Mother’s Day Dinner

Yesterday, I helped my brother-in-law Richard prepare a fancy mother’s

day dinner for Mom, my sister Eileen (mother of 2 little boys with a

third on the way) and Dad’s sister Autnie Beth, who has done so much

babysitting for two generations of deVillas that she counts as a mom.

Richard, whom I suspect is a frustrated restaurateur, planned and printed out menus while I played the role of dutiful sous-chef.

Dinner started with scallops on a bed of mâche with three dipping sauces:

• A raspberry sauce, garnished with fresh raspberries
• Balsamic raspberry vinaigrette
• Homemade mango relish (see the recipe below)

I prepared the mango relish and plated the appetizer; Richard

sautéed the scallops. The photo below shows the dishes just before we

put the scallops on top of the mâche:

We then moved to the main course, which consisted of:

• Grilled prime rib
• Risotto ai Quattro Formaggi
• Grilled red bell peppers
• Grilled asparagus

For wine, we had a viognier that Richard picked out. It was really good, and I’ll have to bug him for the name.

For dessert, a tarte (whose name also escapes me) from Richard’s and Eileen’s favourite patisserie and caffes lattes which my nephews Aidan and Nicholas made (with a little assitance from Eileen).

After dessert, I called Wendy’s mom, because she is, as far as I’m concerned, my mom too.

It was an absolutely delicious meal. I’d like to thank Richard for

planning the whole thing and inviting me to join in and to congratulate

Mom, Eileen, Auntie Beth and Wendy’s mom — happy mother’s day, ladies!

Mango Relish Recipe

This recipe is simple, but labour intensive. The ingredients are:

• 3 mangoes, ripe but firm
• 1 large vidalia onion
• ¼ cup white wine vinegar
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

Chop the mangoes as finely as you can without their turning into

mush. Chop the onion finely. Blend the chopped mangoes, chopped onion,

vinegar and olive together and let the mixture site in the refigerator

for at least an hour. The longer the relish has time to sit, the better

it tastes.

We served this with sauteed scallops, but it should be equally at home

with any seafood, chicken, pork or if you’re a vegetarian, grilled

eggplant, portobello mushroom or squash. As with any recipe, the better

and fresher your ingredients, the better this will taste. I got French

wine vinegar from a gourmet food shop (Max’s Market on Bloor Street,

just west of Runnymede), the oil was a good brand from Richard and

Eileen’s pantry and the mangoes and onion came from store that

specialized in fruits and vegetables.

Bon appetit!