Brunch Recipes That Will Wow Mom This Mother's Day

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- This Mother's Day, show how much you care by cooking mom a homemade, delicious and healthy brunch.

Steve Lindner, executive chef and founder of ZoneManhattan.com, stopped by the CBS2 studio to share some simple but tasty recipes.

For a look at what Lindner cooked up with CBS2's Andrea Grymes, click the video player above.

But if you're looking to minimize your time in the kitchen on Sunday, you may want to consider these brunch recipes from queen of Latin cooking, Daisy Martinez.

Martinez also stopped by the CBS2 studio on Saturday with a special make-ahead brunch menu so you cooks out there can get out of the kitchen and enjoy Mother's Day at the table with your family.

Click the video player below for the full brunch demonstration with CBS2's Diane Macedo.

• Mini Pastelones
• Fig, Potato, Gouda Quiche
• Strawberry-Watercress Salad
• Gazpacho

Mini Pastelones
Makes 12

3 tablespoons achiote oil (Recipe to follow)

1 cup of sofrito (Recipe to follow)

1⁄4 alcaparrado, finely chopped
1⁄2 teaspoon ground cumin

1⁄4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 pound ground pork

1 tablespoon tomato paste
1⁄2 cup raisins

kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 11 ounce packages of frozen sweet plantains 4 large eggs, well beaten

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Heat the achiote oil in a medium skillet over medium high heat and add the sofrito stirring occasionally to cook out the water, and add the alcaparrado, cumin and cinnamon. Introduce the ground pork to the skillet stirring to mix ingredients well, breaking up any large clumps of pork with a wooden spoon. Add the tomato paste and the raisins, stirring again to mix well, check seasonings, and set aside.
2. Using a paper towel, spread the butter in the cups of your muffin pan, coating well. Slice each plantain slice in halve lengthwise (I found them to be sliced rather thick. Pick out the smaller slices and place in the bottom of each muffin cup, then choose two more slices to line the sides of the muffin cup. Using a tablespoon, fill the "plantain cups" with the pork picadillo. You can make this recipe up to this point ahead of time and place in refrigerator, remembering to take it out 30 minutes before baking it off.

Sofrito
Makes about 4 cups

2 medium Spanish onions, cut into large chunks

3 to 4 Italian frying peppers or cubanelle peppers

16 to 20 cloves garlic, peeled

1 large bunch cilantro, washed

7 to 10 ajices dulces (see note below), optional

4 leaves of culantro (see note below), or another handful cilantro 3 to 4 ripe plum tomatoes, cored and cut into chunks

1 large red bell pepper, cored, seeded and cut into large chunks

Chop the onion and cubanelle or Italian peppers in the work bowl of a food processor until coarsely chopped. With the motor running, add the remaining ingredients one at a time and process until smooth. The sofrito will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. It also freezes beautifully.

Achiote Oil
Makes about 1 cup

Annatto seeds, known as achiote in Spanish, are small irregularly shaped, deep reddish colored seeds about the size of a lentil. They grow in pods but are sold loose in jars in the spice aisle. (Or see Sources on page 000.) Steeping annatto (achiote) seeds in hot olive oil for a few minutes will do more than give the oil a brilliant orange-gold color; it will infuse it with a nutty, delicate aroma and add a quick kick to whatever you use it in. This incredibly simple technique will become part of your repertoire, not just for the many dishes that call for it in this book, but any time you want a splash of color and a hint of annatto flavor.

1 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons achiote (annatto) seeds

Heat the oil and annatto seeds in a small skillet over medium heat just until the seeds give off a lively, steady sizzle. Don't overheat the mixture or the seeds will turn black and the oil a nasty green. Once they're sizzling away, pull the pan from the heat and let stand until the sizzling stops. Strain as much of the oil as you are going to use right away into the pan; store the rest for up to 4 days at room temperature in a jar with a tight fitting lid.

Potato, Fig and Blue Cheese Quiche
Makes 2 (9-inch) quiches; 16 slices

2 (9-inch) pre-made pie shells, pre-baked (see Note on page 000)

8 dried figs

1 small white onion (about 8 ounces)

1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil

1 (10-ounce) Idaho potato, peeled and cut into ¼-inch slices

2 cups heavy cream

4 extra-large eggs

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh chives

Pinch ground nutmeg, preferably freshly grated

Pinch ground cayenne pepper

½ cup crumbled Cabrales or other blue cheese

1. Bake the shells (see Note on page 000).
2. Put the figs in a heatproof bowl. Pour in enough hot water to cover them completely and soak them until softened and plumped up, about 30 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
4. Meanwhile: Make decorative onion slices for the tops of the quiche: Cut the onion in half through the root and peel the halves. Cut one of the halves into very thin slices through the root end (the small piece of root attached will keep the sliced attached.) stop when you have 12 nice even slices that hold together firmly at the root. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add your nice onion slices and cook them, turning gently once, until well browned on both sides, about 5 minutes. Remove them to a plate.
5. Pour enough oil into the skillet to coat the bottom evenly. Add as many of the potato slices as fit comfortably. Fry them, turning once, until browned on both sides and tender, about 7 minutes. Repeat with the remaining potato slices, removing them to the plate with the onion as they are done and adding a little more oil to the skillet if necessary.
6. Whisk the cream, eggs, chives, nutmeg, and cayenne together in a mixing bowl until well blended. Drain the figs and cut them into very thin slices.
7. Arrange half of the potato slices in an even layer over the bottom of the baked shells. Scatter the figs and blue cheese evenly over the potatoes. Top with a second layer of potatoes. Put the quiches on a baking sheet large enough to hold them both comfortably and pour the custard into the shells. If any of the potatoes poke through the surface, submerge them. Decorate the top with browned onion slices. Bake until the edges of the custard are set and the center is only slightly jiggly, about 45 minutes. Cool at least 15 minutes before serving. Serve warm or room temperature.

Strawberry-Watercress Cabrales Salad

2 cups watercress

2 cups baby lettuces

2 cups strawberries, hulled and sliced

3/4 cups walnuts, chopped

1/4 cup extra virgen olive oil

1 tablespoon champagne vinegar

Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper

1/2 cup Cabrales

1. Wash and dry greens, toss and add strawberries, and walnuts, toss again to mix thoroughly.

2. Whisk the olive oil and vinegar together to blend and season to taste with salt and pepper. Drizzle over the salad, and toss one last time. Garnish with crumbled cheese and serve.

Gazpacho
Makes about 2 quarts (8 servings)

1 pound ripe tomatoes, peeled and seeded (see page 000)

1 large red bell pepper, roasted (see page opposite), cored and seeded or 1 large bottled "fire-roasted" pepper

1 English (hothouse) cucumber, peeled, cut in half lengthwise and seeded, then cut into 1-inch chunks

½ cup roughly chopped Spanish onion

½ cup loosely packed chopped fresh cilantro

1 clove garlic

2 cups bottled tomato juice

1 tablespoon sherry vinegar

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon ground cumin

¼ cup olive oil

Freshly ground pepper

1. Process the tomatoes in the work bowl of a food processor until chopped. Add the roasted pepper, cucumber, onion, cilantro, and garlic one at a time and process until you have a thick soupy puree. Add the tomato juice, vinegar, cumin, and salt and pulse the processor until incorporated. With the processor running, slowly add the olive oil.  Chill.
2. Check  the seasonings and add salt, if necessary and pepper to taste. Serve in chilled mugs or bowls. You can make this the day before you plan to serve it. The flavor will only get better. Store it in your refrigerator for up to 3 days.