Belinda Smith-Sullivan - Lets Brunch: 100 Recipes for the Best Meal of the Week

W e are becoming a brunch culture. Be it brunch deux, a brunch buffet, or a group of friends hanging out on the patio around a harvest table, eating frittatas and drinking Bellinis, it is a concept that is here to stay!

In my opinion, brunch is the most creative meal because there are no rulesas menu offerings can range from a full array of breakfast items to steak and potatoes and everything in between. Its why more and more restaurants serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner simultaneously all throughout the day. I prefer brunch as an entertainment option because it is and always has been entertaining lite. The ingredients and beverages are usually very simple. You are not competing for guests timewho usually have several invitations and commitments for their Friday and Saturday nights. And the hosts and guests are more relaxed.

For me it all started in New York years ago when I lived in a six-floor walkup apartment. I could get friends to come every Sunday and climb the endless stairs for a champagne brunchthat, by the way, did not break the bank!

Fast forward many years to culinary school. Of the many experiences I was exposed to, cooking techniques, international cuisines, food science, butchering skills, nutrition, food safety, and etc., one of my favorite experiences was my externship at the Marriott in Charlotte, North Carolina. I was a prep cook, which meant I spent nine hours a day peeling, chopping, slicing, and cutting up stuff. There were days when I would prep several cases each of cantaloupes, pineapples, and honeydew melons, not to mention dipping over 500 strawberries in chocolate, in addition to all of my other duties. This lasted for weeks until I caught my big breakthe opportunity to work the omelet and waffle station in the dining room during a Sunday brunch!

The excitement lasted all of ten minutes until I learned working that position meant I had to arrive at 5 a.m. to cook speed racks full of bacon and sausages and giant-size pots of grits and oatmeal. Only then would I have the privilege of standing, for four hours, in the middle of the dining room flipping omelets and making waffles.

On my first day at the omelet station, it became evident to me why what I did as a prep cook was so important. The dining room was packed, the buffet was stuffed with everything imaginable to eat, and there was a high level of energy and laughter around the room. And in the years since my externship, I have witnessed this same energy in brunch settings everywhere. This is evidence of the popularity of brunchit just makes you happy!

But to what can we attribute this Sunday madness we call brunch; a blend of the words breakfast and lunch? The theories abound. Some think it is a tradition that started as far back as the late nineteenth century and has roots in Englands lavish, multi-course hunt breakfasts. Others assume that it derived from the practice of Catholics fasting before Sunday mass and communion then returning home to feast on a large midday meal.

The tradition caught on in the United States before WWII when transcontinental trains stopped in Chicago to allow passengers to enjoy a late Sunday morning meal offered by many local hotels. Restaurants, that were closed on Sundays, soon began offering decadent spreads accompanied by signature morning cocktails like mimosas, Bloody Marys and Bellinis. Also, after WWII, many women entered the workforce and brunch was a way to give these working wives and mothers a much needed relief from cooking on Sundays. Thus, the rise in the popularity of the Sunday brunch.

Brunch has been a tradition in the south for many years. It was a way to fellowship after attending church service on Sundays, and it still is a way for bringing people together.

Just observe the long lines and wait periods trying to get into your favorite restaurant on Sunday afternoon. No doubt about it, going out to brunch is a treat you give to yourself. But inviting friends and family into your home for a warm and inviting brunch is a shared and cherished experience for everyone.

Brunch is proving to be ever evolving. With the elevated interest in sports-going, brunch has even manifested itself in stadium parking lots in advance of game time. Not to mention food trucks that have forged a way for themselves into this fray. There is no end to where this brunch culture is taking us! Whether its to honor Mothers Day, a cooking break during the holidays, or to sweep away the cobwebs of a long week.

Brunch just might become the new dinner party. Celebrate it!