The secret to a successful brunch party is to get some of the cooking done in advance. Here are two dishes that can be prepped ahead of time and will wait around for a while, writes DOMINI KEMP

I ALWAYS FANCY THE idea of having people over for brunch, but then again, I always worry that guests would forgo their usual breakfast in an effort to arrive hungry and determined to eat whatever spread had been laid out. I fear that the morning munchies would take over, so guests would arrive making sorry excuses having stuffed themselves with tea and toast. And I wouldn’t blame them. Waiting for hours to go to someone’s house for brunch – which may end up being served much later than lunch – could mean plummeting sugar levels and severe bouts of crankiness.

But sometimes people get it spot on. Good friends of ours recently had us over for scrambled eggs and loads of bacon, roast tomatoes, sausages and toast, followed by cheeses and more toast. It was absolute heaven (thanks Rob and Jan) and perfect for just us lot, four adults and four children.

But the idea of grilling bacon, frying sausages and making scrambled eggs for a large group is a bit of a pain. That’s when things such as frittatas can be worth their weight in gold because you really need food that can be made in big batches, but things that don’t necessarily require plates and cutlery. Maybe just hefty napkins and side plates, if even.

Here are recipes for two such things. The first is a delicious salad made with soft boiled eggs and plenty of tasty additions, which was lovely served on some rye bread. Naturally you could serve it on your favourite brown bread also, but there is something nice and Scandinavian about these flavours, especially with a slice of smoked salmon draped over the top.

The other recipe, for the potato casserole, came from a Finnish cook book and it set so well, that you could slice it up and serve it like a frittata. It was a little dull tasting, so we ended up adding some grated cheddar to the mix, but I would even suggest going a step further and sweating off loads of lardons and adding them to the mix, or lots of diced ham and spring onions or chives.

And remember, Bloody Marys are always good to fill people up, as long as you season them with plenty of horseradish sauce, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco and a good hunk of celery, as well as lemon juice and black pepper.

Curried egg salad with smoked salmon on rye

Serves 8

8 eggs

Salt and pepper

2 sticks celery, very finely diced

1 small red onion, peeled and very finely diced

1 red chilli, seeded and very finely diced

Approximately 3 tbsps mayonnaise

2 tsps Indian curry paste

Small bunch dill

8 slices rye or brown bread

8 slices smoked salmon

Put the eggs in a large saucepan and cover them with cold water. Put the pot on the heat and bring it up to a simmer for six minutes, then turn off the heat and plunge the eggs into lots of cold water.

When they are cold, peel the eggs and grate them into a bowl. Add some seasoning, the celery, red onion and chilli. Mix together the mayonnaise and curry paste and then add it to the eggs. Add the dill, check the seasoning and set it aside. It’ll be fine in the fridge for an hour. Spread some egg on to each piece of bread and top with some smoked salmon.

Serve with lots of black pepper.

Potato casserole

Serves at least eight

Good knob of butter

2 eggs, beaten

280ml milk

1 tbsp flour

Salt and pepper

3 large potatoes (about 450g each)

200g cheddar

Few slices of ham, finely diced

Small bunch parsley, roughly chopped

Preheat an oven to 180 degrees/gas mark four. Generously butter a gratin dish measuring approximately 28cm x 16cm and season it with a little salt. Whisk together the egg, milk and flour, and season really well. Peel the spuds, then grate them and add to the egg and milk mixture. Add half the cheddar, the diced ham and parsley and then pour the mixture into the gratin dish. Sprinkle the remaining 100 grammes of cheddar on top.

Bake for at least an hour. I left mine in the oven until it was golden brown and crispy on top, but it took 75 minutes. Allow it to cool, but slice while warm and serve with some smoked salmon and a dollop of crème fraiche.

This is a very tasty carbohydrate accompaniment that’s great to serve and easier than dauphinoise once you’ve got the pesky grating bit out of the way.

Domini recommends: A bowl of the spaghetti alle vongole, or spaghetti with clams (if, like me, you have no Italian), in Juniors on Bath Avenue, in Dublin 4. Loads of garlic, chilli, great olive oil and salty clams. Every time I eat this dish, I think it could be my death-row meal