Mother's Day

Back in November I realized how little I had seen Thanksgiving as a major 'foodie' holiday even though the main thing about the holiday is a whole sharing a similarly huge meal, this to is true for Mother's Day. 

There is always the idea of breakfast in bed for Mom and a big brunch. The deeper fact of the matter is that the role of cook has historically been assigned to Mom. We expect to receive the best advice on how to live well from our mothers and our grandmothers and a lot of that advice is related to how we eat. We develop our habits in our upbringing and how we eat is nigh solely influenced by how we are fed as children. Mother's Day is for celebrating, honoring, and ensuring Mom knows how special she is-- which can best be shown by giving her a day off from the kitchen and pampering her for all the hard work she does throughout the year. 

For me, my Mom has been one of my greatest culinary influences. She is the one who first taught me the science of baking, the joys of trying different flavors, the techniques of food preparation and little tips and words of wisdom not easily found compiled in any one book. My family has been truly blessed to have a very talented mother in the kitchen. Dinner was always something different, always delicious, and usually somewhat extravagant on an every day basis. There was no reason for us not to have lobster or filet mignon -- or both together-- once in a while, especially when they were on sale. She also mastered more than the daily dinner routine in the baking department; just imagine the most beautiful and delicious birthday cake you have ever had for your special day-- then imagine getting it, whatever flavor you want (even just a super fancy cheesecake with writing baked into the top!) for each birthday of your childhood AND made by your own mother! How special! We always make a lot of Christmas cookies while singing all our favorite Christmas songs. 

My mom is really the person who established my relationship to food. There is always so much to learn and always so much I can learn from cooking with her or watching her cook. She usually never uses a recipe unless its something brand new she wants to try or she needs to know a ratio to get something to come out right. She truly cooks from her heart with an innate feeling for the kitchen. She is always willing hear about a new recipe I've tried or want to try; since fleeing the nest she is ALWAYS the person I call for quick answers to how-to questions (and even before I left! I remember making souffles for the first time and having no idea how to separate egg yolks from egg whites and I called her while she was out and she knew just what to do!). I couldn't imagine I would be quite the foodie I am today without my mother's influence! 

Here she is in our kitchen on Thanksgiving with me and maybe little chef Milana (my niece) to be!

So on this Mother's day I just wanted to share a little bit about my own Mommy who is a my very own culinary master. I hope you all honored your mother in a special & delicious way today and keep in mind what sort of person you might have become without her in your life! 

I love you, Mom! Thank you for everything you do for me always and all that you have taught me these past 23 years! Keep up the good work!