How nice it would be for mom on Mother's Day to have someone else cook her dinner. This is one of those days we usually take that special person to an over-crowded restaurant for a warmed-over meal. Even a small restaurant can serve more than a hundred meals on this busiest of days so as much pre-cooking as possible is done to where that chicken dish mom might order will likely have been partially grilled early in the day and finished off just before serving. How much nicer it would be to treat mom to a homemade meal that she'll remember for years to come. So, dear readers, make reservations at that restaurant on another day when the chef is actually there, and on the 13th of May, surprise Mother with a meal that the entire family will love.
What to make and how to serve it? Let's deal with the second question first. I'm a mother and grandmother, so I'll share with you what I would like as decorations. Go to your local garden center and purchase flowers that can be planted in the garden after the special day. Don't know what Mom likes? Shame on you! Do some investigative work talking to her friends. For my mother it was always easy, as every spring we would plants flats of geraniums, not just geraniums but also bright red ones mixed with white ones every so often. She loved them. Pots were planted with annuals in colors that made her garden a joy for her and my father. My children know what I would like, and surprise, surprise. . . it is very similar to what my mother planted each year. But, and there is a but, I also plant a large herb garden, and, growing up, children came to Mother's Day breakfast with baskets of seedlings mixed in with the colorful flowers we would nurture all summer. On our patio table, the centerpieces were always clay pots of brightly colored flowers. You can place a pot at each plate as we did in our pictures, or place them in the center of the tables with ivy, herbs, etc.
Want to add to the gifts? Go and talk to the experts at the Garden Center and buy the newest really good gardening tool. Don't have that much cash? Clean the gardening tools and sharpen those that need to be honed; all that takes is elbow grease. Put a ribbon around them and, voilá! Add a few packets of seeds and you have a special gift.
Now, for the food. We specifically selected food that even children can help dad prepare. We chose boneless, skinless chicken breasts because they are healthy, easy and quick to cook, and when marinated, they can star in a dinner menu. Many people ask us how to cook vegetables on the grill. And this month we share recipes for grilled vegetables including corn on the cob. We add store- bought French bread and, for dessert, something as special as mom. This is a tiramisu, made with raspberries so that it comes to the table looking like spring. To tell the truth, I saw a picture of this dessert in Bon Appétit, however the ingredients in that recipe were too high in fat for our use. So with thanks to those fine people, I have modified the recipe and if you note only 3 crystal dessert glasses on the table, that's because my husband took one at once and then ate the rest of the dessert within a few hours. He doesn't have diabetes so I guess he thinks low-fat is the same as no calories. We know better, don't we?
So readers, let's get to the market and purchase all the ingredients you need. Keep Mom out of the kitchen and make sure you include the children or grandchildren in this meal. Bon Appétit, Mom.
(for the recipes, click on The Recipes or click on the individual recipe above)
BSP
