Posted on Wed, May. 07, 2008

-- One of the things we like about using one of Nigella Lawson's cookbooks - and, yes, we know some of you find her precious and a flibbertigibbet, but we disagree - is the open-endedness of most of her recipes. She not only leaves you options but suggests ways to change the recipe as written.

That's why we went to her "Feast" book (Hyperion, 2004) for ideas on ways to indulge Mom on Mother's Day.

And though the book is sorted by special events - Easter, a wedding feast, Halloween - parts and pieces are interchangeable. Pick up a main course here, a side dish there, a dessert that could become your signature dish.

We reasoned the parts and pieces of a Mother's Day Feast should be simple enough for Dad and assorted younglings to put together without wrecking the kitchen. That said, we do realize in some families (perhaps many), Dad is the better cook.

We also reasoned that though this being a day to show Mom appreciation for all she does for us, you might find a fancy restaurant dinner the smarter, better way to go, and that's OK, too. We've even offered a couple of suggestions if you choose that route.

In our experience, though, food is as much about love as it is about nourishment, and isn't love a kind of nourishment after all? Food you fix yourself isn't all about the finished product. It's about the care and time invested in it.

So here are a few suggestions for a Happy Mother's Day meal, and we suggest you take a tip from a restaurateur/friend who says this (or words to this effect): "Make it yourself if your recipe is spectacular; let someone else (a purveyor, the supermarket) do it if isn't." Remember this bit when you get to the part where we suggest frozen baby peas as a side dish.

For the main course, we chose Nigella's take on a one-pan dish, this one with chicken and sausages, from "Feast's" Easy Lunch for Six. On the side, we'd serve Sticky Garlic Potatoes (from an Easter dinner) with simple petits pois heated up in a bit of butter, or green beans topped with toasted slivered almonds. Buy either veg frozen; your choice.

For dessert, buy some of the richest vanilla ice cream you can lay hands on and top it with Peanut Butter and Snickers Fudge Sauce.

To quote the author, "I think the title says it all, don't you?"

Now that's love.

SAGE-AND-ONION CHICKEN AND SAUSAGES

Writes the author, "I took it into my head... to marinate and cook some chicken with the flavors of a traditional sage-and-onion stuffing. So onion, mustard, sage and lemon infuse the cut-up bird." The sausages, she writes, may be any fresh (as opposed to smoked) sausage you choose, though probably one that is not fiery hot would be best.

As for the chicken, the author calls for a 4-pounder cut into 10 pieces.

We suggest 4 pounds of legs and thighs or, if you prefer white meat, a corresponding weight of breasts, but cut them in half across the ribs and breastbone cartilage, and whatever you do, use chicken on the bone with skin attached.

1 large onion
½ cup olive oil (not extra virgin)
2 teaspoons English mustard (Coleman's or any yellow powdered brand)
1 tablespoon dried sage
Ground pepper
1 lemon
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
4-pound chicken cut into 10 pieces
10 to 12 sausages
2 tablespoons chopped sage leaves

Peel and cut the onion into eighths and put into a zip-top freezer bag with the oil, mustard, dried sage, a good grinding of pepper, the lemon juice, the squeezed-out lemon rinds cut into eighths and the Worcestershire sauce. Squidge everything around to mix (the mustard needs help to combine) and then add the chicken pieces. Leave to marinate in the fridge overnight, or for up to 2 days (a note here: we would avoid leaving American chickens to marinate for that long).

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Allow the chicken to come to room temperature in its marinade.

Arrange the chicken pieces in a roasting pan, skin side up, with the marinade, including all the bits and pieces, and tuck the sausages around them. Sprinkle the fresh sage leaves over the chicken and sausages and then put the pan into the oven to cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Turn the sausages about halfway through to color them evenly.

To serve, arrange the chicken pieces and sausages on a large platter.

STICKY GARLIC POTATOES

You can get those younglings into the act with this one by letting them squash the boiled new potatoes with their hands (using a potholder for protection), if you like. Or hand them the rolling pin and step back.

1½ pounds small new potatoes
8 cloves garlic (more, or less, as you like)
½ cup olive or other vegetable oil

Bring a saucepan of water to boil and add some salt; add the potatoes and cook for 30 minutes. Drain and put back into the dry pan.

Peel the garlic cloves by squishing with the flat of a knife so they bruise slightly and the skins slip off. Put them in the dry pan with the potatoes, and then bash the potatoes and garlic with the end of a rolling pin so they are cracked and split. You can do this ahead and leave them in the pan, though with the lid off so they don't get watery, until you want to roast them.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees (same temp as your chicken dish, a-ha) and slip a roasting pan in to heat up. Once the pan is hot, pour in the oil and let it, in turn, heat for 10 minutes.

Carefully tip the potatoes and garlic into the hot oil and cook for 15 minutes. Turn the potatoes over and then give them another 15 minutes. You will thank me, or you will if there is any justice in the world.

Note: Let the kiddies squash the potatoes or even "bash" them with a rolling pin. Put your potatoes in the oven after the chicken dish has cooked for 45 minutes.

PEANUT BUTTER AND SNICKERS FUDGE SAUCE

1 cup heavy cream
½ jar smooth peanut butter (approximately 1/3 cup)
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 king-size Snickers bar (approximately 3 ounces) broken into pieces
1 tablespoon dark corn syrup

Place all ingredients in a saucepan and heat gently. When everything has melted, raise to a simmer, stirring and scraping the pan for about 3 minutes.

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