A Simple And Gorgeous Valentine’s Day Brunch At Home

We’re giddy as can be to welcome Heather Taylor—the LA-based founder of home goods line, Heather Taylor Home—to Glitter Guide to share her creative take on spending Valentine’s Day at home! Read on for Heather’s entertaining advice and tips that will have your own Valentine’s Day brunch looking just as cover-worthy as hers.

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner and I love to use this holiday as an excuse to express my appreciation for the people who really help me keep it together throughout the year: my girlfriends! So, this year I put together a romantic breakfast just for the ladies and called in some experts to help me make it beautiful and delicious.

Holly Vesecky is a great friend and the co-owner of Hollyflora, one of LA’s most innovative floral companies. I told Holly I wanted to create something fresh, yet traditionally gorgeous, for our V-Day brunch, and she delivered with her sculptural arrangement filled with pink and red classics. For menu inspiration, I called on Annie Campbell, who put together a menu that feels healthy, yet decadent, and extremely easy to put together—basically, no cooking required! And, of course, I just had to pull out a Scarlet Tablecloth (my favorite newly launched linen design!) to create a rich backdrop for the whole scene. So, grab some flowers, buy a couple of avocados and recreate this easy, beautiful brunch for the ladies in your life. I guarantee they will feel cherished.

The Floral Arrangements

For Valentine’s Day, we wanted to focus on flowers that are traditionally beautiful. Again, we worked with Holly Vesecky of Hollyflora, who used blooms like pink garden roses and peach poppies. For a hint of springtime, we added touches of blushing bride, double daffodils and peach ranunculus. Holly used a Fort Standard dish (but any Ikebana dish will do) with a floral frog, and was able to create structure by defining the arrangement with a few branches.

The Tabletop Design

My primary inspiration for the tabletop was to create something feminine and romantic—our Scarlet Tablecloth hit all the right notes. Shades of pink and red with hints of cheerful yellow felt like the perfect option for this most romantic of holidays.

When designing tables, I always love mixing patterns to create an unexpected contrast, so I went with our Gold Napkins, which also added a nice earthy feeling to the table when set against blush-hued plates (available through Hollyflora). Ultimately, my focus was on embracing the chicest parts of Valentine’s Day, while skipping the impulse to scatter the table with candy hearts. Japanese Brass Flatware from Lue Brass felt like we were adding a little bit of jewelry to the table, and all of the elements were anchored by Holly’s stunning centerpiece. What’s Valentine’s Day without drop-dead gorgeous flowers?

The Brunch Menu

For our Valentine’s Day brunch, I called on the beloved LA-based caterer Annie Campbell who put together a perfectly simple, yet special, menu. Heart-shaped avocado toasts are a cute spin on a fan favorite. Annie also served fresh berries and homemade granola alongside Greek yogurt for DIY parfaits. For “dessert,” guests enjoyed served heart-shaped toasts with Nutella and jam alongside a winter citrus platter topped with rose water and vanilla bean. And for cocktails, we mixed up Blood Orange Mimosas.

Winter’s Citrus Platter With Vanilla Bean

*Inspired by Prune, serves 4.

Ingredients:

• 1 oro blanco or pink grapefruit
• 4 blood oranges
• 4 navel or cara cara oranges
• 1 fresh vanilla bean, split and scraped

Directions:

1. To prepare citrus: Slice off the two ends of the orange where the stem was. With a paring knife, remove the skin and then slice into rounds.
2. To make the platter: Arrange citrus on the platter. Using your finger, dab the vanilla beans onto the citrus.
3. Tips: Citrus can be cut the day before and refrigerated, covered.

Watermelon Radish & Market Lettuces With Champagne Vinaigrette

*Serves 4.

Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 shallot, finely diced
• 1 tablespoon Champagne vinegar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1-2 teaspoons honey
• ½ – ¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• fleur de sel and pepper
• 2 watermelon radishes, peeled and thinly sliced
• 4 large handfuls of washed market lettuces, e.g. little gems
• Edible flowers, if you can find

Directions:

1. To make the dressing: Combine the shallot, mustard, vinegar and lemon juice with a pinch of salt. Let it rest for five minutes. Add honey, whisk, then slowly stream in extra-virgin olive oil until desired tart-to-sweet ratio.
2. To assemble the salad: Place watermelon radish in the bottom of a salad bowl and drizzle with a bit of dressing. Place half of the greens on top. Season with salt and pepper, toss and add more dressing. Add the rest of the greens, a pinch of salt and taste; add more dressing as needed. Finish with freshly cracked pepper and a sprinkling of edible flowers.
3. Tips: Dressing can be made a day or two in advance and kept refrigerated. The watermelon radishes can be prepared a day or two in advance and kept refrigerated.

Heart-Shaped Avocado Toast

*Makes 4.

Ingredients:

• 4 slices of whole-wheat or seven-grain bread, toasted
• 2 avocados, halved and pitted
• 1 lemon, quartered
• Maldon salt
• red chili flakes
• specialty equipment: heart-shaped cookie cutter

Directions:

1. Toast the bread and then cut the toast into hearts using a heart-shaped cookie cutter.
2. Scoop a quarter to a half of an avocado (depending on the size) onto the toast.
3. Using a fork, mash the avocado down.
4. Squeeze a quarter of a lemon onto each toast.
5. Top with a pinch of Maldon salt and a sprinkling of red pepper flakes. Enjoy!

Blood Orange Mimosa

*Makes one cocktail, multiply as needed.

Ingredients:

• 2 ounces of freshly squeezed blood orange juice, chilled
• 3 ounces of sparkling rose, chilled
• Meyer lemon twist for garnish, optional

Directions:

1. Pour blood orange juice into a Champagne coupe or flute.
2. Top with sparkling rosé or Champagne.
3. Make sure everything is well-chilled.
4. Garnish with a lemon twist. Cheers!