kick back and indulge - shoes optional

we've done mother's day
every which way in the past:
we've spent many a celebration at
at a nice restaurant,
enjoying dinner with both my
mom and grandmother.
we've toasted to all moms
at an italian restaurant
in boston,
on the evening before
blair's graduation
from grad school
and we've gone
to hotels for their
buffets, filled with large
chilled shrimp,
crab legs
and omelets to order.

but, as most often is the case,
the best celebrations have
been at home,
with our shoes kicked off,
wearing whatever,
eating food that we've prepared
and having the luxury
of talking and laughing
as loudly as we wish.

that's how we spent sunday:
waking up early and tossing
on jeans,
drinking coffee on the way
down and then perching ourselves
at the island in my mom's
kitchen, telling stories,
talking and discussing
the dishes we were about to
eat in a way that would make
one think we were feeding 20,
not six.
as my mom and i debated the benefits
of baking both her dishes
at the same time,
i made a salad,
feeding erin a nibble of each
item - a square of beet,
a crumble of feta, a broken
toasted walnut, watching her
face for reaction - and my mom
fielded two calls from
blair regarding the bagels.

my grandmother came -
she exchanged large hanging
potted plants with my mom
and before we ate,
both sisters tried on dresses
belonging to the other one,
for rehearsal dinners and
college formals that they
had coming up this week,
sampling different shoes
and different pieces
of jewelry from my mom, me
and each other, turning yet another
get together into a fashion show.

and in the background,
the house began to smell
warm, like bubbling cheese
and sweet caramelizing cinnamon,
until the timer went off,
everyone changed back into
the clothing they came in
and we sat around my mom's
large square table, somehow
just the right size for us and
all of the food.

the savory:
a recipe that my mom makes
about once a year - because really
there are few ways to rationalize
baking the casserole more often
that that. her best friend,
judy, gave us the recipe,
originally obtained from judy's
husband, alan's side of the family.
my mom has made it for
new year's day mornings
and
special occasion breakfasts,
and last year, i made it for
a monster brunch that we hosted.
white bread (the only time we ever
actually have white bread),
butter,
eggs,
milk,
sharp cheddar cheese
and spices
sit together overnight and then
puff until golden and bubbling
in the oven.
it is rich, eggy,
gorgeously cheesy
and with a crowd,
there will be none leftover.
while i'm sometimes hesitant
to endorse a dish,
thinking, i know i love
it, but that doesn't mean
you will,
i think with this one i have
to say, you won't regret it.

the sweet:
a new dish this year,
that i must say, my mom was
very excited about.

it was a recipe from paula deen -
who hysterically,
my mother, who is probably
the healthiest cook i know,
is in love with (so much
so that i have very seriously
been tasked with getting paula
to attend an important upcoming
birthday of my mom's. i was given a four
year head start for this mission
and about
8 months in, i started to panic
that my mom was very serious
and paula, not so much up
for coming. when i mercifully
ended up at a press
event with paula, promoting
her sons' cookbook,
i accosted the poor woman -
along with her husband, michael
and sons, jamie and bobby, to boot -
with a birthday card
and begged for signatures,
birthday messages
and good wishes.
they really are as nice
as they seem and paula,
who had kicked off her uncomfortable
high heels in the middle
of what was formerly
david burke and donatella,
grabbed my pen,
told me i was a good daughter,
asked me to hold her glass
and obliged.
i held onto the card for four
months and then realized that
if i waited three years until
the aforementioned important birthday -
still, in present day, over one year away -
i would lose the card.
so i presented it 36 months early
and it is now framed in her kitchen.).

wow. did you get all that?
anyway, i believe that it is
her adoration for paula
that makes her try recipes
that by any other food network
celeb (yes, sandra lee, i'm looking
at you), would probably
be ignored.

the mother's day experiment
was the ultimate coffee cake,
frozen, thawed ready-to-rise rolls
are layered in a bundt pan
with cinnamon, pecans and a
whole mess of other ingredients.
once covered with a tea towel,
it's left to rise overnight - my mom
confessed
to rushing to look at it
in the morning and feeling
extreme excitement when she saw
that it had risen high. see,
this is where i get it from.

once baked, it is like the most
wonderful cinnamon bun
you have ever had,
minus all of the work.
even better, no fussy cutting
or slicing, you can just pull
apart the rounds with your
hands or a fork.
because my mom followed the recipe
pretty closely, except
for adding raisins and sprinkling
some pecans on the bottom of the
pan before adding the rolls,
i'm just going to give you
the link here.
if you have any questions,
just ask.
she's on standby.

judy's cheddar egg bake
because i'm a big fan of make-aheads, i strongly advise preparing this the night before and storing the dish in the fridge. take the casserole out about an hour before you plan to bake and then let it come up to room temperature.

10 slices white bread, crusts removed
unsalted butter
2 cups milk
8 large eggs, beaten
16 ounces sharp cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon hot sauce

butter bread. cube bread slices. in mixing bowl, combine bread cubes, milk, beaten eggs, cheddar cheese, dry mustard and hot sauce.

transfer mixture to a 9 x 13 buttered casserole dish. cover and place in the fridge. let sit at least 2 hours or preferably overnight.

heat oven to 350˚f. bake 45 minutes or until casserole is puffed, the top is golden brown and the mixture is baked through. it's great with a few drops of hot sauce on top.

family-approved mother's day cake

years ago, i was watching a special

on the food network -

which one, i would never be

able to tell you now.

they featured lady m confections

in nyc,

and more notably,

their 

lady m mille crepe cakes.

the cake was 

really just a stack of

whisper thin crepes,

cemented together

by cream,

but it looked gorgeous,

and extremely light,

and

like a cake i could 

actually make:

no filling to level

off while assembling, no

reason to perfectly sculpt

buttercream or ganache

around the outside

of a cake, dealing

with crumb coats, an

offset spatula or a twitchy hand.

and it looked like it would

be lovely.

so i set the cake in the back

of my mind, wondering

if there would ever be an 

occasion or time in my 

life in which i would rationalize

the $75 price tag of a 9" crepe cake.

yes, constructing the cake seemed

easy enough, but actually making 

the crepes?

i didn't know. i imagined a pile

of crepe pieces piling up on

my cutting board, me crying

alongside them.

but then, as always happens,

several years later,

the day came

that we had to make crepes

in school.

it was the same morning

that we had to make a perfect

waffle, two types of granola

and assemble a smoked salmon

platter, so luckily, i was

able to put all of my mental 

focus into these ultra thin

wraps.

the first one was a bust.

it set before i was 

able to tilt the pan.

with the second, i tilted

fast enough,

but the flipping got me.

the third? was fine.

i made crepes all morning,

rolling brandied apples

into some, folding

sauteed veggies into

others, spreading them

with butter and sprinkling 

cinnamon sugar.

i could make crepes.

who knew?

four months after i graduated,

i insisted that we ask for a

crepe pan on

our wedding registry.

i would make crepes all the time.

with one quick click of the gun

it was maybe ours and months

later, my mom gave it to us

as part of a baking collection.

around the same time,

gourmet published a recipe 

for this cake.

i couldn't believe it and 

i immediately tried to dream

up reasons to make it myself.

then i started a new job,

we were in full-on wedding

mode and dinner parties

fell by the wayside.

before i knew it, fall and

winter were here and 

this cake really seemed

more like a spring or summer

type of dessert.

but two weeks ago, when my mom

told me her 

mother's day brunch menu

and asked for possibly a dessert

and salad,

i knew what i was bringing.

i reread the recipe and thought,

i really can do this. it will

be fine. i can flip.

still, i had to work the day 

before and so i made a decision

to leave the evening open,

just in case it took until

nightfall to really get enough

usable layers.

the batter was so easy -

i just put everything into a blender

and whirled it all together. 

then, i brushed the pan 

with butter,

turned the heat to medium-high

and counted to 10.

the first one went in fine, 

but flipping was a disaster.

same for the second.

my nightmare was coming true.

after that, i didn't have any problems.

sure, some would bubble slightly,

some set before they were able

to bridge the tiny holes in the 

center of the crepe and at times,

i thought i was going to lose more,

but i didn't.

i became more and more excited

as the finished crepes

stacked up in a pile,

blessedly not sticking together,

tearing or creating a ruckus.

the hard part was over. 

now i just had to make the filling.

the original recipe was orange-infused,

which i just didn't think

was really so us, as a family.

my original plan was to make the cake

almond-flavored, using almond extract

in the crepes 

and amaretto in the cream.

but, at the last minute,

i decided to keep the crepes themselves

unflavored. and as an even more

last minute decision,

when i was digging through the

liquor cabinet for the amaretto,

cream and confectioners' sugar already

in the bowl

(very bad mise en place, i know),

my eye caught the coffee liquor

from starbucks and i changed my

mind again.

i built the crepe confection

on the bottom of a cake carrier.

not pretty, but the sturdiest

solution for traveling (and i

had all these grand plans for

transfering the cake just

before serving the next day,

but that never happened. 

and no one complained 

about presentation).

at first i was worried that

the cake would be too short,

but as i spread and layered,

it built up nicely.

i love that this cake is best

made ahead of time.

i simply covered it

and let it be until

the next morning when

it was carefully held

for the hour-long

drive and then immediately

placed back in the fridge.

a couple hours after our

delicious and very fun brunch -

which i will tell you more about

later this week -

i carefully sliced the cake.

when i saw the perfectly

lined cake, i gasped a sort of weird sound

(it was a yes! aha! and ooh! all rolled together)

when i pulled out the first wedge, 

so exicted to see what it looked like inside.

but the best part was two seconds later,

when my family saw it 

and made the same sound.

the cake was just sweet enough

and very light,

the perfect end to a not so light brunch.

the coffee flavor came through

just enough to make the couple

of tablespoons worth it,

and the fresh strawberries

that my mother served

alongside were the perfect

juicy foil.

while i had been worried that 

the cake would be too small,

it took just half  

a cake to serve

six of us.

when we were driving

home later in the day,

a slice in my mom's fridge,

a large wedge heading back

to college with my sister,

i bravely said something

that i've said before,

but this time, i think i mean it:

i'm ready to make more crepes.

coffee cream crepe cake

adapted from gourmet magazine

my two favorite things about this cake are: you can make this up to a day ahead of time and you can really change the flavor profile to better suit your own style. i think lemon zest would be lovely in the crepe batter and the cream, i'd still love to try the almond and i bet you could turn the filling to a chocolate one. in the end, my cake was 14 crepes tall (i forgot to count every time there was a counting opportunity. luckily, my family obliged and each person counted their slices before eating), but i also lost the first two and i'm convinced that had i not overpoured on one, the last crepe could have been a full round and i would have had 17. regardless, i'd make the full amount of whipped cream and serve extra on the side.

6 large eggs

1 cup whole milk

3 cups chilled heavy cream, divided

1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup confectioners' sugar, divided

1 large pinch salt

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

2 tablespoons coffee liqueur, like starbucks

in blender, blend eggs, milk, 1/2 cup heavy cream, 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract, flour, 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar and salt.

brush a 10" nonstick pan or crepe pan with melted butter (i used a 9 1/2" crepe pan). turn heat to medium-high and heat pan until hot (i found that somewhere between medium and medium-high was a better heat - play until you find what works well for your stove). pour in a scant 1/4 cup crepe batter, turning and tilting pan to coat (if it sets too quickly, turn it down for the next crepe). cook 15 to 45 seconds, or until the crepe is golden and the underside is just set. use spatula to loosen edges and using the spatula and your fingertips, carefully flip crepe. cook 15 to 45 seconds more, or until golden brown and set. place crepe on plate. repeat with remaining crepes, using melted butter as necessary and stacking finished crepes on top of each other as you go.

(while i usually don't measure when i don't have to, i did use a 1/4 cup batter each time to make sure that i maximized the amount of crepes i was able to make from one batch. pouring the batter from the blender into a dry (crazy, i know) measuring cup, was very easy and surprisingly unmessy.)

in large bowl, use electric beaters to beat together remaining heavy cream, vanilla extract, confectioners' sugar and coffee liqueur. beat for several minutes or until peaks form when you lift the beater out of the whipped cream.

place on crepe on a serving plate. carefully spread crepe with about 1/4 cup whipped cream (here, i didn't measure). top with second crepe and repeat with whipped cream. repeat stacking and spreading, finishing with a crepe layer. carefully cover cake; chill 4 hours or up to 24 hours. sprinkle with confectioners' sugar before serving. serve with fruit, if desired.

business trip breakdown

the night before

i "suggest" that he just

skip the trip.

they'll understand, i say.

he suggests back, that he 

can, but probably,

as a result,

could lose his job.

he gives me the option.

i say he should go.

day 1

he leaves at four in the 

morning. 

after work that night,

i go out to dinner

with friends,

at sushi lounge in hoboken.

i get my favorite spicy scallop roll.

at home, i watch 13 going on 30,

fall asleep with the tv

on and honestly, rather enjoy the day.

day 2

i have a hard day at work. 

i planned to cook for jenn, but

cannot get myself near the kitchen.

we go out for dinner and laugh

the whole time. somehow, 

it took us hours to eat what

it took others an hour to enjoy.

the lights turn off while we're still

cooking our noodles.

i realize, at the end of the meal

that i never opened the diet coke

i had asked for,

and to my surprise,

came in a can. 

i toss it in my pocketbook.

day 3

i wake up determined to cook

jenn breakfast. i peruse all

my cookbooks, checking

off each item that i didn't have:

spinach,

ricotta,

berries,

cheddar,

tomatoes.

sadly, the list goes on.

i leave jenn with a plateful

of concord and muscat grapes

and decide to make goat cheese

frittatas. they are a disaster.

my new mini pans smell like they're

burning. the eggs, are, in fact,

burning. i dump them in the

garbage and feel inadequate.

later, that night,

i wait with my father for 

my sister and her boyfriend

to return from cancun.

we get a text that says,

how's asia star for dinner? 

totally craving sushi.

so we go.

here, i have my other favorite roll:

snow white, which is white tuna over spicy yellow tail.

i don't speak to larry until after nine.

it's been hours since i've

started worrying that something

unspeakable has happened.

he's fine. just working.

day 4

i wake up and i have no 

idea where i am.

i realize that i'm in my 

sister's bed and have actually

slept until after 10, shocking

on many levels.

my sister and father and

i visit what about a bagel?

and i have delicious

whitefish salad on a flagel.

i remember how much i 

like whitefish salad.

later, my mom and i discuss

salts, and the merits

of different kinds,

for at least 10 minutes.

my sister looks...bored.

when larry calls after 5,

i'm grumpy for no reason 

and am not up for

talking. when he calls

back at 7:30, before going

to dinner, i feel guilty

and try to be a better

conversationalist.

i think about watching

the amazing race,

but it doesn't seem right

without him.

that night i cannot sleep.

day 5

i have a normal day at

work. when i drive

home,

it's pouring. 

i drive carefully,

and make the 

decision to just sort of

sit and not do anything.

it's hard.

i'm bored.

i'm tired of his

business trip.

day 6

i have a very weird

day at work, accompanied

by an odd schedule.

i find myself without

anything to do from 12:30-4.

i run errands and then realize

there is not enough time

to go home before

i have to go back to work.

i buy magazines and head

to mitsuwa, excitedly.

i order, what is deemed,

a side dish of 

rice,

crab flakes

and 

ikura

for lunch.

it is $2.95.

i'm in heaven.

then i realize i didn't 

get a drink.

in a rare moment of clarity,

i reach into my bag,

and pull out the 

can of diet coke from friday night.

i read food and wine and

stop for an extra second

at the sweet potato and andouille pie,

wondering why some recipes

just immediately suck me in and

others take a long time

to seem like a good idea.

at 11:15 that evening, i'm driving home from

work. it's raining again.

i'm very tired.

and i realize, i miss larry a lot.

i'm ready for him to come

home, for us to hang out

and for this going away

business to be done,

at least until june,

when he's headed for berlin.

once home, i cannot sleep.

i watch all of american

idol and housewives of new york

city. i hate kelly. i realize

that i really want to make larry something

to welcome him home, something

that i would never normally make,

something that is very obviously,

just for him.

i remember the extravagant savory

sweet potato pie and know that it

will be his welcome home meal. 

i have a plan. i can sleep.

day 7

i drive home from work in the rain.

once i get there, i learn that i didn't 

actually have cornmeal for the crust

like i thought i did. 

it's pouring now.

i decide that this pie will 

have to be made in my standard pie shell.

but i'm bummed.

i roast the sweet potato. 

the recipe had called

for several small, 

but i, 

not paying attention,

had bought one 1-pounder. 

after 45 minutes,

it's still hard as a rock. 

i up the temp to 400˚f

and cook the sucker for 30 minutes more.

then, i have to wait a long time for 

it to cool.

in the meantime,

i mix together the crust, chill it, roll it out

and realize that it is so hot in the kitchen,

there is no way for the finished

product to be tender and flaky.

i chill the dough, in the pie plate

for 30 minutes,

before filling with dried beans 

and baking.

i remove the plate from the oven

to cool and

a little piece breaks off (not ideal).

i taste it and am glad for the extra

chilling. the texture is perfect.

somehow, it is now late. 

i'm sleepy.

i debate stopping at this point

and preparing the filling

the next night, but i realize

how much i would regret it 

in the morning. 

i make the mixture, which

is ridiculously easy (and to me,

ridiculously indulgent)

and at 10:34,

place the pie in the oven.

as i'm putting it on the rack,

i think, this looks like 

melted velveeta cheese.

when it comes out of the oven,

4o minutes later,

i think, this looks like

cooked velveeta cheese.

i leave it out to cool.

3 in the morning, i am woken up

from the couch by larry,

home almost 7 days to the hour

after he left.

i stumble to wrap the pie

and

put it in 

the fridge.

the next day

i am disappointed to realize

the store doesn't have mustard

greens that i wanted to make the 

accompianing salad.

i buy kale instead.

i get home and the house smells

delicious, like a spicy

simmering marinara sauce.

did you cook, i ask?

yes!

we argue for a few minutes

over whose meal we will eat,

both of us advocating for the 

others person's dish.

we decide on his because he 

added shrimp to his sauce.

a minute later, we learn

that not only did we both make

dinner, we also both

ran the dishwasher that morning.

the next next day

i go to a different store

that has mustard greens.

i'm excited.

we heat up the pie

and i toss together a very

easy simple salad

of mustard greens, apple

and toasted pecans in a 

homemade buttermilk dressing.

the pie, thank goodness,

does not taste anything like

velveeta.

the crust is incredibly flaky,

the filling so smooth

and creamy and the dots

of andouille, spicy,

but not overwhelming.

the soft supper is perfectly

balanced by the crisp cool

salad.

we eat dinner in our pajamas,

sharing a bottle of beer

and

watch the yankee game.

sweet potato and andouille pie

adapted from food and wine magazine

the original piecrust called for cornmeal, which i think would have been delicious. i used my traditional crust, which i've provided the recipe for here. if you're one of those freaky people (like me) who tastes the raw dough, don't be alarmed if the crust tastes overly salty, it will even out by the time it's baked. also, i used turkey and chicken andouille instead of the traditional pork. i think it worked out well. other than that, i obeyed the recipe pretty well. i very, very much wanted to reduce the cream to whole milk, or at least half and half, but i was very worried that it would break in the oven.

1 pound sweet potatoes, scrubbed and pierced with a fork

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

10 tablespoons unsalted butter, chopped and chilled until ready to use

2-3 tablespoons ice cold water

3 links chicken-turkey andouille sausage (about 9 ounces), chopped

1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped

2 large cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

1/2 teaspoon ground sage

1 cup heavy cream

fresh ground pepper

3 large egg yolks

heat oven to 400˚f. wrap sweet potato in aluminum foil and roast potato 1 hour, or until tender. unwrap and let cool. 

reduce oven temperature to 350˚f.

meanwhile, in food processor, combine flour, salt, sugar and butter; pulse just until pebble-like pieces form. with motor running, drizzle in 2 tablespoons ice water; process just until mixture comes together. if you feel the mixture needs a bit more liquid, drip in a drop at a time. remove dough from mixer and flatten into a disk; wrap in plastic wrap and chill 30 minutes. on floured surface, using rolling pin, rolling out dough into 13" round; transfer dough to pie plate by rolling dough around rolling pin and unrolling in plate. gently press dough firmly into plate. tuck overhang under. at this point, if you feel it is very warm in your kitchen or the dough has gotten too warm, place pie plate in fridge and chill 30 minutes more.

prick bottom crust several times with fork. cover dough with foil; fill with dry beans. bake 30 minutes or until crust is barely set. remove foil and dry beans. bake 10 minutes more, or until the crust is dry and very lightly brown. let cool.

in large skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat, cook andouille 5 minutes, or until golden brown, stirring occassionally. add onion, garlic and dried sage; cook 5 minutes more, or until softened. let cool slightly.

peel sweet potato; place in food processor. add cream and puree until very smooth. season with salt and pepper. add egg yolks and process until incorporated. transfer the filling to a large bowl and stir in andouille mixture. transfer to crust, smoothing top. bake 45 minutes, or until the filling is set (this took me 40 minutes). let cool on rack 20 minutes; cut and serve. you can also make it ahead, cool completely, cover and chill in the fridge. reheat in oven.

mustard greens with apple, pecans and buttermilk dressing

adapted from food and wine magazine

the recipe that runs in food and wine features watercress, but mentions the donald link, the original creator of the recipe for his new orleans' restaurants, uses mustard greens. i am a huge fan of the spicy green, much more so than watercress, so i jumped at the chance. if you're not a fan of the leaves, try it with watercress or even romaine. i added toasted pecans and played with the proportions of the dressing, which in the end, i was glad about. it's extremely light - and gives the greens a very light coating. if you like your salad very dressed, i would make more of the dressing.

1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1 pinch sugar

kosher salt

black pepper

2 tablespoons corn oil

1 bunch mustard greens (about 10 ounces)

1 large granny smith apple, cut into matchsticks

1/4 cup pecans, broken into large pieces and toasted

in small bowl, whisk together buttermilk, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper; drizzle in corn oil, whisking constantly. 

stem mustard greens; tear leaves into bite-size pieces. combine greens with apples and pecans; drizzle with dressing and toss to combine just before serving.