Mother's Day 2011

I hosted my 5th annual Mother's Day at our house on Sunday. This is something I look forward to all year, and I'm always dog-earing recipes to try. I normally do a brunch, but it just didn't work out schedule-wise, so we decided on an after-dinner dessert bar instead. Yum! My stipulations for this sort of thing are to not have to do anything on the day of (since it is Mother's Day, after all - who wants to be cooking and cleaning on Mother's Day?). I did almost everything Saturday including setting out all of the dishes, so just before our family came, I had very little prep to finish. Here are the specifics:

On the Menu:

Fruit Pizzas

Nutella and Sea Salt fudge

Mini Strawberry Shortcakes

Mini Chocolate Chip Cookie Pies

Decaf Coffee

Fruit Pizzas
Cookie:
2 sticks of softened butter
1 cup of sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp baking powder
3 cups flour

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar. Add the egg and vanilla. Then add the baking powder and one cup of flour at a time mixing well between each addition. The dough will be very, very dry and stiff. If it doesn't come together in the bowl, knead it with your hands until it does. Split it into 2 balls, and do not chill. Roll the dough out to approx. 1/8 inch, and use cookie cutters in your desired shape. Arrange on an ungreased baking sheet, and bake for 5-10 minutes until the edges begin to brown lightly.

Frosting: I used the cream cheese frosting from this recipe. Refrigerate if you're not going to use it right away.

You can make everything a day ahead of time, but you should wait until just before serving to assemble the pizzas. Make sure to set the frosting out for 10-20 minutes or so to soften to make it spreadable. Frost the cookies, then arrange your favorite fruit on top.

Simple Mini Strawberry Shortcakes
This is a great way to put to use all of your empty babyfood jars!
I used a store-bought strawberry angel food cake. I sliced it with a bread knife, then cut circles out with a small biscuit cutter. You'll need 2 circles per jar. Slice a pint or so of strawberries, and sprinkle them with sugar. I did this the day before and let sit in the refrigerator overnight. They become juicy and more like a sauce than sliced fruit. Just before everyone arrived, I layered the angel food cake and strawberries and topped with whipped cream. You could also tie ribbon or tulle around each jar to match a party theme.

Mom's Fudge (with a Nutella and Sea Salt spin)
2 sticks of butter
4 1/2 cups of sugar
1 can evaporated milk
1 bag of mini marshmallows
1 bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 9.5 oz milk chocolate bar, chopped
2 squares of unsweetened baking chocolates, grated
1/4 cup of Nutella
1 Tbsp vanilla
2 cups chopped nuts
coarse sea salt

In a large pot, melt the butter. Add sugar and evaporated milk, and stir until the sugar dissolves. Bring the mixture to a boil, and boil continuously for 6 minutes. Remove from the heat, and add the marshmallows stirring until they all melt. Add the chocolate chips, chocolate bar, baking chocolage, Nutella, and vanilla, and stir until all of the chocolate is melted. Stir in the chopped nuts. Pour into a well-buttered 9x13 pan, and sprinkle with sea salt. Let it sit at room temperature until it is set, and store in the refrigerator.

Mini Chocolate Chip Cookie Pies
I followed this recipe with only a few changes. Roll out the refrigerated pie crust, and cut into circles that fit your muffin tin. I have a set of biscuit cutters, and I used the biggest one (3 inches) for this recipe. Press each circle into a well-greased muffin tin, and fill with 2 tablespoons of the pie filling mix. Bake for 25 minutes or until a knife inserted into the middle of the pie comes out clean.

Mother's Day 2010

A few years ago I started hosting a Mother's Day lunch to honor all of the special moms in my life - whoever's in town, really. I was really hoping I'd be up for doing it again this year. But the week before I got a sinus infection (oh, and I have a newborn and a 2-year-old!), so it was a bit last-minute. I was able to host, but everything was scaled back. I can't wait to gather ideas and recipes for a big celebration next year!

Since I'm always concocting new recipes, I like to sit down as soon as possible to write them out so I don't forget. And I think the new ones this year were a hit, so here you go!

Asparagus Quiche

1 pie crust (any recipe or store-bought crust will work)

5-6 slices of Swiss cheese (you could also use gruyere)

1/2 cup steamed asparagus tips

1/8 cup Black Forest ham, cut in cubes

2 Tbs chives (fresh or dried)

4 eggs

3/4 cup milk

salt and pepper

Line the bottom and sides of a tart pan with the pie crust. Use a fork to poke holes in the bottom to prevent the crust from rising. Cover with aluminum foil, fill with dried beans or pie weights, and bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. The crust will not be done, but you want to get it started so the filling does not make it soggy.

Line the bottom of the tart with one layer of cheese. Sprinkle with asparagus, ham, and chives. In a separate bowl, beat eggs, milk, salt, and pepper, and pour into the crust to within 1/8 inch of the top of the pan.

Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until set, and serve immediately.

Blueberry Cream Cheese French Toast Bake with Blueberry Sauce

1 loaf French bread cut into 1-inch cubes

1 8-oz package of cream cheese

1 1/2 cups of blueberries (fresh or frozen will work just fine)

12 eggs, beaten

1/2 can of sweetened condensed milk

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 cups milk

1 Tbs vanilla

Sauce:

1 1/2 cups blueberries (again, fresh or frozen)

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup water

2 Tbs cornstarch

2 Tbs butter

1 tsp vanilla

The night before, line a greased 9x13 deep baking dish with half of the bread cubes. Cube the cream cheese, and sprinkle evenly over the bread. Spread the blueberries, then top with the remaining bread cubes. Sprinkle the brown sugar over the top.

In a separate bowl, combine eggs, milk, sweetened condensed milk, and vanilla. Pour this mixture over the bread cubes, and press the cubes down to soak up the custard. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Uncover, and bake another 25-30 minutes until top is slightly browned and the center is set.

For the sauce, combine sugar, water, and cornstarch in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil stirring constantly. Boil for 3 minutes, then add 1 1/2 cups blueberries. Reduce the heat, and simmer for 10 more minutes stirring occasionally. When all of the blueberries have burst, remove from heat, and stir in butter and vanilla.

Serve the sauce over the casserole. Yum!

I hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day!

Mother's Day

I found a great post linking to TONS of Mother's Day crafting ideas. It's not too late to get started making something for mom. I'm dogearing this for future birthdays as well. Enjoy!

Mother's Day Brunch Recipes

The Menu:

Ham & Swiss Quiche

French Toast Casserole

Fruit Salad

Sausage & Cheese Biscuits

Orange Juice, Coffee, Iced Water with Lemon

Recipes:

Ham & Swiss Quiche

1 pie crust

5-6 slices of Swiss cheese

3/4 cup chopped smoked ham (cut 1/4 inch thick)

1/4 cup sliced green onions

1/4 cup sliced mushrooms

4 eggs, beaten

3/4 cup milk

pinch of salt and black pepper

*This recipe is to be made in a traditional tart pan. You will have to adjust (by adding more ingredients, obviously) for a pie dish or a deep dish tart pan.

Press the pie crust into the tart pan. Using a fork, poke holes into the bottom of the crust. Cover with aluminum foil, and fill with dry beans to prevent the crust from rising or shrinking. Bake in a preheated 400* oven for 10 minutes. The crust will not be fully-cooked.

Remove the beans and foil, and line the bottom of the pie crust with slices of Swiss cheese. Top with ham, green onions, and mushrooms.

In a separate bowl, stir together eggs, milk, salt, and pepper, and pour over the rest of the ingredients. Fill to within 1/8 inch of the top of the tart pan, and discard the remainder.

Bake at 350* for 25-30 minutes.

French Toast Casserole

I followed the recipe found here. When I mixed the custard, I added 1 tsp vanilla, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, and a pinch of salt. I also used maple-flavored syrup and not maple syrup, and I think it turned out just fine.

Fruit Salad

Combine chopped cantaloupe, watermelon, grapes, blueberries, strawberries, and kiwi. Squeeze the juice of a lemon over the fruit and let marinate overnight in the refrigerator. Serve cold.

Sausage & Cheese Biscuits:

1/2 lb browned breakfast sausage (I used maple-flavored)

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/4 cup chopped green onions

2 1/4 cup Biscuick mix

3/4 cup milk

Mix Bisquick mix and milk until combined. Do not overmix. Add sausage, cheese, and onions, and stir. Drop spoonfuls onto an ungreased, parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake in a preheated oven at 400* for 10 minutes (or until lightly browned).

Enjoy!