Mother’s Day approaches, and whether you gather with loved ones or ignore it altogether (or, if you’re a mom, slink off to spend the day doing whatever you like, all by yourself — a thrilling thought), it never hurts to have something good to eat.
Last week, I asked whether you all go out or eat at home to mark the day. It seems, from the emails I received, that eating at home is the far more popular option; restaurants are notoriously jammed and pricey on Mother’s Day. In that spirit, I offer you this roundup of recipes from New York Times Cooking: “12 Easy Mother’s Day Brunch Recipes Because Going Out Is a Nightmare.”
I picked the recipes below with the weeknights ahead in mind, but they’d also be nice for any moms in your life. Tell me what you think, or send recipe requests, at dearemily@nytimes.com.
2. Pan-Seared Chicken With Harissa, Dates and Citrus
Yewande Komolafe sears chicken thighs and serves them with a saucy combination of harissa, shallots, orange juice and caramelized dates — a tangle of amazing flavors. Set yourself up well by marinating the chicken several hours ahead (or even the night before). Then, when you’re rushing to make dinner, you can pick up with Step 3 and be halfway to dinner.
3. Olive Oil Baked Salmon
This very easy and fancy-seeming method of cooking salmon — baking it in olive oil at a relatively low 350 degrees, rather than blasting it at 425 — makes it extra silky. Ali Slagle goes one step further and adds herbs (and garlic, chiles or olives) to the oil for multidimensional flavor.
4. Spicy Shrimp Masala
Zainab Shah describes this shrimp recipe, from the coastal regions of South Asia, as a “small miracle.” The flavors are complex and blazingly alive, in a dish you can make in less than 30 minutes.
