For Mother’s Day, my Mom really wanted to have a champagne brunch, but we couldn’t find one that we wanted to go to. So, instead of paying a few hundred dollars for our family of four, I paid about $30 and made some of her favorite dishes. The end result was really lovely, and she was so surprised! She said she was glad that we stayed home in the end, and everyone agreed that the food was better than we would have had at a resort. Most of these recipes are simple and could be incorporated into any meal.

Prosciutto wrapped melon is very easy. For the most affordable prosciutto, I went to my local grocery store and had them slice it fresh instead of buying a package.

I set up a beautiful and simple mimosa bar as well. This way, everyone could make their own mimosas with either fresh orange juice, peach nectar or strawberry nectar. I really enjoyed the Cupcake Prosecco, and I would recommend it as a sweeter substitute for champagne.

The menu included:

Chocolate Chip Sweet Potato Pancakes
Wild Mushroom & Leek Crustless Quiche
Roasted Red Potatoes with Rosemary
Prosciutto & Melon
Tomato Salad with Raspberry Pesto Vinaigrette
Lavender Cookies with Lemon Vanilla Glaze

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Chocolate Chip Sweet Potato Pancakes

Ingredients

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 (heaping) cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup cream or flavored creamer or flavored almond milk
1 large sweet potato, baked and mashed (about 1 cup)
Butter for cooking
Maple syrup for serving

Directions

Mix together all ingredients except butter and syrup. Heat a griddle or skillet to medium, and lightly butter it. Cook as you would normal pancakes. Serve with real maple syrup and a bit of butter.

Wild Mushroom & Leek Crustless Quiche

Ingredients

1 cup wild mushrooms (your choice of mixture)
2 tbsp olive oil, separated
3 leeks
1 tbsp butter
8 eggs
1/3 cup Parmesan Romano Cheese
1/2 cup milk
Salt & pepper

Directions

Step 1: Mix 1 tbsp olive oil with mushrooms and spread out on a baking sheet covered with foil. Sprinkle with fresh pepper and roast at 325 degrees F for about 25 minutes, until browned and slightly crisp on edges.

Step 2: Slice leeks into circles, about 1/8” thick. Save about 15 of the prettiest slices for the top of the quiche and put the rest in a metal strainer and clean very well. Let drain for 10 minutes.

Step 3: In a pan, melt 1 tbsp butter + 1 tbsp olive oil.  Add drained leeks, mix, and cook on medium for about 15 minutes, until lightly caramelized.

Chill leeks & mushrooms until at least room temperature (you can do this in advance).

Step 4: Mix together eggs, parmesan and milk. Add leeks, mushrooms, and pepper. Smear butter all around your baking dish and then pour the egg mixture on. Top decoratively with your reserved pretty leek slices.

Step 5: Bake at 350 degrees F for about 35 minutes, or until eggs feel set and a knife inserted near the middle comes out clean. Let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

Roasted Red Potatoes with Rosemary

Ingredients

6 red potatoes, cut into about  ½” pieces
1 packet Lipton onion soup mix
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
Salt & pepper to taste 

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a ziplock bag and mix together. You can let this sit overnight or cook immediately. If you choose to let it sit overnight, use a slotted spoon to scoop it onto the pan to avoid extra moisture. For crispy potatoes, spread the mixture evenly across a baking sheet. For soft potatoes, put the mixture in a deep casserole dish and cover with foil. Cook at 350 degrees F for about 40 minutes, stirring halfway through.

Tomato Salad with Raspberry Pesto Vinaigrette

Ingredients

2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
1 tbsp fresh pesto
½ tbsp raspberry vinegar
2 tsp basil oil or olive oil

Directions

Cut each cherry tomato in half. In a separate bowl, whisk together pesto, vinegar and oil. Pour mixture over tomatoes. Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving. You can personalize this to whatever you want or have on hand- you could change up the herbs or the vinegar and make it however you like!

Note: don’t forget to cover your leftover pesto with olive oil before putting it back in the refrigerator. 

The lavender cookies will be my next post. They were so lovely, I want to savor the memory. If you are a lavender fan, you will really enjoy these, and they were so easy!

I chose to make this brunch in lieu of a gift because I feel like sharing my passion for cooking is much sweeter a gift than anything I could have bought for her. Thank you Mom for guiding us, loving us, being there, and being a “second Mom” to my closest friends. I’m so thankful that my Mom is so supportive and loving, I don’t know where I would be without her compassion and wisdom. I love you, Mom!

Happy Mother’s Day!

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