Remembering mom's home cooking on Mother's Day

By Tom Harte

If you had to choose between a meal cooked by a Michelin-starred chef and your mother, which would you pick?

Even if today weren't Mother's Day, I wouldn't hesitate a moment to cancel any restaurant reservation in favor of one of my late mother's home-cooked meals. I'm hardly alone.

For example, Cape Girardeau Mayor Harry Rediger has fond memories of his mother's signature dish, beef tongue. Her repertoire, he says, ranged from gourmet fare to Sunday fried chicken, a preparation that started with cutting the bird's head on a block and plunging the body into boiling water before plucking. She insisted that he always clean his plate -- an injunction he still follows.

Dr. Sara Edgerton, director of the Southeast Missouri State University Orchestra, likewise recalls her mother as a dedicated cook who felt the evening meal was especially important, meriting linen napkins. Frozen foods, let alone TV dinners, never appeared at the table. Dessert, however, was a fixture. Edgerton's favorite was sherry cake. She still uses the recipe, written in her mother's own hand.

Fresh strawberries are blanketed with extra-rich, creamy filling to make Tom Harte's favorite dessert, a signature specialty of his mother.TOM HARTE

Sometimes memories of mom's cooking do not involve gourmet fare. Jon Rust, co-president of Rust Communications, recalls warmly his mother's chicken and rice casserole bound together with Campbell's cream of mushroom soup and topped with sliced almonds. Today, his mother is an ever-more adventurous cook, testing out new recipes at length. But simple things are what Rust remembers best, like baking cookies with his mom as a toddler, climbing on a chair to reach the bowl and take that first lick of batter.

Occasionally a mother inspires an entire career in food and nutrition. Registered dietitian Georganne Syler says her mom delighted in discovering new foods, introducing her family to enchiladas back when the tortillas needed to make them had to be fetched from St. Louis and came in a can. Syler still cooks with some of the same pans and measuring spoons that were her mom's.

Jane Stacy, former director of alumni relations at Southeast Missouri State University, declares that for her mom, cooking was a full-time job -- she had eight children. She was acclaimed for her pies, particularly the chess, chocolate and rhubarb. People lined up at church suppers to get a slice. A practical cook, her recipe for corn on the cob involved heating a pan of water, and while it came to a boil, running to the garden to pick the corn, and shucking it on the way back to the house.

Dr. Carlos Vargas, president of Southeast Missouri State University, raised in Mexico, has similarly vivid memories. His favorite dish of his mother's was meatballs (alb--ndigas). Containing not only meat, but also chopped hard-boiled eggs, no special occasion or holiday was complete without them. Vargas reports he gets hungry just thinking about them. He credits his mom for his keen appreciation -- and appetite -- for all kinds of foods from all cultures.

These memories jive with my own. Eschewing ingredients like Cool Whip and instant pudding, my mom was a meticulous cook for whom nothing was too much trouble to make. Always on the lookout for innovative recipes, she nonetheless served tried-and-true dishes with regularity -- chili every Saturday. Her specialty was dessert, which we had at every meal. Sometimes we even ate it first.

Heavy whipped cream, never artificial topping, supplies the finishing touch to Ethel Harte's strawberry cream pie, Tom Harte's favorite dessert.TOM HARTE

On this Mother's Day, we remember our moms, who nourished us in so many ways -- best of all with their cooking.

Ethel Harte's Strawberry Cream Pie

This recipe may look ordinary, but it was always exceptional. The secret ingredient was motherly love.

Strawberry Cream Pie the way Tom Harte's mom used to make it. Her secret ingredient was motherly love.TOM HARTE

When cut, Strawberry Cream Pie, as made following the recipe of Tom Harte's mother, reveals layers of fresh fruit, opulent filling and mounds of fluffy whipped cream, all melding together to conjure up wonderful culinary memories on Mother's Day.TOM HARTE

• 1 baked pie shell
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups half and half
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 quart sliced strawberries
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream

Combine sugar, flour and salt. Stir in half and half and heat in a double boiler until thickened. Lightly beat eggs and stir in half of hot mixture until smooth. Add egg mixture to remaining hot mixture and cook, stirring, until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla. Cool slightly. Arrange all but a few strawberries in bottom of pie shell, cover with cream mixture and chill. Beat whipping cream to soft peaks and spoon over pie, covering completely. Decorate with remaining strawberries.