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October 2015

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Mashed potatoes have always been one of my favorite comfort foods and side items to any meal, especially in the fall and around the holidays. No holiday dinner is quite complete without this traditional and delicious dish.

Cheddar Cheese Mashed Potatoes

Growing up, we had our Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners with my mom’s side of the family in Colorado. We all live within a couple of miles of each other, so travel is easy to say the least. Plus my cousins and I are all relatively close in age, so holidays are always a blast! Each family contributes something a little different each year to the feast, but my Uncle is always in charge of making the mashed potatoes. His mashed potatoes are the absolute most delicious potatoes I have ever had in my life. I’m pretty sure that if he decided to take a year off, we would all boycott the whole holiday! They are just that good!

I recently had a casual dinner party with my boyfriend’s family and decided that mashed potatoes would be the perfect addition to the meal. I was serving a brown sugar and Dijon mustard glazed salmon and pine nut and Parmesan roasted asparagus, so I thought these mashed potatoes would pair perfectly. My Uncle’s recipe has never been completely revealed, so I have been experimenting a lot trying to get the mashed potatoes just perfect! One thing I know is that he uses russet potatoes, but as I have been exploring different recipes, so many people recommend the red potatoes. You can make this recipe with either russet or red potatoes, but I have to say, after making this recipe quite a few times now just this week, I stand behind the russet potatoes! 

One of my favorite traditions that my friends and I started post college was Sunday night “family dinners.” I started to realize after graduation how hard it was to get everyone together in one place on a regular basis. Between all of our work and travel schedules, it is hard to have a regular Friday night dinner or weekly happy hour, so we started doing Sunday night dinners since it always seems to be a quieter night for people.

Unfortunately, during the summer months, Sunday night dinners have slowed as many of us have been gone for summer vacations and such, so I decided to host a Sunday brunch to get everyone back together.  Here’s the delectable menu and spread we had for a party of about 15 people: 

Menu and Recipes:

Food: Cheesy Bacon Quiche || Pancake Kabobs || Creme Brulee French Toast || Apple Cinnamon French Toast || Breakfast Potatoes

Drinks: Mimosa Bar || Bloody Mary Bar

Chalkboard Menu 6

The thing about brunch parties is that you either have to wake up super early or do some major prep the night before. I am not the biggest morning person, so I definitely prefer the night before prep. This menu was easy to make beforehand, and, if you do it right, it looks like you have been awake for hours by the time your guests arrive. 

What is better than a Sunday brunch with your favorite type of homemade pancakes? How about a Sunday brunch with a stack of three of your favorite types of pancakes all layered with a light homemade whip cream and topped with fresh fruit and maple syrup?! YU-UH-UM!

 Fruit Pancake Kabobs

I absolutely love making these delicious and adorable pancake kabobs for brunch parties of all sizes! They are a fun way to mix up your pancake breakfast, so everyone gets to sample a variety of flavors! Your guests are sure to be impressed!