Sunny Day Brunch

What’s spring without a brunch party? We love celebrating this time of year with a mid-morning cocktail and bright, colorful dishes that highlight the season’s best produce. The trick to throwing a great party and enjoying it too, is having an easy, yet elegant menu packed with beautiful dishes and fun treats.

We love the color blood oranges give this classic brunch cocktail. A dash of bitters adds depth. Look for orange bitters—such as Fee Brothers or Stirrings—at liquor stores or specialty grocers. The sugar cube dissolves as you sip, balancing the bitters and giving off bubbles for a festive touch. Juice the oranges and keep chilled up to a day ahead.

Wonderful flavor comes from Madras curry powder—it's bold but not too heavy. If you can only find regular curry powder, start with half the amount we call for.

Hand-held, self-serve treats make brunch that much easier. Here, we serve a succulent pork tenderloin on a Orange, Honey, and Thyme Biscuit, which gives guests both a delicious bite and the freedom to walk around and socialize.

Bake biscuits up to a day ahead, and keep in a sealed zip-top plastic bag.

Learn the secret to perfectly flaky, homemade biscuits from our Test Kitchen. Watch How to Make Biscuits.

For perfect soft-scrambled eggs, cook slowly and stir often to form creamy curds. Use the thinnest asparagus you can find so it will become crisp-tender with gentle heat.

This gorgeous trifle brings the perfect finishing touch to a spring brunch. The combination of tart strawberries and rhubarb balance out the sweetness from the custard, and create one wow-worthy presentation that will impress your guests. 

Up to 5 Days Ahead
• Make jam for pork

Up to 1 Day Ahead
• Make pea salad and curry dressing (dress just before serving)
• Bake biscuits
• Roast pork tenderloin (slice just before serving)
• Juice oranges
• Prepare trifle

An Hour Ahead
• Let pork stand at room temperature
• Crack and beat eggs; keep chilled, with plastic wrap directly on surface of eggs

10 Minutes Before Serving
• Scramble eggs

5 Minutes Before Serving
• Mix mimosas

1. Teardrop barspoon $25

2. Libbey impressions glass pitcher $13 

3. Toasting flutes $10/set of 4

4. Bud vases $15/set of 6 

5. Ivory scalloped metal pedestal $10

6. Wineglass tags $10/set of 12

See the full Spring Fling Shopping Guide.

We asked Mariam Naficy, founder and CEO of Minted, how to add a unique visual spin to soirées while keeping costs sensible.

1. Use What You Have
"Everybody has art around the house—even children's art. Use it to create a backdrop or gallery wall behind your buffet table," says Naficy, who has some of her children's artwork mixed with high-end pieces and antiques. And think outside the box when it comes to potentially pricey floral arrangements: "Last Thanksgiving, my kids and I snipped olive branches from the yard and made our own centerpieces," she says.

Mount a photo backdrop on a blank wall so guests can snap visual souvenirs and upload party shots to Instagram and Facebook. Choose one of the 32 customizable options available at minted.com, or whip up your own with butcher paper and metallic markers.

You don't have to spend a lot of effort on a tablecloth or runner. Snip edges of fabric with pinking shears (that's exactly what we did with Minted's fabric in this picture), and you have a runner to match your décor. For spring parties, Naficy suggests bringing the outside in: "Try a strip of real grass or moss running along the center of the table," she says. "You can buy small segments at hardware or garden stores."