Ideas for a Mother’s Day lunch

On Sunday N’s parents are visiting us for Mother’s Day lunch and to see our newly decorated bedroom.  What I’ve failed to mention in the last week, or in fact, since I started this blog, is that we do a lot of DIY.  Our house is a work in progress, like many people’s, and there is always something to do to it.  Since becoming a homeowner I feel like I have quickly progressed from young and carefree into a fully fledged adult.  All those decisions I remember my parents making – do we go on holiday…or do we put in new windows… are choices I am now having to make.  And with a love of my ‘home’ and wanting to make it as nice as possible the new windows ususually trump the holiday. 

So, the past two weeks have been spent decorating a bedroom that we gutted last year (the second bedroom that we have gutted I might add).  The last bedroom took us a year from the first hammer hit into the crumbling plaster to carpeted and curtains up (still no light fitting though…)  We were determined that this one wouldn’t take as long, and it seems that the only way we can get anything done is to set ourselves an immovable deadline.  I know…invite parents round to see the ‘finished’ room.  Last night I believe, I hope! that I painted my last inch of wall.  Tonight we will hoover it and prepare it for the new carpet that is being fitted tomorrow.

Anyway, back to Mother’s Day and food more importantly.  N’s mom is a fantastic cook – which I’ve probably mentioned before – and a serene hostess.  I long for the day when I am that calm to have everything prepped and probably mostly cooked by the time my guests arrive.  I usually greet my guests by sticking my head around the kitchen door, hands covered in flour or madly dicing carrots, and hollering ‘hello!’  I really enjoy anybody coming round for lunch as I love to entertain and feed people.  Usually by this time – with about two days to go – I have planned the meal and got at least half of the ingredients for it.  Currently, I have zilch.  And a very hungry looking fridge that contains some chorizo sausage, a piece of stilton and some yoghurt.  Not exactly the stuff of Mother’s Day lunches to impress the in-laws.

Which is why I’m madly searching my recipe folder searching desperately for some inspiration for what I can cook.  I also have to take into consideration Easter Sunday which is looming on the horizon, when N’s parents return for lunch with granny.  So I don’t want to cook something fantastic this weekend, and then think “balls, I should have done that for Easter,” and technically I feel Easter lunch should be more impressive.  So many things to consider! 

My current thinking is along the lines of a chicken pie (which hopefully might help me to look the part of the serene hostess) possibly with lots of end of winter/beginning of spring greens like a variety of cabbage, spring greens, leeks etc, maybe a bit of lemon in there?  For starters I’ve thought about a smoked trout, horseradish and beetroot salad….or perhaps Stilton pate with beetroot, salad and crusty bread…  And then dessert…well I’m not really a dessert person unless it involves pure, unadulterated chocolate, which isn’t to everyone’s taste and not very ‘spring-like’.  I’ve seen a nice recipe for Honey Cake, which sounds nice, and a cake can be baked in advance!  So it scores top marks in the stakes to recreated me as the serene hostess.  At this point – suggestions more than welcome!!

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