Quick and Easy Mother's Day Menu

And some cookbook updates!

Mother’s Day brings out all levels of cooks! From the under 10 set, to those who may be quite skilled in the kitchen. My own kids are fond of the “Breakfast in Bed” technique, which is always the cutest, but a bit nerve-wracking balancing coffee, and a towering yogurt parfait on the same tray in bed, when you’ve just woken up. But I think they just love the idea that I have stayed in bed! They rarely see me this way, and for them this is how they want to show their love by forcing a bit of self-care on me. (I’m usually always up at 5 or 6 to get things going! )

So if your kids are looking to get themselves in the kitchen this year, this menu is a super easy one! Depending on their ages, a little adult supervision might be a good idea :)

The easiest Mother’s Day brunch menu! Add some fresh juice, coffee and a little salsa for the eggs and you’re DONE!

The Recipes:

• The Puffy Egg Bake: A classic at our house for brunch. A cross between scrambled eggs and a light-as-air souffle. But don’t let that intimate you, the batter is an easy one-bowl operation and then you pop it in the oven to bake the next day.

• Maple Glazed Rosemary Sausage. The yummiest thing that you cannot mess up. 3 Ingredients!

• Blueberry Muffins: Light and fluffy, almost like a cupcake. Loaded with warm blueberries that are perfect for melting a slab of butter. No mixer is required!

My Plans This Year:

Normally, I host a big Mother’s Day brunch for my own Mom, and our extended family, but this year I'm going to Mom and Dad’s house! Because this is the state of my living room and kitchen. It’s easier to leave everything as is, or what is known as a “Hot Set” than to break it all down, only to set it all up again on Monday! Yikes!

Cookbooks involve a lot of STUFF! But having all this stuff within arms reach allows you to move fast! This is good since we only have 13 days to shoot 101 recipes!

Dad to the Rescue!

Midway through the first day of the shoot, I realized I didn’t have enough fancy china for the holiday recipes. So Dad was sweet enough to drive over with the family china! When I saw the pictures I choked up a bit seeing a Thanksgiving plate piled high on my Italian grandmother’s plates, looking exactly the way my parents used to serve it when I was a kid. It took me back to our house in Connecticut circa, 1977.

Making it Personal

I’ve been really conscious about adding little pieces here and there of things that mean something to me in the photos (my gravy boat I bought when we hosted our first Thanksgiving, pieces I’ve hauled back from France from French brocantes, herbs and flowers from my garden. These are the touches that I think will elevate the book from just a collection of recipes, to recipes that are attached to memories of dishes we’ve enjoyed this house. It’s been fun to see the kids come home from school each day, look at the photo wall, and see all their favorites up there, almost like old friends waving back saying, “Remember me?”

Tricks of the Trade

I’ve also learned a few good tricks from the food stylist and food stylist’s assistant that I will be sure to share. I learned that you can haul yourself to the Farmer’s Market on Sunday, purchase some yummy artisan bread, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap (2-3 layers) and the following Saturday it will still be fresh! Amazing!

Or my personal favorite, created by the food stylist’s assistant, grip clips make excellent helpers for keeping the trash can open. With so much food being cooked and prepped, and the three of us in this kitchen, it’s a lot of trips to the trash to throw away scraps and things, and this makes it so much easier! Ha!

Yes artisan bread stays fresh wrapped in plastic and grip clips make great garbage can helpers!

How is George Faring?

Well, George doesn’t like it. He cannot understand where all the furniture went, why tall black things are everywhere, and who are these intruders?! We didn’t want to send him to the kennel, so his “at-home kennel” is Philippe’s office. He and Phil have been hiding out in there. But we had to give George a bit of a time-out because he kept getting into the trash outside trying to get at the chicken bones!

If I could just get to that trash can….a veritable feast awaits!

Eternally Grateful

Even though this shoot may be the hardest thing I’ve ever done in recent memory, I continue to be so grateful for the team of people that have come together to bring my vision to life. Each one has their own unique talent that has made each photo look exactly like how the recipe tastes and for that, I am eternally grateful! Happy Mother’s Day to all the other hard-working Moms out there! We got this! xxoo

Some fresh herbs from my garden sit on my window sill and give my joy while washing mounds and mounds of dishes! Try it it works! Ha!