At my bacon-and-bloody-mary brunch, besides the bacon, and the sausage and cheese bread pudding, I served -- naturally -- bloody marys. And as usual, I decided to reduce the amount of work and stress on my end by setting up a make-your-own bloody mary bar to let the guests do their own work.

I got the idea from East Coast Grill in Boston, where they have a fantastic (and they claim "the world's largest") make-your-own bloody mary bar at their very popular Sunday brunch. So instead of mixing up endless pitchers, I set out an assortment of juices: V8, tomato and clamato (I also had a back-up bloody mary mix, but nobody touched that). I put out the basics: vodka, ice, celery sticks, lemon and lime wedges, horseradish, tabasco, worcestershire sauce. And I also set out tons of extras to make it fun: black pepper, white pepper, cayenne, garlic-stuffed olives, different kinds of hot sauces, pickled green beans, hot peppers and more. People played around with all the ingredients, added a little of this, a little of that, and mixed up their own customized bloody marys, which was really entertaining -- and yummy.

So the next time you're hosting a brunch (maybe for Mother's Day?) try setting up a bloody mary bar and let your guests play bartender. It'll save you precious time and effort, and ensure a very lively brunch (just make sure you have plenty of vodka).