While every day is a special day for moms, Mother’s Day is meant to be a day of rest and relaxation. It’s a chance to show her how much you love her and what she means to you.

It’s not always possible for mom to relax and unwind. However, it is possible for you to make her a special dinner (and clean up afterwards, too) to help take some of the day’s stress off her shoulders.

In this article, we’ll take a look at the top eight Mother’s Day recipes and just how easy they are to make you look like a five-star chef.

1. Fillet Mignon Dinner

Nothing says “I’m going to spoil you” more than a perfectly cooked fillet mignon dinner.

Start with a light appetizer of a green salad. Made with delicious crisp apples, dried cranberries, and goat cheese, and drizzled with apple cider vinegar, it will delight and satisfy, and yet leave mom wanting the main course. 

Next, serve the bacon-wrapped fillet mignon with herb-crusted roast potatoes and caramelized carrots, and then finish with bread pudding and vanilla ice cream. 

Pair the meal with a nice red wine, and this will leave Mom feeling full and impressed with such a simple, yet satisfying dinner.

2. Seafood (broiled) and Blueberry Cake

Using seasonal seafood food such as crab, lobster, mussels, and shrimp, you can boil everything all in one large pot.

Not only does this mean that there is less washing up to do afterwards, but it frees you up to spend time with mom and the family, and not be chained to the stove. 

Served with warm bread rolls and garlic butter, the end result is messy and fun for the whole family to enjoy. 

Afterwards, serve up a freshly baked and iced blueberry cake, and this moist palette cleanser will delight everyone at the table.

3. An Ultimate Epicurean Board

This incredible offering will be the most impressive centrepiece that Mom will ever see. 

Using a mix of gourmet cheeses, thinly sliced European meats such as pastrami and prosciutto, and scattered with stuffed olives, dried fruits and nuts, and fancy crackers, there is something here for everyone. It will be the talk of the dinner table! 

You can dress the board with grape leaves and dried flowers to make it even more impressive and show Mom how much care you took in the presentation, ensuring her favourites are highlighted for everyone to see and enjoy.

4. Tuna Steaks

For the fish lover, try a nice, quick, and easy tuna steak.

Using sashimi-grade Ahi Tuna, coat it with sesame seeds and lightly sear it in a hot pan. Top with the amazing tangy, spicy, and savoury (yet sticky) orange sauce to heighten and enhance the flavour of the tuna. Serve it on a bed of warm wild rice and Mom will be begging for a second helping.

This light and healthy dish is not something mom would eat every day, so this makes it a great surprise that she won’t be expecting.

5. A Late-Night One-Pan Salmon Dinner

All day, mom has been dropping hints that it’s Mother’s Day, and yet you keep secret this amazing and decadent dinner you have planned for until the kids are in bed. 

This dish can be cooked all in one hot skillet, saving time and helping you to keep it a secret until the big reveal (as long as you can keep her out of the kitchen).

Serve it with a creamy and rich spinach and sun-dried tomato sauce, and pair it with her favourite white wine, and Mom will forgive you for letting her think you forgot.

6. Seafood with Chef Joe Flamm’s Adriatic Seafood Pasta

This is a wonderful and flavourful recipe, inspired by his wife’s Croatian family background. Using only the finest seafood, it’s combined with a rich butter garlic sauce.

It’s perfect for the seafood lover in the family, as it uses the freshest mussels, clams, shrimp, and crab claws, cooked and tossed in a buttery garlic sauce, and served over fresh pasta.

Substitute any of the seafood for what is in season at the time (or available), and you can tailor this dish to your mother’s favourites.

As this recipe goes nicely with a glass of white wine and a lemon sorbet for dessert, Mom will likely be asking you to cook it every night.

7. Seasonal Vegetable Boxes for a Picnic-Style Dinner   

On those rare occasions when the weather cooperates so you can sit outside and enjoy the sun and fresh air, a picnic-style dinner is a unique and fun way to get mom out of the house and relax for a while.

Or, if the weather doesn’t cooperate with you, set up a picnic blanket in the living room for a delicious picnic spread. 

With a colourful array of squash, baby artichokes, sugar snap peas, and more, you can delight her with roasted vegetables and a yogurt dip, accompanied by a spicy mango pasta salad, her favourite cheeses, and maybe chocolate-covered fruits as a treat.

With Mother’s Day recipe planning involving one of these special boxes, you are set for a winner for dinner. 

8. Elizabeth Karmel’s North Carolina-style pulled pork sandwiches

For the BBQ-loving mom, this delightful recipe brings a tangy and tasty twist to a great pulled pork sandwich. 

Using a North Carolina-style inspired BBQ sauce, this melt-in-your-mouth pulled pork will delight even the most discerning of BBQ-loving taste buds. 

Served on a warm soft bun with a side helping of crunchy cabbage slaw, some baked beans, or even a serving of mac ‘n cheese, this dish will reignite those backyard BBQ dinner nights, missed in the cold winter. 

Pair it with a cold cider or a cooled beer, and summer will come early this Mother’s Day.

It’s Time to Appreciate Mom

Moms work hard every day to make sure that we are provided for and taken care of. Thus, it’s important for us to repay their hard work with a special dinner on Mother’s Day. 

Whether it’s presented at a backyard picnic, grilled on the BBQ, or slow-cooked in the oven, there are many easy and quick-to-make recipes to delight any mother’s heart. 

For the seafood lover, meat eater, and vegetable connoisseur, these simple meals will make it look like you slaved away for hours, with bonus points awarded for the presentation that makes use of grape leaves or chocolates. 

Ben Formosa