Celebrating a Socially Distant Mother’s Day 2020

Happy Friday, everyone! This weekend is Mother’s Day and I have covered several ways to celebrate mom this week. Some of my tips were featured in Forbes, MarketWatch, and NBC4, SA Living, where you can watch the video at the end of this blog. (see video below)

One of my favorite ways to show love is through baking. We tend to gift what we enjoy and the ceremony of getting my hands dirty in the kitchen is both therapeutic and healing. I enjoy giving home-baked goods to friends and making meals for my family. This Mother’s Day, since we are all staying close to home, I suggest making mom a special breakfast or brunch. One of my preferred vacation spots is California and my favorite hotel is Shutters on the Beach. They are closed during Covid-19 but they sent out an email this week featuring their delicious pancakes. I’m sure they wouldn’t mind if I shared the recipe with you here.

INGREDIENTS

4 large egg yolks
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract or lemon oil
1/4 cup cake or all-purpose flour
Pinch of kosher salt
1 cup ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
4 large egg whites
Canola oil or nonstick spray, for cooking
Confectioner’s sugar for serving
Maple syrup, for serving or mixed berries (optional)

PREPARATION

In a medium bowl, combine the egg yolks, sugar, lemon zest, and lemon extract. Whisk until light in color and aerated, about 2 minutes.

Whisk in the flour and salt. Then whisk in the ricotta cheese and melted butter until just incorporated.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks. Fold them into the batter, being careful not to over mix. The batter can be prepared the night before and refrigerated.

Heat a griddle or a large sauté pan over medium heat and coat it lightly with oil.

Pour 1/2 cup circles of batter and cook until bubbles begin to form on the tops of the pancakes and the bottoms are golden, about 2 minutes. Then flip carefully and continue cooking until the pancakes are golden on the other side and dry in the middle.

Transfer the pancakes to serving plates and sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar, or keep them warm in a 200 F degree oven until ready to serve.

Serve with syrup and berries on the side.

I also have one more recipe to share I think mom would enjoy.

Mom’s Shortbread Recipe: 

16 Tbs. ounces softened butter (not margarine)
2 cups all-purpose flour (I like Pioneer Flour)
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Beat together butter, sugar and vanilla. Add flour to the mixture. It may look a bit dry but continue beating. If needed, add 1 tsp. of water at a time until it sticks together. The dough will be stiff to touch.

Roll out dough in halves and press into prepared 9-inch pans with your fingers. Prick with a fork. Bake at 300 degrees for approximately 30 minutes, depending on your oven. Shortbread should appear light golden brown. Top with a dollop of Nutella.

Finally, I am sharing my SA Living video with you. My daughter was my cohost for this segment – with a few ideas of her own. 

While you may not be celebrating at a restaurant or family gathering this year, may your Mother’s Day be special and memorable.

You may also like Mother’s Day 2020 Etiquette and Gift Ideas. For more of Diane’s etiquette tips read her posts on Inc., subscribe to her articles on The Huffington Post, “like” The Protocol School of Texas on Facebook, and follow her on Pinterest,  Instagram and Twitter.