We all have our "go to" resources, The Good Housekeeping All-American Cookbook ©1987, is mine. 

I was cruising through looking for ideas this holiday season, when I landed on their New Years Brunch menu, for a group of 8.  To make it an extra special spread, for an extra special day, the menu suggest 3 different fruit juices, blueberry muffins AND coffee cake, and two-melon granitas.

Here's the entire menu and accompanying recipes for you to pick and choose from:

Fresh Fruit Juice
(orange, grapefruit & pineapple)
Country Brunch Pancakes
Breakfast Sausage Patties
Party Creamy Eggs
Blueberry Muffins
Pecan-Curmb Coffee cakes
Two-Melon Granita
Tropical Fruits
Coffee

PLANNING AHEAD

2 days ahead - Bake muffins and coffee cake. Make and freeze granita - soften to scoop, arrange scoops in bowl, then refreeze.

1 day ahead - Prepare fresh juices. Make sausage patties and pancake batter; cover and refrigerate.

Early in Day - Slice fruits and arrange on plate; refrigerate until ready to serve. Fry bacon and sausage patties; keep warm in oven, Make fig-maple syrup.

1 hour ahead - Make pancakes; arrange with sausage patties and keep warm in oven. Prepare mushrooms, avocados, and smoked salmon; begin cooking eggs; add bacon to accompaniments. heat muffins if you like.

RECIPES

BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 2/3 cups sugar
• 1 Tablespoon baking powder
• 3/4 Tablespoons butter
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon grated lemo peel
• 1/2 teasoon vnilla extract
• 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Grease muffin-pan cups.
2. In bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
3. With pastry blender or 2 knives used scissor-fashion, cut in butter until mixture resembles fine crumbs.
4. In small bowl, beat eg, ilk, lemon,peel, and vanilla extract until blended.
5. Stir egg mixture into flour mixture just util flour is moistened (batter will be lump.) Fold blueberries into batter. Spoon batter into muffin pan cups.
6. Bake 20-25 minutes until golden and toothpick inserted in center come out clean. Immediately remove muffins from pan. Serve warm or cool muffins on wire rack to serve later; reheat if desired.

PECAN-CRUMB COFFEE CAKES

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup butter
• 1/2 cup pecan halves, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2/3 cups quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats
• 1 Tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 cup milk

Directions:

1. In medium bowl with fork, stir brown sugar, cinnamon and flour. With pastry blender, or two knives used scissor fashion, cut in 1/3 cup butter into flour mixture until mixture resembles large crumbs. Stir in the chopped pecans; set aside.
2. Grease and flour two 8x8 baking pans. Preheat oven to 375 F.
3. In large bowl, mix sugar, oats, baking powder, salt, and 3 cups all purpose flour. With pastry blender or cut in remaining 2/3 cups butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
4. In medium bowl with fork, beat eggs with mild until blended; stir into flour mixture just until flour is moistened. Spoon batter evenly into pans. Evenly sprinkle pecan mixture on top of the coffee cakes. 
5. Bake 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool coffee cakes in an on wire racks 10 minutes; remove from pans. Serve warm. Or, to serve later, wrap cakes with foil and reheat in 375 F oven 35 minutes.

TWO-MELON GRANITAS

Ingredients:

• 2 cups water
• 1cup sugar
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1 ripe small cantaloupe (about 2lbs)
• 1 rip small honeydew melon (about 2lbs)
• Mint leaves for garnish

Directions:

1. In small saucepan over high heat, heat water and sugar to boiling. Reduce heat to medium, cook 5 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat; stir in lemon juice.
2. Cut cantaloupe into chunks. In blender at medium speed or in food processor with knife blade attached, blend cantaloupe until smooth.; pour mixture into 8 by 8 baking pan. Repeat process with honeydew melon; pour into another 8x8 baking pan.
3. Pour half of sugar mixture into each baking pan; stir until well mixed; cover pans with foil or plastic wrap and freeze melon mixture until firm, about 5 hours, stirring occasionally so mixture freezes evenly.
4. To serve, let the granitas stand oat room temperature about 3 minutes to soften slightly. With spoon, scrape across the surface of granitas in pans to create a pebbly texture. Soon some cantaloupe granita and some honeydew granita into each of 12 chilled dessert bowls. Garnish with the fresh mint leaves. 

BREAKFAST SAUSAGE PATTIES

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs pork shoulder blade roast - boneless cut into 1" cubes.
• 1/4 cup shopped parsley
• 21/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon rubbed sage
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

1. With food grinder using coarse cutting disk, rind cubed pork into large bowl.
2. Add the chopped parsley, salt, rubbed sage, and peper; mix well. Shape the mat mixture into patties.
3. In 12 inch skillet oer medium low heat, cook the patties about 25 minutes or until they are browned and well done.
4. Carefully turn the patties occasionally with pancake turner to ensure thy cook and brown evenly. Serve patties immediately.

COUNTRY BRUNCH PANCAKES WITH FIG MAPLE SYRUP

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 3 Tablespoons sugar
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda'1/2 cup milk
• 1 8oz container creamed cottage cheese
• 3 eggssgjt;u beaten
• 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
• Salad oil

Directions:

1. In large bowl, mix flour ad next 4 ingredients. Add milk, cottage cheese, eggs, and lemon juice; stir just until flour in moistened.
2.  Heat griddle or skillet over medium heat until drop of water sizzles; brush lightly with salad oil. Pour batter by scant 1/4 cupfuls onto hot griddle, making a few pancakes at a time; cook until tops are bubbly and bubbles burst;  edges with look dry. With pancake turner, turn and cook the pancakes until the undersides are golden; place on warm platter; keep pancakes warm.
3. Repeat until batter is used, brushing griddle with more salad oil if necessary. Serve with Fig-Maple syrup

Fig Maple Syrup: In 1 quart saucepan over high heat, heat 1 1/2 cups maple or maple-flavor syrup., 1/2 cup dried figs, finely chopped 4 Tablespoons butter, and 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel to boiling; reduce heat to low and simmer 3 to 4 minutes; keep warm.

Tropical Fruits: Mangoes, Persimmons, Papaya, Kiwi Fruits. Peeled and sliced. Arrange on a platter in a visually appealing way. 

PARTY CREAMY EGGS

Ingredients:

• 3 8oz packages of thick-sliced bacon
• Seasoned Avocados
• Sauteed Herbed Mushrooms
• 14 eggs
• 1/4 tablespoon pepper
• 6 Tablespoons butter
• 2 3oz packages of cream cheese, diced
• 3 3oz packages of sliced smoked salmon

Instructions:

1. Cook Bacon:

• Arrange bacon slices, overlapping slightly, on rack in broiling pan.
• Place about 5 inches from source of heat; broil bacon at 300F 10-15 minutes until golden.
• Turn bacon, separating slices.
• Broil about 10 minutes longer or until bacon is browned and crisp.
• Remove to paper towels to drain; keep warm.
• Meanwhile, prepare Seasoned Avocados; cover and refrigerate, stirring occasionally.

2. Prepare sauteed mushrooms; keep warm

3. Prepare cream-cheese scrambled eggs.

• In large bowl with fork, beat eggs and pepper until just blended. 
• In 12 inch skillet over medium high heat, melt butter. 
• Add egg mixture. As egg mixture begins to set stir slightly so uncooked egg flows to bottom
• When eggs are partially cooked, add diced cream cheese.
• Continue cooking until egg mixture is set but still moist.
• Remove from heat.
• To serve, spoon mixture into warm bowl, place on large platter. Arrange seasoned Avocados, sauteed mushrooms, bacon strips and smoked salmon around eggs on platter.

Seasoned Avocados:

In medium bowl mix 1T sugar, 3T white wine vinegar, 2T salad oil, 1T chopped parsley, and 3/4 t salt. Peel and remove seed from 2 large avocados. Cut avocados lengthwise in half, then crosswise into 1/4" thick slices. Add avocado and 1 2-oz jar of sliced pimentos, drained, to dressing in bowl; toss to coat well with dressing. Makes 2 cups.