I don’t know about you, but breakfast in bed is not high on my list of Mother’s Day moments. Generally, I try to keep crumbs out of my sheets rather than inviting them in.

But sit me down in my favorite reading chair after church with a steaming mug of coffee while you simmer strawberries, bourbon and pure maple syrup to pour over my pecan pancakes before adding a dollop of homemade whipped cream??? Now THAT I can get excited about.

Here’s how to make it happen. Coffee not included, but if you want my reco, it’s Starbucks Blonde Veranda blend brewed in a French press with a heavy pour of cream. Perfection.

Mother’s Day Pecan Wheat Pancakes with Maple Bourbon Strawberries
adapted from Naturally Ella

Yields:  4 servings

Ingredients:

Pancakes
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup pecan pieces
2 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons pure maple syrup*
4 eggs
2 tablespoons walnut oil
1-1.5 cups milk

Sauce
3 cups sliced strawberries
½ cup bourbon
2-3 tablespoons pure maple syrup*

Whipped Cream
1/2 c. heavy whipping cream
1 Tbsp. powdered sugar

*please please please do not ruin these by using imitation maple flavored syrup. buy the good stuff. just trust me.

Directions:

1. In a medium skillet or pot, add bourbon and cook over medium heat until reduced by half. Add in strawberries and maple syrup, reduce to medium-low heat, and let strawberries simmer until soft and liquid has reduced, 10-15 minutes.
2. Beat the whipping cream and sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer till it thickens and stiff peaks form when you lift the beaters out of the cream. Set aside.
3. To make pancakes, lightly toast pecans in a skillet for 3-4 minutes over medium low heat. Remove and place in food processor, pulsing until pecans are ground, but not flour.
4. In a medium bowl, combine ground pecans, flour, baking powder, and salt and give a good stir. In a separate bowl, whisk dry ingredients together with the maple syrup, eggs, oil, and ½ cup milk. Pour over dry ingredients, stir just until combined – don’t over mix. If batter thickens too much (and isn’t easily pourable) and a bit more milk.
5. Heat a griddle. When griddle is hot (if you flick water onto the griddle, it should sizzle), take about ¼ cup of batter and pour onto griddle. Let cook for 1-2 minutes (until the pancakes begin to bubble slightly. Flip and let cook for another 1-2 minutes until pancakes are cooked through.
6. Serve topped with cooked strawberries and a dollop of whipped cream.

If you’re handing off dinner duty for Mother’s Day (it’s on May 10th this year), here’s a recipe you may want to print out to quietly slip into the kids’ hands. Encourage them to share it with their father before next week’s big day. Two reasons:

1) It largely involves grilling – most dads’ preferred cooking method

2) It’s absolutely delicious – celebration worthy for sure.

When dinner is ready, pour a glass of a crisp white wine, sit outside with your chefs-in-training , and raise a glass to YOU!

Mother’s Day Dinner Idea: Grilled Steak Bruschetta Salad

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

¼ cup apricot preserves
¼ cup prepared horseradish
¼ cup creamy Dijon-style mustard blend
2 tablespoons lemon juice
4 (6 ounce) filet mignon steaks, cut 1-inch thick
12 1/4-inch-thick slices baguette-style French bread
4 cups arugula
¼ cup bottled roasted red sweet peppers, chopped
¼ cup crumbled blue cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat the grill.
2. In a small bowl, combine the apricot preserves, horseradish, mustard blend, and lemon juice and set aside.
3. Lightly salt and pepper the beef and place on the grill over medium heat covered, flipping it once. 12 to 15 minutes will produce a medium doneness; adjust the time of grilling accordingly. Grill the bread slices with the steaks for the final two minutes.
4. Thinly slice the steak and arrange over the bread slices. Garnish each piece of bruschetta with red peppers and blue cheese as desired.
5. Toss the arugula with dressing and portion onto 4 plates. Serve each plate of salad with 3 bruschetta.

Spring is asparagus’ moment in the sun. It’s at its peak right now so I’m trying to take full advantage of that, making it lots of different ways.

This salad is a great departure from the norm, and it uses walnut oil, which is a sublime addition to your pantry. If you’ve never cooked with it, you’re in for a treat. You’ll find it in the specialty oils section of the grocery store. It’s a little pricey, but absolutely worth it. I’ve added toasted walnuts as well which give this salad texture and help to augment the nutty flavor.

You can serve this salad warm or cold (I like it warm, so that’s how it’s written. If you want to serve it cold, you’ll want to blanch and cool the asparagus first as written below.

Asparagus Salad with Walnut Oil Vinaigrette

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon minced shallot
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
3/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup walnut oil
2 pounds asparagus, trimmed and steamed just till tender*
1/3 cup toasted*, chopped walnuts
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
More salt and freshly ground black pepper if desired

Directions:

1. Whisk the vinegar, shallot, mustard, salt and pepper together.
2. Whisk in the vegetable oil slowly and then the walnut oil.
3. Steam asparagus, drain, transfer to serving plate or bowl and pour dressing over it, tossing to coat (you may not need all the dressing).
4. Top with chopped toasted walnuts and parsley before serving.

*To steam asparagus, place in a glass bowl with 2 Tbsp water. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave 1-2 minutes on high. If serving salad cold, immediately plunge asparagus into ice water to stop the cooking to preserve crispness. Once cooled, remove from water and pat dry.

* To toast walnuts, place in a dry skillet over medium heat and toss occasionally until fragrant and browned on the edges.