Galentine's Day

Happy Galentine's Day!  According to Parks and Recreation the day should really be celebrated the day before Valentine's Day but I begin my own traditions.  I also think Easter candy is much better than Valentine's candy so I'm happy that it's celebrated later in February.

How do I celebrate Galentine's Day?  I invite amazing women over for brunch.  We eat delicious food, talk for hours, listen to Etta James and Sam Cooke, and discuss the amazing state of Indiana.

I had fun deciding what to serve for brunch and at first it was a menu of far too much food.  My mom reminded me that girls don't eat that much.  I'm glad I listened to her.  

I baked a Sour Cream Coffee Cake from a Barefoot Contessa cookbook.   I've made this recipe a few times and each time it's an absolute success.  I also baked Date Scones from the Rose Bakery cookbook (my favorite cafe in Paris and I can't believe I forgot to mention it in my Food in Paris post).  It's the first restaurant I loved so much that I bought the cookbook. 

Trish brought the bagels and cream cheese.  It's kind of a law that bagels must be at every New York City brunch.  They are right next to powdered donut holes I couldn't resist from Trader Joe's.

A close up of the Sour Cream Coffee Cake.   I like how the right bundt pan can make a cake look extra fancy.

The best kind of fruit salad with pineapple and berries from Carly.

And the main dish was a Potato Frittata with Prosciutto and Gruyere that I found in the Food & Wine Annual Cookbook 2008.  It had the perfect combination of Gruyere and prosciutto containing the best parts of brunch - cheese and pork.

It was a cold day but the sun was shining and it's unusual to hold day light parties in my apartment.

Sara and Carly after being told to ignore the camera.

Whit and Mer who did not want to ignore the camera.

And lots of eating - Mer, Abby and Claire's hair.

Trish and Carly laughing at a joke probably about Indiana.

A wider shot of that end of the table - Di's hair, Sam, Mer, Susie and Abby.  I loved the colors on the table with the orange drinks, Orla Kiely tablecloth and roses.

This brunch was brought to you by the following books -