Hi, We are having a Sunday Sundae Brunch next Sunday with homemade ice cream sundaes. There is also brunch, which will be pot luck I want to provide

Such fun to hear about; they must have had a BLAST!thx for the report and congrats for pulling that all together so successfully!

Hey,
We had a good time. When people came in, there were snacks and coffee and cold drinks.
I made individual bowls of ochazuke. A spoonful of whole grain Japanese rice, toppings added per the guest, topped with a fried quail egg and a cup of gen mai cha tea.
Chopped salad (thanks, AJ) and toasts. I got breads from The Silver Moon Bakery and toppings from Amanda Hesser's book Cooking for Mr. Latte, loosely... cocoa and chocolate bread topped with ricotta and chopped chocolate or chestnut honey, whole grain bread topped with green olive crema, caponata, cooked garlic cloves in olive oil and herbs, or peperonata crema, etc.

For dessert, orange custard chocolate chip ice cream with chocolate glaze made with cognac and tres leches ice cream, thyme toasted almonds.

Single malt scotch to finish the meal. Laphroaig.

Two of the guests stayed and did most of the dishes.

Most of the guests drank seltzer with a spiced pear syrup I got from Grandaisy. A few drank white wine and hot spiced cider and one drank the single malt before the meal. I forgot to warm the sake and it is waiting for another meal.

I encourage everyone to try the ochazuke. It's so easy! If you have rice, you have a meal.

Thanks for all of your suggestions... oxx, M

Sexy lambchops, I thought about this for a long time. First, if you think about this as soup, salad and dessert it may be easier to understand. Second, we are a group of physicians and physicians will eat anything at any time, if necessary using a tongue depressor for a fork/knife/spoon. It's just a different level of put together .... and AJ, I never stress about what people might bring because they may or may not even be able to come. Asking what they will bring is far beyond what I would consider possible. Still, we have a good enough time that this is our fourth annual. I really appreciate everyone's input and got some great ideas. oxx to this site always!!

Thank you, le bec fin! I had read that salad and wine are not a great combo but had forgotten--there will be other options as well as alcohol... kids'll be there. Plan Seltzers, juice and water. Tea for non coffee drinkers.

So many neat sounding things, meg, but i must say- wine and salad are an infamously yechy combination because of the acid in the vinegar, and i hope you'll offer some flavored Polar too.

Sake seems like a perfect match (my favorite hot or cold) with Ochazuke. I'm in CT and share your weather pains. Don't forget some Irish coffee (with baileys & Jameson's) yes, everyone has their own tastes. I hope you had a nice get together.

yikes, just re-read. ice cream, Asian rice soup & wine. are you sre about this menu?

Hmm, Ice Cream sundae Bar, Salad Bar & Wine? Makes my tummy hurt thinking about it.

OK, making ochazuke, saladand little toasts. This is great!! I am completely clueless about the wine (and perhaps wine is not the right drink for this menu?)

Love the salad mix-in idea, seeing that you'll be having the ice cream sundae bar. Perhaps you can bake or purchase some good bread, and leave out some spreads. I think that would about round things out.

AJ, makings for a big salad is a great idea! You are the best!

Sorry, that should be "lcb" not "LVC." Jumped the gun on that one, obviously. ;o)

LVC, you can save yourself a fair bit of worry by checking with the potluck guests to find out, now, what they're bringing. Some may ask for suggestions, based on what everyone else is bringing. In any event, have on hand everything you need (prepped) to put together a big salad; keep nuts on the side for people with allergies to add in. Small bowls of crumbled cheeses on the side are also a nice touch. I'd also make the base for my not-recipe quinoa salad, with roasted vegetable add-ins as well as some quick-pickled chard stems. (I posted a recipe for a lentil salad last week that includes instructions for making those. When using red stems, they make a bright addition to any winter salad. Use red quinoa if you go that route.) The best thing about making all these components is that, if you don't need them, you're all set for lunch and building some great dinner meals next week! ;o)

I love the resolution! (and will keep thinking!)

Lindsay, I did look at the round up. I'm interested in suggestions that might be a little lighter because of the sundaes... not a typical brunch offering. Great round up, btw!! Also I'm interested in a wine pairing for whatever dish I make. My only NY resolution was to drink more wine and learn along the way!!

There's a roundup of a lot of great suggestions for brunch dishes and drinks here: http://food52.com/blog/9574-how-to-do-brunch-right

Well for something that can be made ahead, breakfast casserole? I love the New York version in the Smitten Kitchen book if you have it, as you can make it the night before, it feeds loads of people, and it is veggie as smoked salmon goes on the side.