mother's day, food edition

my mom kept her three babies in the kitchen with her for the entirety of our upbringing, and like some kids are born football players or swimmers or expert needlepointers because of their parents' tendencies, we are all cooks. and also nerds.

another secret about my mom is that if it starts with bubbly, somehow incorporates big, fresh, local sea scallops and rack of lamb, washes down with a good bottle of red wine, and ends with just a bite of something not-too-sweet and fruity, she will be in heaven.  over the years we have had some fantastic incarnations of this family favorite surf-and-turf combo.

last night I went with:
- prosecco to keep her happy while I raced to prepare dinner (you'll recall I worked all afternoon and then had to go to the store for all my ingredients before I finally got things underway).  we were halfway into our first bottle when my grandmother showed up with yet another bottle of prosecco, so everyone was very happy to keep sipping while I cooked.
- truffled wild mushroom and leek risotto (loosely interpreted from epicurious).  I plated this topped with two big scallops, patted dry, salted and peppered on each side, and quickly seared in a combination of butter and canola oil.  the scallops may seem anomalous with an earthy risotto, but their flavor is a nice contrast to the savory intensity of the mushrooms and truffles, and helps to bring out the mild sweetness of the creamed leeks.

the one semi-useable picture I took of the cooking process.  creaming the leeks.  fancy.

- lamb chops with dijon-herb glaze and sauteed spinach.  this was a real last minute hail mary.  I had planned on rack of lamb, with a dijon herb crust, cut into lollipops and served on a bed of warm fiddleheads.  last weekend, there were fiddleheads EVERYWHERE, but I must have missed the window, because they were not to be found yesterday.  I made my dad go to three stores to check.  nothing.  also, because I waited so late in the day to buy ingredients, the store was sold out of rack of lamb.  the butcher was carving the literal last rack he had into chops when I approached him.  it's awfully hard to put a crust on a lollipop that's already been cut off the rack, so my sister saved the day by taking the ingredients intended for the crust and resurrecting them with mayonnaise, a steady stream of olive oil, and a lot of whisking, into a delicious glaze that we brushed over the grilled chops.  sauteed spinach made a fine substitute for the fiddleheads, and alongside the gamey flavor of the lamb echoed the same earthy flavors from the risotto course.

phew.

- I made this for dessert. the author's photos are much better than mine turned out (must get better at lighting), so have a look at those and imagine mine being every bit as good.  the lime brightens it and helps cut the sweetness, and the yogurt adds a lot of moisture.  the edges were a little harder than I'd have liked, but we smothered it in blackberry sauce, so no one really minded much.

I had cake for breakfast this morning, too.  it was much softer than last night, and I drizzled some of the leftover blackberry sauce on my daily scoop of greek yogurt.  my sister told me that, with the yogurt sitting alongside the cake and covered in saucy goodness, it looked like I was having cake and ice cream for breakfast.  if only.