First Time Waffles

I've hosted quite a few Mother's Day brunches and though the menu may change a bit from year to year, the tradition is found in the gathering of family, and the meal is almost always followed by outdoor festivities which may include wiffle ball, kickball and this year's badminton and volleyball games.  

I prepared a lovely pink lemonade with a bit of sparkling soda - for those who cared to add champagne I had that chilled and available as well.  Lovely.

For the food - my sister prepared a lovely sausage, egg and cheese casserole.  My adult sons had child-like giggles every time someone mentioned casserole.  They were brought back to this movie scene (warning: a bit of mild adult language) from a few years ago:  Casserole Argument from Stealing Harvard.  To avoid being drawn into the fray, my mother caught on and simply asked for someone to pass her the omelet at the table.  

I prepared a spiral ham and took my first steps into the world of waffles.  My nephew helped as we created an assembly line precision of spraying with non-stick spray, 2 1/2 ladles of batter, timer for 3 minutes, remove and reserve to warm oven.  Fabulous!

I also made baked veggie Stromboli-ish creation which included spinach, tomatoes and topped with mozzarella!

    

The bad news - using the disposable try on top of a standard cookie sheet (which I thought would be helpful for clean up) caused the bottom to not brown and crisp the same way as the top.  Lesson learned.

Waffles were served with blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, whipped cream, syrup and each diner's creativity in preparing their personalized dish.

Camera shy waffle

Seemed the meal was a hit (except for the soggy bottomed portion of the spinach Stromboli creation - though many simply pushed the unwanted bit aside on their plate).  Games were played, flowers and plants exchanged, cards were opened, smiles all around.  A fabulous holiday.  Or better to say a fabulous Sunday with family?  

After a few games, time for dessert.  A mini buffet with bite size sweets from our local supermarket's "fakery."  My older son's girlfriend works at the "fakery" and came up with the nickname for the bakery department which mostly bakes off prepared treats and breads (not from scratch).  Eclairs, cheesecake bites and blueberry rugula on one platter.

Half pies are a wonderful fakery invention.  I invest in a blueberry and an apple for the occasion.

Also on hand were the leftover berries and whipped cream.  Perfect.

I have some personal photos and video of the day.  It truly was memorable, relaxing, a time for bonding and eating.  Hope you had a Fed Well Mother's Day!