In honor of national friendship day I hosted a brunch for some of my friends from work. Molly recently left for a new job and I thought brunch would be a great way for a few of us to catch up.

Whenever I host a brunch I try and accomplish as much as I can the night before. Considering that I had a late night on Friday I wanted to allow myself as much time as possible to sleep in on Sunday, I picked all dishes that I could prep or bake the night before.

I landed on italian frittatas, french toast bread pudding and a mimosa bar.

I placed the mimosa bar in my living room along with some mini lemon poppy seed scones so people could sip and snack while we waited for everyone to arrive. I always feel the need to make sure everyone has a drink in their hand and access to food. That way while I’m still putting the finishing touches on brunch my guests can help themselves.

We ended up spending a lot of time in my living room catching up and chatting as we sipped our drinks. I think it’s the first time I’ve ever had to prompt people into the dining room to eat our food!

Since it was just the four of us i decided to keep the leaf out of our table and serve everyone table side instead of keeping the food out the whole time.

I didn’t get a chance to take a photo of the food before everyone swooped in but I did get a picture of the frittata post serving it.

This is my favorite dish to serve at a brunch because you can make it the night before, reheat it, and serve. It is such a timesaver and a truly delicious dish!

[Ingredients]

2 tbsp olive oil
4 oz of coarsely chopped prosciutto
1 clove of pressed garlic
8 oz of baby spinach
2 1/2 tbsp of coarsely chopped basil
1 1/2 cups of fontina cheese (you can with substitute gruyere if you want more of a European feel not just an Italian one)
8 eggs
1 1/2 cups of Half & Half
1/4 cup of Parmesan
Salt and Pepper

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease the pan you plan on using to serve your frittata.

Pour the 2 table spoons of olive oil into a large saute pan. Add the prosciutto and cook for 2-3 minutes making sure to separate the prosciutto into smaller pieces. Add the spinach and clove of garlic. Toss the spinach with the garlic and cover for 3-4 minutes until wilted.

Remove from heat and add the basil (I personally prefer to use frozen garlic and basil cubes from Dorot). Set aside while you make the egg mixture.

In a bowl, beat the eggs, half & half, 1/2 tbsp salt, and 1 tsp pepper. Fold one cup of the cheese into the mixture. Make sure not to over beat the eggs as the frittata will poof and then fall when cooling.

Place the spinach, prosciutto mixture in an even layer on the bottom of the pan before adding the egg mixture. Place the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese on top of the mixture and sprinkle the parmesan on top.

Bake for 20 – 25 minutes until puffed and golden brown on top.

If you want to serve this the next day place in in the refrigerator and reheat at 350 for 15 minutes. If the top is already pretty brown make sure to cover the top in aluminum foil.