Mothers Day

Call me sappy, but I really like mothers day and every other Hallmark holiday ever made up. While I don't think Jake really shares my enthusiasm, he definitely did his best to pretend to this year, and it was really sweet. Yesterday, we went out to breakfast at the Gilbert House with the kids. Today, we missed Sacrament to sleep in (an extra 30 minutes, yes!) and we got to relax just spending quality time together all day. Jake wrote me such a romantic card, which to me, is the best kind of gift you can get. I want so badly to post what he wrote, because it was just so poetic, but I won't.

In the evening, my family came over for an amazing Mothers Day seafood dinner that Leah and Marci cooked for us. The menu was ginger seabass with wilted spinach and rice, saffron orzo with shrimp, and Alaskan king crab legs, with a fruit tart for dessert. Everything was so good, and I think everyone was more than a little impressed with Leah's hidden culinary abilities. Now, she'll just have to cook for us more often since she's proved herself more than capable. Because everything was just so good, I'll post the recipes.

Ginger Seabass with Wilted Spinach

• 6 cups fresh baby spinach leaves


• 4 (5 oz) sea bass fillets


• 4 sp. peeled & minced fresh ginger


• 2 tsp. minced garlic


• 1/2 cup fish sauce


• 8 tsp. soy sauce


• 2 tsp. sesame oil
  
• 1 lime, quartered


• cilantro

Cut 4 (12 in. square) pieces of aluminum foil. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Working with 1 foil sheet at a time, place the foil shets on the work surface. Place 1 1/2 cups of spinach in the center of each foil sheet. Top with a sea bass fillet. Sprinkle with 1 tsp. of ginger & 1/2 tsp. of garlic, then drizzle 2 Tbs. of fish sauce, 2 tsp. of soy sauce, and 1/2 tsp. of sesame oil over the fish and spinach. Gather foil sheets over the fish. Foild in the foil edges and pinch tightly to seal. Place the foil packages on a heavy large baking sheet. Bake until the spinach wilts and the fish is just cooked through, about 10 minutes. Transfer the packages to wide shallow bowls. Cool 5 minutes. Serve over rice. Open package and squeeze lime over fish. Sprinkle with cilantro.

Saffron Orzo with Shrimp

• 4 cups reduced sodium chicken broth


• 1 tsp. saffron threads


• 1 lb. orzo
  
• 7 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil


• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley


• juice of 1 lemon


• 3 tsp. ground black pepper


• 1 lb. large shrimp, peeled and deveined

In a large pot, bring the chicken broth to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low, bringing the broth to a simmer. Add saffron, stir and simmer until the saffron has "bloomed", about 5 minutes. Refturn the heat to medium and bring the stock to a boil, then add the orzo and cook until tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally, 8-10 minutes. Dran orzo and transfer to a large bowl. Add 4 Tbs. of olive oil, the parsley, half the lemon juice, 2 Tbs. salt, and 1 tsp. pepper and combine thoroughly. In a bowl, toss the shrimp with 1 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. pepper, and the remaining lemon juice. Heat the remaining 3 Tbs. of olive oil in a pan and sautee shrimp until just cooked through. Toss with orzo & serve.