As you may have guessed, I love cooking for other people. Since last August, I have been lucky enough to be the proud renter of a relatively large condo - complete with a formal dining area and a huge patio - so entertaining has never been more fun. So, for Mother's Day, I invited the gang over to my house for a Sunday morning brunch.
I wanted to keep it simple and fresh, and make use of all the fabulous produce I'd purchased the day before at the Pasadena Farmer's Market. I made two salads: one of sliced red and yellow tomatoes, sweet corn kernals and fresh basil, all drizzled with balsamic vinaigrette; the other a green salad with radishes, endives, cucumbers, carrots, aged parmesan slices and a lemon/garlic vinaigrette.
But the showstopper would have to be the la tarte à l’oignon, a beautifully simple yet luscious onion tart that I saw on Orangette a while back. Of it, Molly wrote, "Every onion comes into the world hoping to find its end in this tart." I believe the onions I used were quite happy to end up in this creamy, rich and deliciously savory tart, and we were happy to devour every last morsel. Thanks, Molly!
The tart; and the final plate - lots of color!
Though I normally do not have dessert in the middle of the day, I wanted to make something to mark this special occasion. Well, and I needed an excuse to make this lovely Lemon Pudding Cake that I saw in Food & Wine magazine the day before. AND it happens to be low-fat, so even more reason to indulge, right?
This cake is simply sugar, lemon juice, zest, skim milk, butter, eggs and a touch of flour, and the result is a moist, tangy, rich pudding cake that is sure to please just about anyone. The cake separates so that the center is like warm pudding. Served with blueberries, it's a tangy, citrusy delight of a dessert, and one that I will definitely be making again and again.
All in all it was a wonderful little party, and I was most grateful and happy to be able to host it at my place. Everything was easy to make, so I didn't spend a ton of time in the kitchen - it was like an episode of "Easy Entertaining with Michael Chiarello," which is definitely my idea of a great time!
