Mom's Day Brunch

            Mother’s Day is next Sunday. Remember to call your mom! This is my third year with no mother to call, so I’m hyper-aware of it.

            I would love to spend the day with my kids and grandkids, but this year it simply can’t happen. My perfect day would be have a late breakfast with the whole gang, maybe eggs benedict and fresh fruit. I’d even cook it. Then to spend the day together, maybe take the grandbabies to the park or to the zoo. Maybe a barbeque for dinner. Nothing fancy, as long as everyone can be there.

            Years ago, my greatest mother’s day wish was to have a day to myself. A day off. At that time, the kids were in their “tweens”. Our weekends were filled with little league, dance team, home projects, and my husband’s band. Weekdays, there was work and school. Free time was nearly non-existent. So, when they asked me what I wanted as a gift, I told them. “Don’t spend any money. What I would really like is to spend the afternoon doing nothing…no laundry, no phone calls, no cooking.”

            Of course, doing nothing doesn’t mean literally doing nothing. I read the best parts of the Sunday Oregonian. After that, I filled planters with annuals and arranged them on the patio. Then I planted marigolds around the mailbox. When I was done, I sat on the deck and admired my work. All of this without anyone yelling “mom!” even once. By late afternoon, I felt refreshed, and as rested as if I’d spent the day at a spa.
            Pat and the kids took me to dinner at Giovanni’s for the best lasagna in town. I was an awesome day. Looking back, it’s hard to believe that I essentially said, “Leave me alone!”… It’s even harder to believe that they actually did.

            These dishes are nice to make ahead for a mom’s day brunch or supper. Both require a little time to create, but the results are worth it. The shrimp casserole was my mother-in-law’s favorite for brunch. 

           

Shrimp “Soufflé”

Serves 6-8

1 lb. cooked salad shrimp
1 - 8oz. package cream cheese
6-8 medium Crimini mushrooms, thinly sliced
6 slices English muffin bread, cut into cubes
2 tbsp. butter
6 eggs
½ - cup milk
½ tsp. dill
¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. white pepper
2 ripe Roma tomatoes, seeded and thinly sliced
1 cup prepared hollandaise sauce

Heat oven to 325°. Beat the eggs, milk, dill, salt and pepper until well blended. Fold the bread cubes into the egg mixture. Cover and refrigerate 15 - 30 minutes until the bread is quite moist.

Melt the butter in a small skillet and sauté mushrooms over medium heat until softened. Butter or spray a two- quart oblong casserole dish. Repeat layers of bread mixture, cream cheese slices, shrimp and mushrooms, finishing with a bread layer (5 total).  Arrange the tomato slices on top.

Cover and bake at 325° for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Serve topped with hollandaise sauce.

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My son, James, who is a real chef, taught me how to make this. He adapted the recipe they make at Papa Haydn’s to work with the ingredients I had on hand. 

For this, you will need a heavy skillet, a food processor and a fine mesh strainer.

Chicken Liver Paté

1 lb. raw chicken liver

1 medium tart apple

1 small onion

½ cup dry white wine

1 cube butter

Kosher salt

Black pepper

Rinse and trim the livers, cutting into even pieces. Peel, core and dice the apple. Chop the onion coarsely.

Heat a heavy skillet (well-seasoned cast iron works nicely) to medium high. You can spray with a bit of olive oil, but leave it mostly dry. Caramelize the apple and onion chunks. When they are soft and starting to brown, add the liver and sear until cooked (about 3 minutes).

Remove everything to the food processor bowl. Cover to keep warm. Deglaze with the white wine, scraping the pan and boiling to evaporate the alcohol. Pour the mixture into the food processor. Tighten the lid and puree while adding the cold butter in a piece at a time. Continue to process until butter is incorporated and all is smooth and creamy with no chunks. 

Force the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer. This will make your pate silky smooth. After straining, transfer to a serving size bowl (or buttered mold). Chill for several hours or overnight.