A BEAUTIFUL BAPTISMAL BRUNCH
Good Morning!
Last weekend was very busy. On Saturday we celebrated my Granddaughter’s 1st Birthday. I told you all about it in this post.
The following day we Baptized Elle……
in the beautiful Gothic Style, Metropolitan Memorial United Methodist Church, in Washington, DC.
The interior of the church is quite magnificent, not unlike churches I have visited in Europe.
I think Elle enjoyed being the center of attention……
and didn’t even mind when they doused her in holy water.
She was stunning in her Christening gown……
which had been fashioned from her mother’s beautiful wedding gown.
Following the ceremony, we returned to my son & daughter-in-law’s home for a beautiful Baptismal Brunch.
I can’t take any credit what-so-ever for the Panda birthday party. I was just a photo-taking guest. My amazing daughter-in-law, Louisa, gets all the credit. While she was setting up the birthday party, I spent the day cooking for the Baptismal Brunch. I selected a menu that was 100% make-ahead friendly. That was because we would have no time to cook prior to church in the morning, and guests would be arriving for the brunch immediately after the Baptism. So, it was a perfect time for me to prepare one of my standby breakfast recipes, a Crustless Quiche. I got this recipe many years ago from my sweet Sorority Sister, Sally, and serve it frequently to rave reviews. It’s a terrific recipe to make-ahead, as it can be mixed up and then stored in the fridge until you are ready to pop it in the oven. It can also be prepared in two styles: a Mexican style, made with red bell peppers, green onions and Mexican style cheese……
and in an Italian style made with mozzarella cheese and Pesto sauce. My family likes both versions equally well, and so do I. So, when I need to feed a crowd, I prepare one of each.
As another ode to my Spanish heritage, I also prepared my version of a Spanish Style French Toast that I call Crema Catalana-French Toast Casserole. This recipe must be made ahead and stored overnight in the refrigerator, so it was a perfect addition to my brunch menu.
I added a fruit salad and bacon to round out the meal.
And no brunch would be complete without coffee, juice and champagne for Mimosas.
Louisa set a beautiful table……
Christening gifts were displayed on the sideboard……
along with a cherry blossom cake that came from the famous DC institution, Wagshal’s Custom Cakes & Pastries. Do you see the pretty gold and pink wrapping paper & napkins in the photo? Louisa gave one to the baker as inspiration for the cherry blossom design he created on the cake.
Cherry blossoms are, of course, an iconic symbol of Washington, DC. The interior of the cake was strawberry shortcake, and the pretty cherry blossoms were actually edible!
One of the gifts I couldn’t wait for Elle to open was a pink ballerina tutu that I bought for her.
The Christening gown was put away for the next baby, and the pink tutu became the attire of the day.
It was a wonderful weekend. Granddaughters are truly the best!!
Please stay tuned for tomorrow’s post where I will share with you a tutorial on how to prepare my Crustless Quiche, followed by my Crema Catalana-French Toast Casserole recipe the following day.
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