Mother's Day Brunch Menu

Mother's Day is this Sunday. You better buy a card now-- all the good ones will be gone and you'll be left with something like this:

I don't know about you, but there are two days I really don't want to go out to eat-- Valentine's Day and Mother's Day. It's not that I don't want to celebrate both those days, but being in an over-stuffed restaurant surrounded by people at other tables whose faces hold all the joy of folks having foot surgery just under the table... it's not my idea of a good time.

So we're having a Mother's Day Brunch at our place. My parents are coming, Patrick's parents are coming and my grandmother is coming too. Here's the menu so far:

Asparagus Galette
Deviled Eggs
Potato Salad with Lots of Dill

Baby-Back Ribs
Grilled Shrimp
Brownies
Little Lemon Tarts
Prosecco & Bloody Marys

We're still open to suggestions and will flip some things around but this seems like a nice, spring-time menu.

Mom's Easter Potatoes

I love Easter. It's such a happy holiday and it's all about family and food. No one is out looking for the perfect gift or hoping to fall in love so that they have someone to celebrate the season with. Here's my mother's table, set for Easter brunch:

And here's the dish that was my absolute favorite (and my brothers' favorite and my sister's favorite...) growing up:

One bite of this and I feel like a kid again, in a scratchy fancy dress and white Mary Janes, listening to the grown ups chatter and dreaming of what treasures I'll find during the egg hunt. It's funny, this recipe isn't like anything we cook these days-- the only canned foods we use are beans, tomatoes and tuna-- but come Easter and I need a spoonful of this cheesy casserole. Sometimes, you just have to admit that cream of mushroom soup can be magical.

UPDATE: My mom was cruising my blog and called to make some modifications. A little less soup, a lot more butter and sour cream!

Ingredients
12 big russet potatoes, baked, pealed and sliced
4 cups shredded sharp cheddar
2 cups shredded jack cheese
1 brown onion, diced
1 regular can cream of mushroom soup*
1 regular can cream of chicken soup*
2 cups of sour cream
1 stick of butter
/21 box of corn flakes

How To
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Combine the onion, potatoe and cheese in a big bowl. Heat the soup, sour cream and 1/2 of the butter in a sauce pan until the butter melts. Pour over the potatoes, mix well with your hands and pour into a large rectangular baking dish and place in the oven.

While the potatoes warm, melt the butter in a deep stock pot. Once the butter in melted, add the corn flakes and stir until the cornflakes are well coated in the butter. Take the potatoes out of the oven and top with the cornflakes. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the cornflakes are toasted.

*I know! Seriously, I know.

Agra Hadig

My sister-in-law is Armenian and over the years, I've had many amazing meals with her and her family and have gotten to enjoy other interesting aspects of Armenian culture. This Sunday, my niece Ruby was dedicated at her family church and afterward there was an agra hadig at my brother and sister-in-law's home.

An agra hadig is a celebration of a baby's first tooth. Ruby has two great little chompers on the bottom row.Check out the tooth-shaped cake (note-- if any of your teeth turn green with yellow spots, see a doctor and get rid of it) :

This isn't just a great excuse for a feast... and it was a feast, check out my plate. Nom nom nom:

It's also a time to sprinkle the baby with hadig, a wheat dish cooked with dried fruits and candies:

The baby is seated on a blanket with objects all around her, covered with a scarf, and sprinkled with hadig. Everyone then watches carefully to see what object she selects, as that object will predict her future career. Ruby was surrounded by drum sticks (musician), a pen (writer), a tube of paint (artist), a spatula (chef), a ruler (architect), stethoscope (doctor), scissors (seamstress), lipstick (fashion), a camera (photographer), a bible (minister), a little Shakespeare (scholar), money (finance), and a little Eiffel Tower sculpture (adventurer).

Ruby very methodically went for the tube of paint, though my brother swears up and down she touched the drum sticks too.

Then it was time for dessert!

"An art major with a minor in music" was the final prediction. Rock on, Ruby!