Monday, May 18, 2009

Mother's Day Dinner

Mother’s day is of course a Hallmark holiday but unlike some of the more commercially driven celebratory occasions it has good intentions driving it and I don’t feel as bad buying into it as I do for Valentine’s day. There is really only one good restaurant near the hamlet of Andes, where my mom’s farm is located, so Emma and I thought it would be nice to treat her. We ended up staying in and cooking which was totally cool with me since I always welcome an excuse to cook and eat at home. As I have mentioned in numerous past posts she is a wonderful cook and I relish the opportunity to eat her food let alone watch her whiz around the kitchen. The main dish for mother’s day dinner was a stunning glazed ham, one of my mother’s signature dishes which is her go-to for any number of special occasions. It was studded with cloves, roasted, and then glazed with a mix of brown sugar, dry mustard, whiskey, and orange juice. The spicy tang imparted by the cloves and orange juice paired nicely with the caramelized crust achieved by the sugar and alcohol. I have been eating this ever since childhood and am willing to bet that it is the best glazed ham out there.

Aside from the massively large ham that we carved off in thin slices, my mother prepared a couple of side dishes to complete the meal. The first was steamed new potatoes with sweet butter and fresh herbs, a dish commonly made in France to accompany fish or poultry. Her garden has started to come up and there are tons of delicate herbs just waiting to perfume dishes like tarragon, chives, and curly parsley. The dish was simple yet elegant with tons of bright flavor, a perfect accompaniment to the salty ham. The second side was my mother’s famous coleslaw, the same recipe that she has been making for years which she inherited from my grandmother Violet. The recipe is sort of a secret but I will say that it contains purple cabbage, carrots, and onion. That is all I can share but that should by no means stop you from making your own variation of coleslaw which you and yours can keep secret. The three of us sat down to a huge supper in honor of our mother and by the end we were all stuffed and a little drunk which is exactly where you want to be after a home cooked meal at the farm. Emma and I did not regret staying in for dinner one bit after enjoying a fabulous meal with our mum in the comfort of her charming farmhouse. As always, I encourage you to enjoy and share delicious food and home cooked meals with yourself and others!

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Quite an interesting post on mother’s day dinner. I am very impressed with this article. Last year I had hosted a fun bash at the best Chicago event space to celebrate mother’s day. It was a perfect place for bash. So I am thinking to host this year’s party too at same spot.