A Botanical Brunch

A couple of weekends ago in a magical place called The Flower House, as my home has become so affectionately named, a group of lovely, beautiful girls gathered for a magical botanical brunch experience. Upon arrival, cocktails were created and served and each guest was able to go out into the garden and select which fresh herbs they wanted for garnish in their “Aunt’s Garden” cocktail. What’s an Aunt’s Garden you may ask? It’s named after the many beautiful botanicals that reside in the garden of Aunt Jet and Aunt Francis in the novel/film Practical Magic. Here is the recipe:

Equal parts Grey Goose and St. Germain Elderflower Liquer (about one shot of each in each drink)

Essence of chamomile and honey from Meadowland Simple Syrup

Very fresh lemonade to the top

Glasses rimmed with lavender honey by The Honey Truck Co. and dipped in raw sugar

I used violets frozen in ice and many other fresh herbs for garnish, things like mint, lavender, strawberry leaves, and pineapple sage

Then we all came inside for brunch. At this brunch I served prosciutto goat cheese crostini, blackberry cucumber caprese skewers, a double English cream fruit tart, and a biscuit bar! I make it a point to keep lots of different jams and honeys on reserve for occasions just like this. A big favorite was the creamed lemon honey by Savannah Bee Co. All of these things are super easy to whip up and most can be prepped the night before.

A great recipe for home made biscuits can be found in the new cookbook called Magnolia Table by Joanna Gaines. I LOVE Magnolia and if you aren’t familiar with what I’m talking about, definitely check them out here. Most of the decor on the table is Magnolia as well and can be purchased at your local Target. The cucumber blackberry caprese skewers are a super yummy and fun twist on your traditional caprese salad. I alternated cucumber, mozzarella balls, and blackberries and drizzled them with a balsamic glaze. Fresh basil also would be a lovely touch in there, but I’m not a big basil fan.

After Brunch I had something really special planned for my friends that unfortunately  not a lot of photos were taken of. It is my dream to one day start my OWN flower truck, so I wanted to bring this (on a much smaller scale) to my friends at brunch. I clipped about fifty blooms and branches of greenery from my own garden and supplemented more blooms from Publix. I put them all in different pitchers and vases and jars and completely stuffed my parlor room with flowers so that it would feel like a florist’s shop. Each person selected their blooms and greens and I did a flower arranging demonstration to show them how to bring life and volume to their bouqs. Here are the results, and my happy customers!

After our very fun photo shoot, we had cake and earl grey lavender lattes for dessert!

There’s nothing yummier than a Chantilly cake from Publix! We had so many laughs and so many good eats, it was my best brunch yet, and definitely the happiest!

X0X0

Favorite Fall Drink Recipes

Fall is officially here! Although if you keep up with my blog you know that I have been ready since mid-August and you know that autumn is positively my most favorite time of year. In my last post “Ultimate Autumn Bucket List” (which you can read here) I talk all about my goals for this season and one of things I really wanted to do was share with you guys all my favorite fall recipes, all created by your truly. I’m not going to beat around the bush and tell you some ridiculously long story to go with each recipe because I simply despise it when I click through to a recipe on a blog and the description seems endless when all I want is the instructions! So without further ado, let us begin with my drink recipes.

I would like to preface by saying these could all be made to become boozy, however I’m not a big drinker so they are all virgin. I’d be happy to know how y’all spike them though! (Let me know in the comments) All drinks are made to create a per-person beverage, meaning only one drink, but it’s pretty easy to guesstimate how much more you need to put into each recipe if you are serving a crowd.

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Caramel Apple Spice

For this recipe you will need:

One cinnamon apple tea bag

One cup of hot apple juice or cider (I prefer cider)

2 Tbsp. caramel (You can buy the tub from the store or make your own, which really isn’t very difficult. Here’s a link to make your own)

Whipped cream, optional

Cinnamon

This will taste just like the Caramel Apple Spice from Starbucks, if not better. Heat the juice via microwave or stove, I prefer stove. Steep your tea bag for at least 2 minutes, then remove. Stir in caramel. Top with whipped cream and cinnamon.

Pumpkin Spice Latte

For this recipe you will need:

1/4 cup strongly brewed coffee or 2 shots espresso

2 Tsp. vanilla

1 and 1/2 cups of steamed or stove top heated 2% milk or milk alternative of your choice

2 Tbsp. raw sugar

2 Tbsp. pumpkin puree

Whipped cream

Pumpkin pie spice

Now I’m not one of those fortunate people who owns an espresso maker but I do own a french press which allows me to brew strong coffee in small batches easily. So first, you’ll make your coffee. While that’s brewing start steaming or stove heating your milk. Add vanilla, sugar, pumpkin and coffee to cup, stir. Pour in milk and stir until all ingredients are combined. Top with whipped cream and pumpkin pie spice and enjoy this healthier alternative to the Starbucks PSL that is equally as yummy! I tested this at my last event and it was a big hit. They said it was “like Starbucks but didn’t taste like candle.”

Butterbeer Latte

For this recipe you will need:

1/2 cup brewed coffee or 1 shot espresso

1 cup hot milk

2 Tbsp. pure butter, such as kerrygold

2 and 1/2 Tbsp. brown sugar

1 Tsp. vanilla extract

For this Harry Potter favorite, first melt your butter and brown sugar together and mix thoroughly until you have a caramel like texture. Add your coffee and stir. Add vanilla, stir. Add milk, stir. Very simple! Very delicious.

Pumpkin Juice

For this drink that is actually chilled you will need:

1 and 1/2 cup apple juice

A splash of orange juice

2 Tbsp pumpkin puree

3 Tbsp raw sugar

1 Tsp pumpkin spice

1 Tsp cinnamon

Combine all ingredients and stir vigorously. Add some ice to the top and put it in the fridge for about 30 minutes, this is best served quite cold. When you take it out of the fridge give it another good stir and serve. This is definitely a crowd favorite, even for people who don’t love pumpkin.

I hope you all have good experiences trying these drinks. I promise to do an autumn food recipe post a week or so before Thanksgiving for recipes you can try out to bring to Thanksgiving dinner. X0X0