Photo by Ellen Silverman © 2009

In Mother's Best, Chef Schroeder shares 150 of her favorite recipes from her restaurant, Mother's Bistro & Bar. If you were fortunate enough to grown up on wonderful homemade comfort food then these meals will make you a little less homesick. And if you didn't grow up on great homemade food then these recipes will most certainly have you wishing you did!

Not only are the recipes superb, but the book itself is visually appealing with beautifully illustrated recipes and mouthwatering photos of the dishes.  This is the type of cookbook you can curl up with (and isn't that the best kind?). 

Two other things really make Mother's Best stand out.

First, is the 26 page chapter on Macaroni and Cheese! Yup, 26 pages containing nine different versions of the American favorite with flavor combinations that are sure to please every member of your family.  My personal favorite is the Spinach, Ricotta, and Parmesan Mac & Cheese. 

The other item that makes Mother's Best standout is the "Love Notes" Chef Schroeder leaves throughout.  Reminiscent of notes some of our own dear mothers have left us, the "Love Notes" contain all sorts of helpful information on ingredients, cooking technique, and presentation. 

What is Mother's Best?  It's great cooking advice that only a "mother" can give you.

Chicken and Dumplings

From Mother's Best by Lisa Schroeder with Danielle Centoni, Taunton Press 2009

For the Chicken gravy

• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 7 cups chicken broth from Belle's Chicken Soup (page 61; also Love Note 1)
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 large carrots, peeled and diced (1 1/2 cups)
• 5 ribs celery, diced (2 1/2 cups)

For the Dumplings

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 scant teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley
• 3 tablespoons cold unsalted
• butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 2/3 cup whole milk

For serving

5 cups cooked chicken (you can use the cooked chicken from making Belle's Chicken Soup; remove the skin and pick the meat off the bones, keeping the meat in large chunks; or cook a 3-pound chicken)
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley, for garnish

To Make the gravy

1. In a large (8- to 10-quart), heavy-bottomed soup pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and mix well to make a roux. Cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture is pale yellow and resembles fine, wet sand, about 3 minutes.

2. Whisk the broth into the roux a little at a time, allowing the roux to absorb the liquid before adding more (this will help prevent lumps). Add the salt, pepper, carrots, and celery. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally, and then lower the heat and gently simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Keep stirring occasionally and skim off any scum (Love Note 2) that rises to the surface.

To Make the dumplings

1. Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, and parsley together in a large bowl, and then cut in the butter using a pastry blender, two knives, or a whisk until it's in small pieces. (Alternatively, you can use a food processor: Place the flour, baking powder, and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse several times to combine. Add the parsley and pulse once or twice to incorporate. Add the butter and pulse until it is in small pieces.)

2. Add the milk and stir or pulse once or twice to moisten the flour mixture. (Do not overmix or you will develop the gluten in the flour and the dumplings will be chewy.) Gather the dough into a ball.

3.  Using a large spoon or your hands, scoop out 1/4-cup chunks of dough, lightly roll them between your palms to round them out, and then drop into the simmering gravy (it's OK if they sink), spacing them apart. Cover the pot and simmer until the dumplings are done (a knife inserted in the center should come out clean), about 20 minutes. (Avoid lifting the lid while the dumplings are cooking because it slows down the cooking process, and "if you're lookin' you're not cookin'!")

To serve

Gently stir the cooked chicken into the pot with the dumplings, return the liquid to a simmer, cover, and cook for 5 more minutes to heat the chicken through. Using a serving spoon or tongs, divide the chicken and dumplings among soup bowls. Ladle the gravy over the dumplings and chicken, sprinkle with the parsley, and serve.

Love Notes

1. This recipe is delicious with the broth from Belle's Chicken Soup (you need just the broth, with no other ingredients or additions). In a pinch you can use canned low-sodium chicken broth and a rotisserie chicken and still have a good meal. When you add the chicken, feel free to stir in any leftover vegetables you have lurking in the fridge, such as steamed broccoli or green beans or braised greens.

2.  When simmering gravies or sauces that include flour, be sure you skim off any scum that rises to the surface with a large serving spoon or ladle. This scum contains proteins and fibers from the flour that can make a sauce gummy.

Belle's Chicken Noodle Soup

For the broth

• 2 whole chickens, plus other carcasses if available (see page 123 for information about cutting up your own chickens)
• 2 yellow onions
• 4 ribs celery (cut in half to fit the pot, if necessary)
• 4 carrots, peeled (cut in half to fit the pot, if necessary)
• 4 parsnips, peeled (cut in half to fit the pot, if necessary)
• 1 bunch fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley, with stems (about
• 20 sprigs)
  

• 4 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt (divided)
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper (divided)
• For the soup
• 2 cups finely diced carrots (about
• 3 large, peeled)
• 2 cups finely diced celery (about
• 4 large ribs, ends trimmed)
• 2 cups cooked chicken (reserved from making the broth)
• 1 pound egg noodles, cooked
• 1 bunch fresh dill, chopped, for garnish

To Make the broth

1. In a narrow, deep pot just large enough to hold the chickens (10- to 12-quart capacity), place the chickens, onions, celery, carrots, parsnips, and parsley. (Make sure you use a narrow pot rather than a wide one. Otherwise, you may have to use too much water to cover the chickens.) Add just enough cold water to barely cover the chickens (ideally, not more than 5 quarts, or 20 cups). Bring to a boil over high heat, skimming off any scum that rises to the surface. Reduce the heat to a simmer (rapidly boiling soup or stock often makes it look cloudy instead of clear) and season with 2 teaspoons of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper. (You're seasoning here because you want the chicken to have some flavor when you use it later in other dishes. The soup will be seasoned again later.)

2. Simmer the broth, uncovered, for at least 3 hours. Season again with 2 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Taste; if it tastes like chicken, it's ready. If not, let it cook a bit longer and taste again. It can cook for another hour as long as it is barely simmering, but no more than 4 hours total or the chicken will dry out.

3. When the broth is done, turn off the heat, lift the chicken from the pot with slotted spoons or a spider (Love Note 1, page 223, Spaetzle), and set aside in a large bowl or on a rimmed baking sheet until cool enough to handle.

4. Strain the broth into a clean 6- to 8-quart pot, and discard the solids. If you're not making the soup right away, cool and refrigerate the broth so you can scrape off the solidified fat from the surface before continuing (you can save it to make Belle's Chopped Liver, page 14). Otherwise, allow the stock to sit undisturbed for at least 10 minutes, and spoon off the fat that rises to the surface.

To Make the soup

1. Set the pot of broth over medium heat and bring to a simmer.

2. Add the diced carrots and celery to the simmering broth, and cook until just
fork-tender, about 8 minutes (Love Note).

3.Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning with more salt and pepper, if necessary.

4.While the vegetables are cooking, pick the meat from the chicken, leaving the pieces as large as possible, and set aside. Discard the bones.

To serve

1. Add the 2 cups of cooked chicken to the soup.

2. Divide the cooked noodles among the serving bowls. Ladle the soup over the noodles, sprinkle with the fresh chopped dill, and serve.

Love Note

My favorite tool for checking the doneness of vegetables or fruit is a thin, two-pronged fork. It has long, narrow tines that allow me to pierce the cooking vegetables without leaving a trace. When vegetables offer no resistance, I know they are cooked to perfection, so I stop the cooking immediately before the vegetables get overcooked. If the tines of the fork don't slide in and out easily, the vegetables are not done and need to be cooked some more.

Spinach, Ricotta, and Parmesan Macaroni & Cheese

From Mother's Best by Lisa Schroeder with Danielle Centoni, Taunton Press 2009

• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt (divided), plus more for salting the pasta water
• 1 pound penne or fusilli pasta, preferably De Cecco
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 5 packed cups fresh spinach leaves (about 8 ounces or 2 bunches), washed and stems trimmed
• 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (divided)
• 3 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese (Love Note)
• 1 1/2 cups grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (divided)
  

1. Bring a medium (6- to 8-quart) pot of water to a boil. Salt it generously (it should taste like the sea). Stir in the pasta and cook according to package directions. Drain (but don't rinse, or you'll rinse away starches that will help thicken the sauce) and return to the empty pot.

2. Meanwhile, place a large (12- to 14-inch) sauté pan over medium-high heat for several minutes. When hot, add the butter and spinach and sauté, stirring, until wilted. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper while the spinach is cooking.
 
3. Add the heavy cream and bring to a boil, stirring to scrape up any browned bits. Lower the heat to medium and simmer until thickened slightly, stirring now and then, about 3 minutes. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper.

4. Add the ricotta and 1 1/4 cups of the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Stir well and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the cheese has melted and the mixture has thickened, about 3 minutes. Season with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper.

5. Stir the sauce into the cooked and drained pasta in the pot. Place over medium heat and simmer for 1 to 2 minutes to thicken the sauce and allow the pasta to absorb the flavors, stirring now and then. Adjust the consistency with more cream if necessary.

6. Serve in individual bowls topped with the remaining cheese.

Love Note

Tubs of part-skim ricotta cheese are everywhere, but I urge you to look a little harder to find whole-milk ricotta, which is (no surprise) much richer in texture and flavor. If you don't see it in the refrigerated case with the usual suspects like cream cheese and preshredded cheeses, look in the gourmet cheese area. You can also make it yourself in about an hour with milk and lemon juice or vinegar. You can find many recipes for it online.

About Mother's Best

There's nothing like a home-cooked meal made with love, which is just what Lisa Schroeder serves in her wildly popular Portland, Oregon, restaurant, Mother's Bistro & Bar. The menu is filled with comfort food that fills the stomach and the soul. And Lisa has invited mothers from all over America and the world - Hungary, Peru, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, India, and Italy - to add their hearty and heartfelt dishes to her customers tables. Bursting with both kitchen and life wisdom, Mother's Best gathers 175 inviting recipes that range from appetizers, soups, and salads to main courses, sides, breakfast foods, sandwiches, and desserts and baked goods. Mother's Best is the cookbook for those who yearn for uncomplicated and uncommonly good food straight from mother's oven.

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