4 savory, sweet recipes to impress mom on Mother's Day

May 8—Making food for someone should be its own love language, and what better way to show your mother you love her than by cooking a meal for her? This Mother's Day, consider trying your hand in whipping up any of the following savory or sweet brunch recipes.

Omurice

Makes 3 servings

Omurice, literally an omelet on a bed of rice, is a beloved staple in Western-style Japanese cuisine. This version features a tornado-like creamy blanket of eggs atop fried rice with a ketchup-based demi-glace. Fair warning: If you've never made this before, it will take you a few tries (or several, if you're like me) to get a decent egg swirl. Worst comes to worst, at the very least you'll still have delicious, creamy scrambled eggs with fried rice and enough food to feed the rest of the family.

Ingredients

Meatless demi-glace

1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 tablespoon flour

5 tablespoons ketchup

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon honey

3/4 cup water

1/4 cup milk

Fried rice

1/2 large carrot, finely chopped

1/2 medium onion, finely chopped

1/2 bell pepper, finely chopped

2 cups cooked rice, cooled

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 tablespoon ketchup

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon rice wine

Omelet

9 eggs

A pinch of salt

Butter to coat the pan

Directions

Demi-glace

Combine ketchup, soy sauce, honey, water and milk in a bowl and set aside.

Preheat a frying pan and add the vegetable oil and flour. Cook over medium to medium high heat until the liquid turns dark brown, about 5 to 7 minutes. Stir occasionally. Reduce to low heat.

Pour in the combined sauce mixture and stir well. Turn up the heat to medium low to medium, and cook until the sauce thickens, about 8-10 minutes. Stir often. Set aside.

Fried rice

Preheat a skillet and add vegetable oil. Stir fry carrot, onion and bell pepper until softened.

Combine the soy sauce, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce and rice wine in a small bowl until combined.

Add the rice and sauce mixture to the pan and mix for 2-3 minutes.

Turn the heat off and cover the rice until you're ready to serve it.

When ready to serve, shape the rice in a small bowl to make a mound. Place the serving plate on the bowl and flip. Remove the bowl.

Tornado omelet

Beat the eggs in a bowl, two per serving. For a smooth texture, sieve the eggs. While this step sounds unnecessary, this helps the eggs turn smoothly in the pan. Add a pinch of salt.

Preheat a non-stick frying pan over medium high heat. This is key to ensuring the egg can twist easily while cooking instead of tearing. The the egg should bubble when you pour it in. Add some butter and spread it over the pan.

Pour the beaten eggs into the pan and cook until the edge is cooked, or when the egg starts making air bubbles in the middle.

Hold your chopsticks diagonally to yourself and pinch the egg from the edges toward the center while maintaining about a 2-inch gap between each chopstick. Carefully twirl your chopsticks in one direction, while also slowly turning the pan to form the egg's tornado shape.

Cook the omelet until it's about 95% cooked and still looks slightly runny. If it's fully cooked, it will be more prone to breakage.

Slowly slide the omelet from the pan onto the shaped rice.

Pour the demi-glace sauce around or over the omelet and rice and serve.

Orange creamsicle ricotta pancakes

Makes 6 servings

These fluffy pancakes come with a bright and zesty twist — they're reminiscent of summery orange creamsicle popsicles. The pancakes are definitely good enough on their own if you'd prefer to just serve them with syrup, but the orange cream glaze kicks up the delightful orange-tasting factor.

Ingredients

Pancakes

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup light brown sugar

2 tablespoons and 1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

4 eggs

10 ounces whole milk ricotta cheese

2 cups milk

1 tablespoon orange juice

2 teaspoons orange zest

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

Butter, to cook

Orange creamsicle glaze

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

3-4 tablespoons milk

2 tablespoon orange juice

2 teaspoon orange zest

2-4 tablespoons maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

Pancakes

Whisk the flour, brown sugar, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl until incorporated.

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs. Add in the ricotta cheese and whisk until smooth. Add milk, orange juice, orange zest and vanilla to the eggs. Whisk to combine.

Slowly pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture, whisking until the mixture is fully incorporated.

Heat a griddle or skillet over medium heat. Working in batches, add a tablespoon of butter at a time to the griddle or skillet and let melt.

Ladle the pancake batter onto the surface and evenly space them apart. Cook on one side until golden brown and bubbles begin to form on top. Using a spatula, flip the pancake over and finish cooking on the other side.

Keep the pancakes warm until just ready to serve.

Orange creamsicle glaze

In a bowl, soften the cream cheese (you can microwave for 10 seconds at a time until just soft to the touch).

Add the milk, orange juice and zest, maple syrup, vanilla extract and salt to the softened cream cheese. Whisk until creamy and taste for any adjustments in sweetness, adding more maple syrup if needed. Pour on top of the pancakes, add freshly sliced oranges and another drizzle of maple syrup to serve.

Chickpea, chorizo and spinach frittata

Makes 6-8 servings

The cured chorizo and paprika give this frittata a mouthwatering smoky flavor. The dish is relatively simple to throw together too, since it really just involves sautéing chopped ingredients together and letting it sit until set.

Ingredients

1/2 cup onion, diced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 cup roasted red bell pepper, diced

1 cup cooked chickpeas

2/3 cup cured chorizo, diced

1 teaspoon paprika

2 handfuls spinach, generous

5 eggs, beaten

Salt and black pepper, to taste

Directions

Sauté the onion and garlic in a frying pan with olive oil until soft and fragrant. Throughout the cooking process, taste and season with salt and pepper to your desired level as you go.

Add the chorizo, bell pepper, chickpeas and paprika to the pan.

Sauté everything until the orange oils run from the chorizo.

Add the spinach and stir until it wilts and everything begins melding in the pan.

Add the eggs and stir gently to incorporate them, then allow to set over a medium heat.

Preheat the broiler then put the whole pan in to set the top of the frittata, about 1-2 minutes.

Remove and serve from the pan or gently loosen the frittata from the edge of the pan. Place a large plate over the pan and invert the frittata onto it. Then place another plate on top and invert it again so the top of the frittata is right side up.

Sprinkle with a pinch or two of finishing sea salt.

Allow to cool slightly before slicing and serving.

Chocolate maple oatmeal bowl

Makes 2 servings

If the rest of these recipes have you tuckered out, you can't go wrong with a simple bowl of oatmeal, especially one that toes the line into dessert territory. A lot of the magic is in the toppings, so go wild.

Ingredients

1 cup old fashioned oats

2 cups milk

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

1 tablespoon maple syrup

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Pinch of salt

Possible toppings

1/2 banana

3-4 strawberries, chopped

Small handful of blueberries

1 teaspoon chia seeds

1 chocolate square

1 tablespoon peanut butter, melted to drizzle

Directions

Cook oats according to package instructions, mixing in all the wet and dry ingredients during the cooking process. Serve into a bowl and let cool to thicken.

Slice fruit and arrange it on top of the oatmeal, and add any other desired toppings.