Mother's Day Brunch

One of my favorite past times is eating fancy food on fancy dishes. Since this can really kill the budget at fancy places - not to mention that kind of restaurant is hard to find at 11 a.m. on Sunday in Mesa, Arizona - I'm just as content to do it myself. To that end, Jeff and I invited his parents over to celebrate Mother's Day. (Of course, if my parents didn't live 2,000 miles away, they would certainly have been invited too!) Here's the result of our holiday celebration.

Of course every fine restaurant starts with a menu, so we started our meal that way, too. The menu is a series of small courses with a variety of tastes and textures. I love to entertain this way because everyone is sure to love at least one of the dishes.

We began with vichyssoise - a delicate potato and leek soup served cold. I did season this dish a little, but I was careful not to overpower the flavor of the leeks and onions that form the basis of the soup before thinly sliced potatoes are added. Jeff thought the flavor was good, but said, "Soup should be warm." While I enjoyed this course, I think gazpacho is a better cold soup choice.

Next up was cucumber towers with chicken salad. These tasty little morsels made an excellent salad course that could be eaten with a knife and fork or an hors d'eouvre portion that could be eaten as finger food. I simply cut cucumbers into six chunks, trimmed the sides so they were square (which removed most of the peel), hollowed out the center with a spoon, and filled in the space with homemade chicken salad. (I like mine with fresh grapes and lots of pepper.)

Jeff's mom provided the fruit for the fruit and cheese course. This beautiful fruit bouquet was a big hit with everyone. (It was hard to stop munching it and move on to another tasty treat.) To accent this edible centerpiece, I served small plates of assorted cheeses and some flavored balsamic vinegars.

Spinach squares are the closest we came to a main course. These were made up of baked ricotta cheese, cheddar cheese, spinach, and seasonings. A little Parmesan on top created a golden crust. This was almost spanakopita without the phyllo dough. This may be served hot or room temperature.

Our final savory was stuffed baby bella mushrooms. These are the medium-sized portobellos available at the grocery store for about half the cost of the large ones. The stuffing consists of sauteed mushroom steps with a little spicy turkey sausage and panko bread crumbs. Once filled, I baked them (ahead of time) for about 15 minutes to cook the mushrooms and then reheated just before serving.

A tray of assorted goodies ended the meal. I cheated on these and bought most of them at the grocery store. The little mini cupcakes came from the bakery, while the miniature eclairs and apple tartlets were in the freezer section. Only the banana bread squares were homemade. (What can I say? I had mushy bananas on my counter Saturday afternoon.)

Since almost everything was make-ahead, this was a low stress yet special celebration. Happy Mother's Day!