and tidy

Fruity Yogurt Parfaits

- Make/Bake day of items. For the brunch, it started at 10 am. I made the yogurt parfaits around 8:30, baked the casserole at 9:00, started the sausages at 9:20 and starting making all the waffles at 9:15. I read online that to keep the waffles warm and crispy (not soggy like they get when they are left out), to put them in a pyrex dish and keep warm in a cooler oven. I did this and set the oven to 200 degrees and it worked out perfectly. I wanted to have all of the food prepped, baked and ready to go so that my guests could eat by 10:20 and so that I could enjoy the party too and not have to be cooking in the kitchen the whole time.

Rice Krispies, Parfaits, Casserole and Sausages

The party went off perfect and all my friends took home both waffles and rice krispie treats. I would definitely do this again - it was easy to host and fun for my guests!

Here is what I served for the waffle bar:
- waffles (duh)
- fresh fruit - strawberries, banana slices, blueberries & raspberries
- Spreads - peanut butter, nutella, butter
- Toppings - maple syrup, chocolate syrup, strawberry syrup, chocolate chips, nuts and whipped topping

For the Make your Own Mimosas:
- 3 different juices: orange juice, fruit punch and apple cider ('tis the season)
- champagne and ginger ale (for virgins)
- Fresh cut fruit - strawberries, oranges, blueberries & raspberries

Tablescape