We had another successful Mother’s Day brunch at the Monro household. Every year, Claud makes me eggs Benedict for Mother’s Day and we eat these while sipping mimosas. We do the same thing for my birthday because this is my favorite meal. This time, it seemed like it was just going to be our family. By Saturday night, we hadn’t invited anyone over.

Then, before I knew it, we had about twenty people coming to our house for the feast. It began when Daphne asked if our friend’s Rick and Amy were coming. Then, she wanted her boyfriend’s family to join us. Next, I had to invite a few people who would have felt left out and hurt if I hadn’t. It snowballed into a big party. It was Daphne’s fault but we were fine with it. The more the merrier.

It’s amazing how people were free at the last minute once I mentioned Claud’s hollandaise. It is really that good. There is never enough. I always tell him to make double and every year, people want more and we run out. It’s probably for the best. We shouldn’t be eating that much egg yolk and butter in one meal. It’s just so delicious. Any time someone is new to Claud’s hollandaise, they cannot believe how good it tastes. I hear it every single time, “This hollandaise is amazing. How do you do it?” Claud tells the astonished guest how he makes it but I know they will never replicate his sauce. There’s something magic in how he does it. Believe me, I have tried. The only other person I know who can make a comparable hollandaise is Claud’s mom, Cherry. I can’t even eat anybody else’s hollandaise. It is never as good and always a disappointment.

The only problem was that by nine o’clock Sunday morning, we had not even bought the ingredients. So, Claud headed to the market while I cleaned the kitchen with Savannah. Oh, I forgot to mention, I have become the guardian of another teenager and she lives here with us now. I know, another teenager? Yes, and I love her with all of my heart. She’s an amazing addition to our household. I called and told Claud to buy roses for the moms who were coming as well. Then, I discovered that two of the people coming had birthdays that same day. Savannah and I quickly found our birthday decorations and frantically set them all up. I had to call Claud again to ask him to buy birthday cake. This was turning into a big celebration. Easter was Claud’s birthday. We seem to be having a lot of combination parties lately.

In addition to our eggs Benedict, we had warm croissants, sausages and smoothies. Claud bought a mountain of fresh fruit and we set two of our teenagers up with cutting boards and knives to chop them all up and toss the pieces into a large bowl. Then, we had them mix it all together before they placed them into several baggies in the freezer. This way, we could make smoothies as people wanted them. It worked out perfectly. Every time the blender was empty, we would ask if anyone wanted more smoothie and we could toss it together in no time.

Also, Daphne and I made fruit tarts. I am really getting into this whole baking thing. I haven’t given up yet. I have to say, it was another success and really easy.

Daphne found the recipe and showed me one night. I thought it would be a great addition to our brunch. So, we whipped them up. Daphne also made s’mores cupcakes. They had a graham cracker crust with chocolate in the middle and a melted marshmallow on top. People raved about the s’mores cupcakes. I am going to have her teach me how to make those. The tarts, s’mores cupcakes and birthday cake disappeared in no time. I don’t know how we had room after the eggs Benedict.

At the end of the brunch, which lasted until dinnertime, every last bit of food was eaten. We don’t have any eggs or butter left in our refrigerator. All of the champagne and orange juice is depleted. That is okay because I was able to walk away from the messy kitchen and rest while my family cleaned because that is how I roll on Mother’s Day.

Fruit Tarts:

Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Serves: 6

1 cup Bisquick mix

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon butter

6 ounces cream cheese, divided

• cup sugar

• cup sour cream

1 ? cups sliced fresh fruit and berries

1/3 cup apple jelly, melted

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Soften butter. Mix Bisquick, sugar, butter and 3 ounces of cream cheese in a small bowl. Divide dough into six parts and press into six tart pans or 6 ten ounce custard cups. Place on baking sheet. Bake 10 minutes until light brown. Remove from oven and cool. Combine the other three ounces of cream cheese, ? cup sugar and sour cream and mix until smooth. Spoon this mix into the tart shells. Top each with ? cup of fresh fruit. Brush with the melted jelly.