The Baby Shower...

If you've been following along with the last several posts then you are aware that I was hosting a baby shower brunch today.  And I've pretty much been up to ears in planning, test baking, and fretting for the past couple of weeks.

And, as a direct contradiction to my last post, I would do it again - for this particular mom-to-be especially - in a heartbeat.  All the work was totally worth it.

The large group of women that descended upon the house was an eclectic group to be sure - but we showered the mom-to-be with lots and lots of love.  And lots and lots of food.

Speaking of food, the recipe that I deemed perfect for the coffee cake was indeed perfect.  As promised, here's the recipe, which I found at the Bon Appetit website.  I also discovered this article over there - which explains how to make the perfect crumb topping - a skill that I was woefully lacking until now.

I also found the almost perfect Lemon Poppyseed muffin recipe - I say almost perfect because although they were heavenly they were very pale....they almost looked uncooked.  I did modify the recipe a bit.  I omitted the orange zest and juice, I just threw another lemon into the mix (and I'm glad I did!  One of the women is actually allergic to oranges - who knew that was a thing?  I'd never heard of it, have you?).  I think next time, I will throw a crumble on top of it.  Yes, I DO love a good crumb topping - don't judge.

The Husband's contributions were TWO breakfast casseroles and TWO frittatas - it's like he thought this was a gathering of men.  He left me with explicit instructions on what temperature and length of time to cook the casseroles and how to heat the frittatas.  In fact, as he was leaving he admonished me to not burn his casseroles.  I didn't.

But because it's me, there HAD to be one disaster...

His instruction regarding the frittatas was to stick them in the microwave to heat.  The first one went into the microwave and was warmed beautifully.  The second one - the one I really wanted to try (it was a spinach frittata - you know what a sucker I am for something with chopped spinach in it!) would NOT fit in the microwave.  So we decided to throw it in the oven for a few minutes.  And then the damn dish shattered!

It's not that the glass plate was too cold - I had taken it out in plenty of time for the dish to warm up prior to hitting the oven.  Maybe the dish wasn't oven safe?  Who knows.

We closed the oven and acted like nothing happened - very few guests were witness to this disaster.  After the shower the debris was cleared and the glass covered frittata was tossed, sadly.  The Husband has promised to make me another one soon.  Luckily, we had PLENTY of food so there was no reason to stress.

Coffee was made.  Lemonade and orange juice (the better to make mimosas with) were served in crystal pitchers - the ones I rarely use because of the animals I live with - this actually became a topic of discussion among some of the ladies.  We all agreed that we SHOULD use our beautiful things more often - and I am going to work on getting over the fact that one of the guys in the house might break it; but the truth of the matter is this:  it is most likely that *I* would be the one to break it; but at least I would have enjoyed it while I had it rather than letting it gather dust in the cabinet; only being brought out for special occasions.  Surely, I'm not the only one who does this?  It will definitely be something that I will try to do more often - use my pretty, beautiful things more often and enjoy doing so.

To call this shower a success is an understatement - this shower was the longest shower I've ever attended!  The last guest left around 4:00 pm - this shindig commenced at 11:30 am.  We talked, we laughed, we ate, we cried, we laughed some more and showered the mom-to-be with love and good wishes - all in all it was perfect.

As I type this missive, The Husband, Man-Child and The Girlfriend are watching "the" game.  If you know me at all, you know this is something that doesn't interest me in the least - so while they are enjoying themselves, I am doing something that I enjoy - it all works out.

And Man-Child is happy with the plethora of leftovers at his disposal - in addition to the food The Husband prepared for the game...all in all it's been a good Sunday - how was yours?  Are you watching the game?  Or are you, like me, hiding in another room - finding something else to do?