Mother's Day in the kitchen

My Mother's Day did not start out the way I expected. We used to have the tradition of taking my mother-in-law out for brunch on Mother's Day, but after years of long waits, mediocre food and antsy children, we decided to skip the restaurants on holidays. Instead, I would wake to the treat of my family in the kitchen making me my favorite, although difficult to make, breakfast of eggs benedict. This year, Joe was up first and the coffee was made, which is important, but the kids have reached the ages where sleeping in on weekends is more appealing than making breakfast on Mother's Day. It made me sad. Not because I was hungry, coffee is usually my breakfast of choice anyways, but because I loved the idea of the kids being excited about doing something special for me.

My teenager finally got up and begrudgingly made me a card. He stood by sulkily while I opened the gifts Joe and Kyle had gone shopping for before disappearing into his room to work on the homework I had asked him to do the day before so we could spend Mother's Day doing something fun. It made me cry. I know Mother's Day is not a real holiday. I kept repeating that to myself all day. It didn't help extinguish the searing pain of disappointment. Just one day, put aside the self-centeredness that teenagers seem to grow along with acne. Just one day- acknowledge all moms do to make life good.

I decided to take this wisdom and put it to use myself. Although I was unable to spend Mother's Day with my own mother, my mother-in-law was coming for dinner and I decided to make it special instead of take out easy. Joe and I took a drive to the Hilltop Steakhouse to pick up some nice steaks. I searched for new recipes and decided to make some Parker House Rolls and Lemon Pudding Cake.

The recipe for rolls used ounces for measurements instead of cups, like I am used to. The math seemed easy enough, but when the dough was more like cake batter than bread and didn't seem to change with the addition of more flour, I worried that they were going to be a disaster. I kept my head up and put the dough aside to rise and see what would happen. I started on the Lemon Pudding Cake. The recipe was simple and straight forward. I popped them in the oven and set the timer. The rolls dough was rising, things looked promising and my earlier feeling of hating Mother's Day was disappearing.

Joe had built a fire outside and when his mom get here, she joined him by the firepit. I started the Au Gratin Potatoes and custard sauce for the cakes, opened a bottle of Louise d’ Estrée Sparkling Red Wine, made Sonja a drink and joined them outside. The sun had come out and it was a beautiful afternoon.

The dessert was done 20 minutes early, the rolls went in and came out beatuifully (I do need work on the shaping), the potaotes were bubbly and the steaks were delish! Kyle made his own Easy Mac and Alec eventually joined us at the dinner table. I believe Sonja felt loved and special, which made me feel good. Maybe the idea of Mother's Day is lost on some teens, hopefully he will outgrow this stage and someday realize that making other people feel good makes you feel good too.

Lemon Pudding Cake with Fresh Mixed BerriesRecipe courtesy Tyler Florence, 2008

.Prep Time:25 minInactive Prep Time:--Cook Time:1 hr 0 minLevel:
IntermediateServes:
4 servings. Ingredients
•1 tablespoon unsalted butter
•2/3 cup superfine sugar
•2 eggs, separated
•2/3 cup reduced fat buttermilk
•2 tablespoons lemon juice
•1 tablespoon lemon zest
•1/4 cup all-purpose flour
•1/4 teaspoon salt
Garnish:
•1 cup fresh raspberries
•1 cup fresh blueberries
•1 cup fresh blackberries
•2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Butter and lightly sugar 4 ramekins (about 1-cup size).

In a mixer, add egg yolks, buttermilk, lemon juice and lemon zest and beat until well combined. Reduce the speed to low and sift in flour, sugar and salt. Continue to mix until combined. Beat egg whites until you get stiff peaks then combine the 2 mixtures by gently folding them together, a little at a time. Divide evenly amongst ramekins then bake in a water bath - set ramekins in a roasting tray and fill with water halfway up the sides of the ramekins.

Bake for 60 minutes until the top springs back when gently pressed and the cakes have a nice golden brown color. Allow to cool slightly, then carefully invert onto a plate. Serve with fresh berries and dust with powdered sugar.


.Printed from FoodNetwork.com on Mon May 9 2011
© 2011 Television Food Network, G.P. All Rights Reserved


Parker House RollsRecipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2011

.Prep Time:40 minInactive Prep Time:1 hr 37 minCook Time:10 minLevel:
DifficultServes:
16 rolls.Ingredients
•Nonstick spray
•8 ounces warm whole milk (100 degrees F)
•2 1/4 ounces sugar (about 1/3 cup)
•1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
•15 ounces all-purpose flour, plus extra for kneading
•2 egg yolks
•2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
•4 ounces unsalted butter, 3 ounces at room temperature, 1 ounce chilled and cut into 16 small cubes
Directions
Spray a half sheet pan with nonstick spray and set aside.


Place the milk, sugar, yeast, flour, egg yolks, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Combine on low speed for 1 minute. Change the paddle attachment to the dough hook and rest the dough for 10 to 15 minutes.


Add 2 ounces of the room temperature butter and mix on low speed. Increase the speed to medium and mix until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and you are able to gently pull the dough into a thin sheet that light will pass through, about 8 minutes.


Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and roll and shape with hands to form a large ball. Return dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside in a warm, dry place to rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.


Remove the dough from the bowl and roll into a 16 by 3-inch log. Use a bench knife to cut the dough into 1 3/4-ounce portions, about 16 rolls. Using your loosely cupped hand, roll each portion on the counter until they tighten into small balls. Working 1 at a time, use a rolling pin to roll each small ball into a 3-inch circle or oval. Use the side of your hand or a small dowel to make an indentation across the middle of the circle. Place a small pat of chilled butter into the center of the indentation, then fold in half and gently press to seal the edges. Place the rolls, top-side down, onto the prepared sheet pan, spacing them evenly. Melt the remaining 1 ounce butter and brush the tops of the rolls. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm, dry place to rise until doubled in size, 30 to 40 minutes.


Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.


Remove the plastic wrap and bake until the rolls reach an internal temperature of 200 degrees F, 8 to 10 minutes. Rotate the pan halfway through baking.


Remove the pan to a cooling rack and cool for 2 to 3 minutes before serving.


For Brown and Serve option:


Assemble rolls as above, but bake as follows.


Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F.


Bake until the outside of the rolls just begin to set but have not browned and the internal temperature is 185 degrees, about 30 minutes. Remove and cool on the pan for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, remove the rolls from the pan and place on a cooling rack until they are room temperature, 30 to 40 minutes. Place the rolls in bags and freeze for up to 3 months.


To Finish:


Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Thaw the rolls for 60 to 90 minutes.


Spray a sheet pan with nonstick spray. Place the rolls on the prepared sheet pan and bake until the rolls reach an internal temperature of 200 degrees F. Rotate the pan halfway through baking, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove the pan to a cooling rack and cool for 2 to 3 minutes before serving.

.Printed from FoodNetwork.com on Mon May 9 2011
© 2011 Television Food Network, G.P. All Rights Reserved