Mother's Day Menu

I am here today to tell you that Mother's Day is very important!  It's a time to celebrate the best mother you've ever had - your own mother - for all the love and care she has given you, and no matter how crazy she sometimes makes you :).  Now that I'm a mom, I've realized that I kind of feel more strongly about mother's day than even my birthday.  After all, all you do to get your birthday is be born.  But, being a mom, now that's hard work every day!  I don't need cards or presents or flowers for mother's day though, just some good time with my family.  And, I also definitely wouldn't say no to someone doing the cooking for me.  So, if you are the (excellent! thoughtful!) kind of person who makes breakfast for your mom or for your children's mom - or both! - on Mother's Day, I've gathered a lovely set of recipes for you.         

This menu is all inspired by my favorite way of cooking and eating:  food that's relatively simple, but made carefully and with awesome ingredients.  First prep a nice bowl of chopped fruit and berries.  And you should probably make some bacon as well (I find it easiest to cook bacon in the oven).  Then round out the brunch with a flavorful frittata (inspired by an old leek quiche recipe, but frittata is infinitely easier than quiche) and tender raspberries muffins. To drink, serve classic Greyhounds.  Make sure to use freshly squeezed grapefruit juice - preferably juice that you squeeze yourself because it is so much less bitter.  The traditional version of a Greyhound uses vodka, and our Lake Superior Vodka makes a stellar Greyhound.  BUT, a worthwhile thing to know is that fresh grapefruit juice goes with very nearly any spirit at all, and will be equally delightful with any of our gins or aquavits, if that's what mom prefers.  (I'm a big fan of aquavit and grapefruit juice, personally.)  And don't forget coffee, always coffee.

Leek and Feta Frittata (serves 4-6)

• 1 lb, or a bit more, leeks
• 1 Tbs. butter or olive oil
• 8-9 large eggs
• 1/2 cup cream or half-and-half
• zest of one lemon, plus a squeeze of lemon juice (1-2 tsp.)
• about 4 oz. feta cheese, cut into slices
• Salt and pepper

1. Heat your oven to 375F
2. Cut the dark green portion off of the leeks and discard.  Slice the leeks in half length-wise, and rinse very well making sure to get rid of any grit or dirt between the layers.  Shake off as much water as you can, then thinly slice the leeks.
3. Heat the olive oil or butter in an oven proof frying pan (use a 9-inch or so pan.  Like how all my measurements are "about" and "or so"?  Frittatas are really flexible.), then add the leek slices and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Cook over medium-high heat until the leeks are very soft, about 8-10 minutes.  Remove from the heat.
4. In a bowl, whisk the eggs, cream, lemon zest and juice, and some more salt (about 1/2 tsp.) and pepper.  Pour this mix over the leeks in the pan, then spread the feta slices across the top.
5. Bake until puffed and cooked through, around 30 minutes.  Take out of the oven and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.  

Brown Butter Raspberry Muffins (Makes 10-12 muffins (depending on your tin filling tendencies)) I've found one of the keys to wonderfully tender muffins is to make sure your dairy and eggs are at room temperature. So, I usually set these ingredients out the night before.

• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbs. sugar
• 1/2 cup buttermilk AT ROOM TEMP
• 1/2 cup creme fraiche AT ROOM TEMP
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten, AT ROOM TEMP
• 1 egg yolk, lightly beaten, AT ROOM TEMP
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup fresh raspberries (you could also use frozen - don't defrost if you do)

1. In a small saucepan, melt the butter, and cook over medium heat, stirring nearly constantly and scraping the bottom of the pan as you go, until the butter turns brown and smells nutty. Mine takes about 7 minutes. Set aside to cool to room temperature or slightly warmer.
2. Preheat your oven to 350F and grease, or line with muffin cups, a muffin tin.
3. In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
4. In another bowl, whisk together the the sugar, buttermilk, and creme fraiche until totally combined. Whisk in the egg and egg yolk until smooth. Finally, whisk in the browned butter and vanilla.
5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and start to gently fold it together. When it is still quite lumpy and not fully combined, stir in the raspberries. Continue to stir gently just until you see no more dry patches. Don't overmix!
6. Spoon the batter into the muffin tin, filling each well about 3/4s of the way (or a touch more) full.
7. Bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until the tops are golden and a tester inserted in the center of one comes out clean. Let cool for just a minute or two, and then turn them out of the pan quickly (otherwise the bottoms steam) and cool briefly on a cooling rack. Then eat them warm, with plenty of butter, because that is really what one ought to do with fresh muffins.

Greyhound Cocktail

For each cocktail, add 1 1/2 oz. Lake Superior Vodka (or another spirit - I also recommend our Spruce Gin or our Aquavit, for example) to a glass with a couple cubes of ice.  Fill the glass with freshly squeezed grapefruit juice.

(If mom hates grapefruit juice, definitely don't make this cocktail.  I'd suggest something like a French 75 instead - Shake 1 oz. gin and 1/2 oz. each of lemon and simple syrup with ice.  Strain into a champagne flute and top with champagne.  You could, of course, also always make mimosas. Nobody ever didn't like a mimosa.)