A Pair Of Gourmands

Here's To Mom! - by The Chef in Stead

She says:

Every year when Mother’s Day approaches, the first thing I think about to do for my Mom is to make something in the kitchen. I know this might sound corny, but it just seems to get to the heart of the matter – Moms and all the warm fuzzy things good food evokes are intrinsically linked.

I have many wonderful memories of times shared with my Mom, from times as a child in the kitchen or the garden, to shopping trips when I was a teenager, and even trips to faraway places when I was a young woman. You see, I was lucky to have a Mom that was a Martha Stewart type of woman long before the icon we know hit the newsstands. She could cook, and landscape a garden, and decorate a room, and wrap a gift, and host a party… all with little in the way of pre-made supplies but lots in the way of imagination and fortitude. She never rested until all the Christmas decorating and baking was done, or until the birthday party was ready in every detail. She was, and still is, the best.

It was because she had such high standards that I decided, once I got old enough to really help cook Mother’s Day dinner, that we should have a spectacular dessert. What better choice, I thought, than Chocolate Mousse! I searched through her cooking magazines and found a recipe. My Dad was in charge of the dinner (in those days that meant barbecuing, as he didn’t cook in the kitchen unless Mom was there too). I was on my own, and felt up to the task. After all, all I had to do was melt the chocolate and whip the cream, and add the flavoring. This recipe called for two tablespoons of strong coffee – they said it would enhance the flavor of the chocolate. Sounded good to me… but how do you add “strong coffee”? Isn’t all coffee the same?? I consulted with my younger brother for support (he was all of 8 years old at the time) and we decided that HEAPING tablespoons ought to give the desired effect. We added the coffee grounds to the rest of the mixture and gently spooned it into the glasses so that it could chill.

Well, can you spot the one small error we made? It never occurred to me that we should have to BREW the coffee – after all, I didn’t drink the stuff. We were completely ignorant of our mistake.

The moral of this story is that your Mom loves you for who you are, no matter what kind of silly mistakes you make. She took one bite of the mousse in its fancy glass, and made “Yum” noises. Then, she politely asked, “What are the little crunchy bits?” Innocently, I replied, “Oh, that must be the coffee.” I had to explain what I meant, because of course SHE knew that coffee in a recipe ought to be brewed! She just laughed and hugged both of her children, thanking us and my Dad for a lovely meal on her special day.

(Martin is busy preparing to cook for Mothers this coming Mother’s Day, so he has let me have my say all alone this week, but I did manage to get a link for a good recipe that you or the kids can make for Mom! And there is no coffee to confuse anyone!)

Click Here for The Recipe for Kalua Chocolate Souffle.

He says:

If you want to get a gift certificate to give Mom a day off, just e-mail me or call, and we can set it up!

Chef Martin’s Tip 8:

Cook vegetables in the right order!

It is very easy to overcook vegetables. Learn to time yourself – yes, with a watch if needed! It is simple if you know how long it takes to cook one vegetable to perfection, you can plan your meal better.

Example: when steaming multiple vegetables for one meal, start with the hard ones like carrots first, then a few minutes later add your green beans, then a few minutes later add your broccoli. The result should be all crunchy vegetables.

“No matter what happens in the kitchen, never apologize.”
(Julia Child, 1912-2004)

The Chef in Stead - Website For Previous Chef Tips For comments or questions, you can reach Martin at 250-712-4440 or Email.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.