Newspaper food and cooking columns can be an excellent resource when searching for holiday recipes. Here are some links to Mother’s Day recipes from around the U.S.

The Burlington Freepress (Vermont) has Decadent French Toast Souffle and instructions for making a Rice Krispie Treat Mug (for dessert - don’t use it for serving a beverage!).

Decadent French Toast Souffle

4 large or 5 medium croissants, baked
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
one-half cup butter, softened
three-fourths cup maple syrup, divided
10 eggs
3 cups half-and-half
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
powdered sugar
chopped pecans (if desired)
For the topping:
one-half cup butter
one-half cup maple syrup

Using your hands, coarsely rip croissants into small 1-inch pieces. Distribute the pieces evenly in a greased 13-by-9-inch casserole dish. Combine cream cheese, butter and one-fourth cup maple syrup. Spread the mixture evenly over the chopped croissants.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs, one-half cup maple syrup and half-and-half. Pour this over the croissants and cream cheese mixture in pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

The next morning, remove the pan from the refrigerator. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Uncover and bake 45 to 50 minutes, or until puffed and golden.

For the topping, heat one-half cup butter and one-half cup maple syrup in a small saucepan. Pour over the warm souffle as it is being served.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar and chopped pecans, if being used.

Dayton, Ohio Kettering-Oakwood Times has recipes for Southwest Omelet for breakfast, Shredded Chicken Sandwiches for lunch, and Steak Dianne with Twice-Baked Potatoes for dinner.

Steak Diane

4 rib eye steaks, each 1/2 inch thick
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. salt
4 Tbs. butter (divided)
3 tsp. green onions, chopped
1 tsp. prepared mustard
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. parsley
1 tsp. fresh chives, minced

Sprinkle steaks with salt and pepper.

Heat 2 Tbs. butter in skillet, stir in onions and mustard.

Add steaks. Cook for 3 minutes on each side. Remove to serving platter and keep warm.

To skillet, add lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and remaining 2 T butter. Cook for 2 minutes. Add parsley and chives. Pour over steaks.

Twice Baked Potatoes

6 medium baking potatoes
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup butter
1 large egg, slightly beaten
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chives or green onion tops
1/4 tsp. salt and pepper
1 pinch nutmeg, ground
paprika

Heat oven to 400 F.

Scrub potatoes, prick several times with a fork. Place in oven bake 50-60 minutes until potatoes feel soft when squeezed.

Remove and cool 15 minutes

Cut potatoes in half length wise ( carefully), Using a small spoon scoop out pulp into a large bowl, leaving a 1/4 inch thick shell. Save the best 8 shells.

Simmer milk and butter until butter melts. Pour over potato pulp and mash or beat until almost smooth.

Add egg, half of cheese and spices. Mash until almost smooth.

Fill shells using about 1/3 cup mixture per shell.

Sprinkle with green onions, cheese and a little paprika.

Reduce oven heat to 350 F. Place shells on cookie sheet and bake for 30 minutes, until puffed and brown.

The Deseret News (Utah) has recipes submitted by readers: Kathy’s Divine, Sinful, Naughty Chocolate Cheesecake, Mother’s Day Strawberry French Toast, Donna’s Sweet Potatoes with Lemons, Mom’s Sweet Soup, and Liquid Shrimp Cocktail.

Mother’s Day Strawberry French Toast

1 loaf French bread, sliced into 1-inch slices, making 16 slices
6 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup strawberries, chopped small
10 eggs
3/4 cup half/half or canned milk
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 tablespoon melted butter

Strawberry sauce:
Cook all ingredients for 5 min. over medium heat. Serve warm.
4 cups strawberries cut in half
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons frozen orange juice

The night before serving, combine strawberries with cream cheese. Spread thickly on one half of the bread slices and top with another slice to form strawberry sandwiches.
Mix eggs, milk and vanilla in blender or by hand. Pour in a 9-by-13-inch pan. Place sandwiches in the pan, turning to ensure the egg mixture soaks in both sides. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
Next morning, coat a cookie sheet large enough for all sandwiches with cooking spray or melted butter. Transfer sandwiches to cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with warmed sauce and maple syrup. Makes 8 sandwiches.

If you want to bake a gift instead of cooking a meal, KIRO TV in Seattle, Washington has dessert recipes: Mother’s Moon Cookies, Easy Fruit Pie, Bloomin’ Cupcakes, Chocolate Cream Mousse, and Banana Nut Bread.

Easy Fruit Pie

1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1 cup milk
1 stick butter, melted
1 can peaches (or any favorite fruit), drained

In a bowl, combine sugar, flour and milk.
Pour mixture over butter, stir and press into pie pan. Add peaches.
Cook in bottom of oven at 450 degrees until brown.

The Baltimore Sun (Maryland) has several recipes for Madeleines.

Proust’s Small Coffeecakes
Makes about 18 madeleines

1 stick (4 ounces) sweet butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon grated orange rind
2 eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees (375 degrees if using a dark pan). Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and work on medium to fast speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute.

Add the baking powder, vanilla, orange rind and 1 egg. Beat on low speed for about 1 minute, until smooth and light. Add the other egg and mix another minute at the same speed. Finally, stir in the flour with a whisk until the mixture is smooth. Do not overwhisk.

Butter a madeleine tray well and place 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons of the soft cake dough in each mold. Hit the tray on the table to flatten the dough in the molds or push it down with the tips of your fingers, but do not spread it to the edges of the molds - the batter will fill the pan while baking.

Bake madeleines for about 9 minutes, then reduce heat 25 to 30 degrees and turn pan the opposite way in the oven; bake for 4 to 5 more minutes.

Let the madeleines rest or set 10 minutes before unmolding. Unmold, cool on a wire rack and, when cold, place in a plastic bag or a tin box to prevent drying. Use as needed.

Breakfast in bed or a special meal is great but the most important thing to remember about cooking for mom is to clean up afterwards!

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 11th, 2006 at 7:02 pm and is filed under Beef, Desserts, Holiday Recipes, Fruits, Vegetables, Bread. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.