Want to really surprise mom with breakfast in bed? Clean the kitchen

It's hard to adequately thank our mothers, although on Mother's Day, we certainly try with a card, a call or a family outing to Chuy's. Food is a particularly good way to express your gratitude. After all, she fed you for all those years; now you get to feed her.

Breakfast in bed is a nice approach because it's not as much about the food as the 20 minutes alone in her bed, cup of coffee and a good read at hand, the world outside her bedroom and the children's unmet needs at bay. (Or at least that's how I imagine it. Like many moms, breakfast in bed is an unrealized dream, but honestly, I'd settle for getting my 8-month-old to sleep through the night.)

It seems easier to load up the family and let a restaurant staff take care of brunch rather than try to beat mom to the coffeepot and whip up something for her instead, but taking everyone out for a meal has its own challenges and can sometimes be more stressful on mom than staying in, says David Harap, a cooking instructor who recently published

"Entertain Like a Gentleman," a manual on how to be a good host and still enjoy yourself while entertaining guests.

"Going out to eat for Mother's Day is a nice treat, but the restaurants are crowded," says Harap. "But at home, it's a wonderful luxury because moms can stay in their pajamas and relax and avoid the stress and hassles of getting everyone to the restaurant to eat."

Harap offers his decadent recipe for brioche French toast stuffed with strawberries and cream, but this mom wouldn't mind if breakfast were a bowl of my favorite cereal and coffee with a little bourbon cajeta — goat's milk dulce de leche caramel — from Blue Heron Farms outside Houston, which is available at Antonelli's Cheese Shop in Hyde Park, if you think the mother likes a little boozy caramel in her coffee as much as I do.

Anticipate what kind of breakfast activity will be fun, not stressful, and if you know you can't pull it off within a reasonable breakfast hour, apply the same idea for lunch. A nicely assembled sandwich tastes like a treat when served with a splurge of a beverage or dessert. Remember, it's the idea of bestowing a meal that your mom doesn't have to plan, prepare or clean up after, not how well you pull off eggs Benedict and a mimosa. (But if you want an easy mimosa alternative, Harap has one: kir royale, which is champagne with a little Chambord, a black raspberry liqueur.)

Pancakes or scrambled eggs are relatively easy and enjoyable to make, but if you're going to attempt a more difficult dish, make sure you have all the ingredients, Harap says. Nothing will kill the breakfast-in-bed buzz faster than having to run to the store to buy eggs or milk.

Special doesn't need to be fancy. "It doesn't have to be overly elaborate, it's more the thought and the sentiment," Harap says. You can simply pick up a nice loaf of bread, sophisticated jam and a fancy creamer sometime before Sunday and you won't have to worry on Saturday night about what you're going to do for her in the morning. After all, store-bought scones go as nicely with a crossword puzzle as homemade cinnamon rolls.

No matter what you serve, you'll lose your brownie points if you leave the kitchen a mess. (And yes, leaving dirty dishes in the sink counts as a mess.) "If there's one secret that people in the restaurant trade talk about is cleaning as you go. You finish a mixing bowl, rinse it out and put it in the dishwasher as you go," he says. Dirty dishes are a real chore when you save them all for after the meal.

But it doesn't need to be a surprise for it to be a treat. Just don't forget the dishes.

abroyles@statesman.com; 912-2504

Brioche French Toast Stuffed with Strawberries and Cream

The strawberry and cream cheese filling is a surprise that adds flavor and richness to what is already a decadent breakfast.

1/2 cup strawberries

Zest of one lemon

4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

1/2 tsp. honey

1/2 loaf brioche or challah bread (Hawaiian sweet rolls also will work)

2 large eggs

milk

2 Tbsp. heavy cream

1 tsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Pinch of salt