Feeling the love on Mother's Day

One of my favorite days of the year is Mother's Day. My husband and daughter do such a good job of making me feel loved, and I always look forward to the spoiling.

This year was no different. I got to sleep in until 9:30 a.m., an increasingly rare treat nowadays. Aaron and Emma then took me to brunch at Left Bank, a wonderful French restaurant in Pleasant Hill. It's one of the few restaurants that we dine at that seldom disappoints us. Sunday's meal was excellent. The restaurant had a special Mother's Day menu, and I encountered an incredibly difficult decision. I eventually opted for the spinach salad and the Alsatian tart. The salad was fantastic, and it is similar to one that Aaron and I make from time to time. The tart was, surprisingly, like the salad, but on a crisp bread. It had arugula, pecans, pears and blue cheese. I thought it was wonderful -- and I'm convinced I could make a version of it at home. Stay tuned for my experiments with that.

The best treat on Mother's Day, in addition to the beautiful flowers and wonderful cards, was the home-cooked meal from my husband. He asked the night before what I would like, and he told me he would make it. This is a tricky question for me. I usually have dozens of meals I want to try or haven't had in a while, so I sort of surprised myself when I answered right away. Barbecue chicken, polenta and corn on the cob. Aaron outdid himself. The chicken was perfect, the polenta was soft and creamy, and the corn on the cob hit the spot. It was a perfect end to a perfect day!

My favorite kind of barbecue chicken is boneless, skinless chicken breast slathered in barbecue sauce. We prefer the Sweet Baby Ray's brand, but others certainly are delicious. I find corn on the cob is best the day it's bought. We usually grill it, but Sunday we just boiled it for a few minutes.

This recipe for polenta comes from the 2008 book "The Best Slow & Easy Recipes," from the America's Test Kitchen series.

Creamy Baked Polenta

7 cups water
Salt
1 1/2 cups (9 oz.) polenta
2 oz. Parmesan cheese, finely grated (about 1 cup)
4 tbsp. (1/2 stick) butter
1 medium garlic clove, minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 1 tsp.)
Ground black pepper

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Bring the water to a boil in a large covered Dutch oven over high heat. Remove the lid and stir in 1 1/2 tsp. salt. Very slowly pour the polenta into the boiling liquid while stirring constantly in a circular motion with a wooden spoon.

Cover, place the pot into the oven and bake until the polenta no longer has a raw cornmeal taste and all of the liquid has been absorbed, about 1 hour, stirring well halfway through the cooking time.

Remove the polenta from the oven and stir in the Parmesan, butter and garlic. Season with salt and pepper before serving.

Cook's notes: The recipe recommends coarse or medium-ground cornmeal and to avoid instant polenta. It also recommends using fresh Parmesan rather than pregrated cheese. I concur on this suggestion. The flavor is infinitely better. One other suggestion I have is to avoid the garlic. I find it a bit overpowering for the delicate flavors in this dish. I would add it back, however, if I were to add other flavors to this dish, such as sauteed mushrooms, sauteed asparagus or sun-dried tomatoes.