This Motherâs Day, moms everywhere will wake up to the same touching scene: their children and spouses presenting them with breakfast in bed. Itâs a gesture that is the epitome of âitâs the thought that countsâ (as a kid, this writer remembers presenting some under-toasted bread). But this year, we asked food stylist Paris Starn to do her take on the traditionâand to essentially create a Motherâs Day mood-board for the rest of us in the process.
âI had so much fun conceptualizing a Motherâs Day spread,â Starn says of her breakfast in bed tray. âI combined all of my motherâs favorites: lilacs, a latte, and pancakes,â she says. The result: crepes served with lemon, sugared lilacs, and butter. (Starn said she was inspired by those served at the James Beard Award-nominated Café Mutton in Hudson.)
She picked up common lilacsâmaking sure they were pesticide and insecticide freeâat the Union Square Farmerâs Market. Some, she put in a vase. Others she turned into decorative edible accents: âI then decorated some of the lilac flowers by dipping them in egg white, blotting them on a towel, sprinkling the sugar on top, and letting them dry overnight in the fridge,â she says.
Starn also made her batter the night before, which included lemon zest-infused super-fine sugar. âAll I had to do the next morning was quickly finish up the batter and then fry up the pancakes,â she says. âWhile the pancakes cooked, I set up the tray: placing a lilac sprig in an egg cup, and making the latte. I plated everything on my motherâs wedding dinnerware, with napkins and silverware.â
Find Starnâs recipe to recreate this Motherâs Dayâor to inspire you in future yearsâbelow.
Video: Courtesy of Paris Starn
Paris Starnâs Breakfast-in-Bed Crêpes
On my first trip to Cafe Mutton in Hudson, NY, I got their crêpes (definitely go and try them if you are in the area). They were excellent, and I couldnât stop thinking about them. They were pudgy and tender in the center with crisp airy edgesâunlike any crêpe Iâve had before.