MPM--Mother's Day Afterglow

Hi all--I have to be honest: I usually hate Mother's Day. I don't want to be a downer, but it's one of my least favorite "Hallmark holidays" because it makes me feel like a failure (because who can live up to the mothers described in those flowery cards?!) and an orphan (not fair, with my amazing aunt and loving mother-in-law, but, both of them have lost their mothers too and totally understand). But this one--this one was for the books. My one son made chocolate bark and was so proud he was dropping hints for days; my other wrote a poem for me that I will treasure until the day I die and beyond. I am eternally grateful to his teacher for all the work she did with him on it. And then our celebration here, which for most of the week looked like it would be just us and the grandparents, suddenly turned in to an all-play with every local family showing up in droves, so drinks and appetizers for 6 turned in to dinner for 14. And still--it worked out great. We had lots of freezer appetizers (little hot dogs, brie and raspberry rolls, etc. etc.), chips, pico, hot pizza dip, veggies and dip, and those yummy pretzels that are flavored and baked. For dinner, I made the Armagnac chicken (which got really exciting when I spilled the brandy and up it flamed)--though I had to make 3 and had almost no leftovers!--and augmented with a spinach salad, the carrot & avocado salad, and a pasta and veggie salad and potato salad from another party, plus leftover cake and I made a strawberry-rhubarb crumble. It was awesome, and so fun to have everyone here on a beautiful day.

This week:

Monday: Party leftovers. Chicken with vegetables, and I'll make rice to go with. Also salad, as I found iceberg lettuce at 2/$1, woohoo!

Tuesday: Taco Tuesday, of course!

Wednesday: Creamy Mustard Pork (didn't get to it last week), rice, asparagus. Can't be late as my moms' group is having our Mothers' Day celebration and it's Trader Joe's night--I'm looking forward to seeing what people bring!

Thursday: Leftovers or spaghetti

Friday: Relay for Life at a local high school--we'll eat there since it's a fundraiser. Also, I'm very psyched: the American Cancer Society is launching a long term (decades!) health study to look at cancer risks. It's the third large-scale research project they've done; the first is what linked smoking and lung cancer. My husband and I are enrolling in the study, and they are doing the intake work at the Relay for Life.

And that's the week that's coming! Last week was kind of different. The pork I had bought from Trader Joe's had a microhole in the packaging so by the time I went to pull the tenderloin out of the fridge, it had leaked pork juices all over. I couldn't get back to exchange it that day so I pulled off a freezer meal, delighting my kids, and set the tone for the week. And Wednesday--oh, I barely have words! We went to Talula's Table, an ultra-gourmet restaurant, famous right now for being the toughest reservation to get in the country since they only have one table. Well--now they have two-after I "liked" them on Facebook, I learned that there is a kitchen table, where you get to sit in the kitchen and watch the chefs and learn from them while they cook. It was awesome and the menu was unbelievable.
The entire thing was awesome, including the amuse-bouche plate they brought us at first, with an eggplant tarte, tuna salad topped with fried capers on a hash-brown, and a mushroom-and-brie ravioli. YUM. It was crazy-expensive, but less than the trip we'd hoped to take to California (you'd hope so, right!?!) and oh-so-worth it.

Here's hoping you get to splurge on something you love this week. Meanwhile, check out I'm an Organizing Junkie for more realistic and inspirational menus!