June is here, and that means I have to get my 4th of July party invites out. Every year, I do the same thing: brunch. I do this because I found out early on in my entertaining career/life that all my friends and family always had preset evening plans. What I did realize though was that Brunch was always open – guests could come to my party without skipping their traditional plans. So now, that’s my tradition: 4th of July Brunch.
Every year, the theme is different. I’ve been doing this so long that I’m now wracking my brains for something novel or at least not offered before. These are 9 ideas that I can no longer use (but maybe you can!). And no, they are not limited to brunch times – they can be adapted for afternoon and evening get-togethers, too. (As I write up the party notes and post them, there will be links so you can access more details, but what’s here might get you started on your own July 4 party plans.)
French-themed
The French-themed party was inspired by the local French cafe (bonjour, Moulin!) where I love to go for their plain croissant and cafe au lait (seasoned with a chocolate square). I confess, I’ve also been known to have my arm twisted for quiche and croque… The only French connection I could think of to the 4th of July was the Marquis de Lafayette; after the war started, and inspired by the notion of freedom for all, he came to the colonies as a teenager and quickly came under the tutelage of General Washington as his protégé. So, that’s how I came up with the theme.
California theme
This party was the return to more normal times after the Covid lockdown; we’d had to skip the year before. The whole party took place outside, including the buffet; it meant everything was a little more jam-packed on the table but it all worked well enough. Every dish on the buffet reflected a popular or regional California recipe, produce, or restaurant. So there were many dishes with lemon or Mexican influences… Date shake, anyone?
Colonial birthday party
A friend had gifted me with a cookbook from Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello (Dining at Monticello, edited by Damon Lee Fowler), filled with recipes that Jefferson had enjoyed. She requested that I plan a brunch around the cookbook, so I did. And I augmented that cookbook with online recipes from Colonial Williamsburg (https://www.colonialwilliamsburg.org/discover/resource-hub/recipes/). So, it was an easy menu to research and pull off.
The invitation itself was near and dear to my heart because the silhouettes under the vellum are of my son and daughter; these were done by a silhouette artist from Disneyland who came to their school for “Colonial Days” – that one day in 5th grade when the class “Walk[s] Through the Revolution.”
This party theme was borne of indecision; I couldn’t decide which region to focus on for my brunch so I decided to cherry pick from all the “regions” of the USA. I served Valencia orange juice from California; Kona coffee and a tropical fruit plate from Hawaii; bagels and smoked salmon and halibut from Alaska; homemade mixed berry granola with vanilla yogurt pudding from Oregon; hash browns from Idaho; Texas breakfast enchiladas; grilled sausages from Illinois; a raspberry kringle pastry from Wisconsin; pain perdu from Louisiana; skillet cornbread from Mississippi; grilled peaches with blackberry butter from Georgia; creamy grits casserole from South Carolina; Biltmore raspberry lemonade from North Carolina; citrus salad with mint from Florida; Dutch apple baby from Pennsylvania; my mom’s New York coffee cake; lobster rolls from Massachusets; and (finally!) blueberry muffins from Maine.
This was also the year that my daughter and her friends had graduated from high school and were heading off to colleges across the country. So I made a cake, frosted it with a “map” of the USA, and decorated it with pennants from the schools they were heading off to.
Home on the Range
The inspiration for this party was easy: a client had given my husband some tabletop s’more makers; those made me think of campfires, and those made me think of dude ranches, and those made me think of barbecue! There were a lot of dishes on the menu but every single dish could be prepped ahead and simply reheated. So the day of the actual party just meant setting up and reheating everything. (And the s’mores were as good as I remembered as a kid.)
The British are Coming
2022 was the year of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. So, of course, I had to try making the pudding (British word alert!) that was given signature status for the event (which I did for a Bible Study tea, with success if I do say so myself). And then I had to double the recipe so I could serve it at our brunch. I served it alongside the Queen’s favorite chocolate tiffin pudding, shortbread, and an apricot traybake (another British word alert!), among other sweets. There was also a host of savouries and porridge. And English Breakfast Tea, of course.
The Luau
I loved this invitation. It was very simple but very clever, if I do say so myself. And it was therapeutic, too. That’s what I told myself as I strung homemade pennants on embroidery thread that I attached to 75 invitations. Sort of like basket-weaving. (Now you know all about my little foibles.)
The menu was simply a recreation of all the hotel buffets we’d splurged on during our vacations in Hawaii: tropical fruit platter – check; (plain and banana) waffle station with coconut syrup and chopped mac’s – check; poached eggs on kalua pork (smoked salmon for non-meat eaters) and Hawaiian rolls – check; a veggie frittata – check; coconut yogurt parfaits with homemade tropical granola and chopped fresh tropical fruits – check; a bagel bar just like in the hotels – check; carrot cake mufins and banana bread – check; tropical fruit smoothies – check; fresh pineapple juice and Kona coffee – check. That’s a lot of checks!(I’m starting to think I should break my habit of never repeating myself and just do it – !)
There’s something about anything Hawaiian that makes me relax, so while the menu and party prep looked extensive, it was all very laid back and casual, and, well, relaxed. Aloha!
Cape Cod Brunch
Brunch on the Cape was a product of all the cookbooks I’d splurged on during an idyllic vacation on Cape Cod; we’d rented a cottage in Dennis on Follins Pond for two weeks, alternating days at the lake with excursions to Provincetown (P-town to those who know) for whale-watching and the Pilgrim Monument, Sandwich, The Cape Playhouse, Mayflower Beach, Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard, Plimoth Plantation, Brewster (had to stop at The Main Scoop) and the Cape Cod National Seashore, to name a few golden finds. Of course, everywhere we went, we found something delicious to eat so it was easy pulling a menu together.
Generic (yes, Generic)
I first started my tradition back in 2012. The first two years were fairly generic – just “brunch foods” without any cohesion except that the recipes were found in the brunch chapter of a cookbook or magazine or online. But it was still fun with red-white-blue decorations, and my first attempts at cooking breakfast-lunch foods for large crowds. Without a theme, I accepted help from anyone offering, so the dishes were quite eclectic: chile rellenos, spanakopita, grilled sausages and bacon, breakfast burritos, a savoury bread pudding with artichoke hearts and prosciutto, and lots of hand pies (blueberry, cherry, and apple). No rhyme or reason but the idea of a July 4th brunch was novel in our neighborhood so, without any expectaions, we all had a good time. The rest is history.
Obviously, there are many more details I need to include about each party, and I promise, I will! Do any pique your interest? Let me know, and I’ll write that party up first. Thanks for reading! And celebrate a wonderful 4th of July! Happy 250th Birthday, America!
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