Mother’s Day is a time to celebrate the most important women in our lives, and for many chefs, cooking with mom was their first introduction to the kitchen. Nostalgic childhood memories shape our tastes, preferences, and passion for food. Many of our favorite chefs couldn’t have succeeded without the support and guidance of their mothers, with many happy memories of cooking and baking together along the way. Here, they share mom’s best-loved dishes they’ll be whipping up for her on Mother’s Day.

French onion tartine by Max Boonthanakit and Lijo George of Camphor, Los Angeles

_{Jim Sullivan}

Max Boonthanakit: “I initially learned to make French onion soup because of my mom’s obsession with it. Back in Atlanta, GA, we would go to a small French bistro that offered both the traditional and creamy versions. I could never choose between the two, so I would always order the creamy one and my mom would get the traditional one and we would share. Another reason why I love this dish is the process of caramelizing onions. Watching the onions slowly reduce and reach that perfect dark caramel hue without burning became a personal challenge, adding to the allure of mastering this classic recipe.” 

Lijo George: “My mom usually likes to have roasted duck legs braised with red wine during holidays, typically on Christmas or Easter. But one time she visited me when I was in Hong Kong, [and] I made her a version of French onion soup. She had never tasted this dish before, but the result was she loved it. Now, every time I visit her, she always talks about it. It’s important to spend time with those you love, as families grow up and children get married and leave home and start their own families, the dynamics change a bit and it’s not as easy to get everyone together. Family traditions help bring me and my mom together, the French onion soup is a memorable dish that I will make for her on Mother’s Day.”

Serves: 2

Ingredients

Toast

1 slice rustic sourdough toast
1 clove garlic
1 tablespoon/14g unsalted butter (room temp)

Caramelized onions

3 large whole white onion
4 tablespoons/57g unsalted butter
2 sprigs/10g fresh thyme
1 fresh bay leaf
1 clove of garlic
Salt and pepper to taste

Onion soup

3/4cup + 1tbsp/200g caramelized onions (should be 2/3 of the caramelized onions)
3/4cup + 1tbsp/200g duck stock (veal or beef stock is fine)
1/3cup/80g unsalted butter
1.5 tablespoons/30g maple syrup
1.3tablespoons/20g sherry vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

Cheese mix

1/2cup/50g Gruyere cheese (minimum 10 months)
1/2cup/50g Comté cheese (minimum 12 months)

Method

For the toast

1. Slice rustic sourdough 2cm thick.

2. Spread butter on toast.

3. Toast in a 365°F/185°C oven for 8 min or until bread is golden brown and both sides are crispy.

4. Once the toast has cooled, scrub raw garlic clove on each side.

For the caramelized onions

1. Place everything except for the salt and pepper in a pot on medium heat and caramelize down until the color of dark honey.

2. Remove the thyme stems, bay leaf, and garlic clove, and set 1/3 of the mixture aside.

For the soup

1. Blend everything together and then strain through a chinois.

2. The soup should be nappe. If it is still too thin you can place it in a pot and reduce it until the correct consistency.

For the cheese mix

1. Grate both cheeses and mix together.

To assemble

1. Place a spoonful of soup onto the bottom of a medium-sized oven-safe pan.

2. Place toasted sourdough on top of the soup.

3. Spread the toast with the 1/3 of caramelized onions.

4. Top the caramelized onions with the cheese mixture.

5. Set the oven to broil and place the assembled toast into the oven till the cheese is melted and blistered.

6. Remove from the oven and place the toast onto a plate that has enough space to hold the soup as well as the toast.

7. Pour as much or as little soup around the toast and enjoy!

Pineapple cheesecake by Leigh Omilinsky of Daisies, Chicago

“This is my mama’s favorite cake, and it’s NOT a typical cheesecake. It is more like two layers of genoise with pineapple cheesecake layered in between. My grandma used to make it, and she was always so particular. She’d follow a recipe ‘to a T,’ to the point where it wasn’t really fun to bake with her because there was ZERO wiggle room. So, when she would make this cake, she would always say how tricky it was—spoiler alert: it’s not tricky at all! My mom would also make it, and it was always equally delicious. Now I make it for my mom on her birthday or special occasions. This cake is one of the very few things that my mom absolutely will not share leftovers of.”

Makes 15 cut squares

Ingredients

Dough

1 cup/200g sugar
1 1/2 tsp/7g baking powder
1 pinch salt
2 cups/240g flour
4 eggs
1 cup/192g oil
1 tsp/5g vanilla
Juice from 1 8oz can of crushed pineapple (save 2 tbsp/5g of juice and the pineapple for the filling)

Filling

2 ea, 8oz/453g cream cheese, softened
1 egg yolk
1 tsp/5g vanilla
1 cup/200g sugar
Crushed pineapple from the can
2 tbsp/5g pineapple juice

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350°F (176°C) and grease and flour a 13×9” pan.

2. For the dough: combine the sugar, oil, eggs, vanilla, and pineapple juice in a Kitchen Aid with the whisk attachment (“my mom always mixes the dough in a food processor”). Once combined, add the flour, baking powder and salt to the mix until a dough forms.

3. For the filling: Combine all ingredients except the crushed pineapple from the can. Add the crushed pineapple once the ingredients are mixed.

4. Place half the dough evenly onto the greased and floured pan. Spread the filling over the dough then top the filling with the remaining dough. Bake for 45 minutes in the preheated oven.

5. Remove from the oven and let cool. Once cool, sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Chicken and mushroom vol-au-vent by Mitsunobu Nagae of l’abeille, NYC

“This is one of my mom’s favorite dishes and she always asks me to make it for her whenever I visit Osaka. I serve it on the menu at l’abeille à côté, where I’ll change the garnish with seasonal ingredients.”

Serves: 4

Ingredients

Pastry

Two rounds of semi-frozen puff pastry
1 organic whole egg

Bechamel sauce

1oz/30g butter
1 oz/30g all purpose flour
2 cups/500ml milk
Salt

Chicken

2 chicken thighs deboned, cut into ½” x ½” pieces
Salt and pepper
10 oz/300g seasonal mushrooms (cut into small pieces)
1 clove garlic (chopped)
1/2 bunch parsley (leaves only, chopped)
1/5 cup/50ml white wine

Method

For the pastry

1. Punch two rounds of semi-frozen puff pastry with a 4”- 5” cookie cutter (or cut with a knife and a round plate).

2. Punch out the center of one of the rounds with a ¼”- ½” smaller cookie cutter to create a donut shape.

3. Brush the full round of puff pastry with an organic whole egg (for the dark orange yolk), being careful not to get any egg on the edges. Lay the second piece (with the center missing) on top of it, and wash again with egg, ensuring not to get any egg on the edges (otherwise, the pastry will not rise uniformly).

4. Bake at 350°F/180°C fan for approx. 15 min until risen and golden brown. For the perfect shape, use spacers to lay a rack ~2” above the pastry.

5. Cool it down, cut around the middle and push down to make a hole for garnishing later.

For the bechamel sauce

1. Melt butter in a pot, add all purpose flour, and cook 5 min at low heat.

2. Add milk little by little, mix and stir well each time.

3. Keep cooking for 2 min after adding all milk. Season.

4. Cover with plastic wrap and save.

For the chicken

1. Pan-fry chicken thighs with butter and season with salt and pepper.

2. Sauté mushrooms with butter and season with salt and pepper, then combine with the chicken and add parsley.

3. Make sure all juice from chicken and mushroom is evaporated.

4. Add béchamel sauce.

5. Add more salt to taste.

To plate

1. Put the puff pastry back in the oven to get hot. Garnish enough of the mushrooms and chicken cream sauce onto the puff pastry.

2. Sprinkle chopped parsley on top to add nice green color.