Michael D. Hill
Special Contributor

Before anyone gets mad because of our title, we are having some fun with the stereotype that the only cooking for men is throwing a slab of meat on the grill or heating a frozen dinner in the microwave.

However, for many of us, cooking a special Mother’s Day meal for our wife or our mom might be a bit of a stretch, so that’s why we’ve come up with some quick and easy recipes that will still let her know she’s the most special woman in your life.

Bloody Mary Chicken

Ingredients:
1 large onion
2 green bell peppers
1 bunch celery (or a package of celery hearts)
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 bottle of Bloody Mary mix
Salt and pepper to taste

In a heavy skillet, sauté chopped onions, green bell peppers, and celery (include the leaves for extra flavor) until soft.

Push the vegetables to one side. Season boneless, skinless chicken breasts with salt and pepper to taste (or use Montreal Steak Seasoning which combines salt and pepper along with several spices) and add to the skillet.

Lightly brown on each side.

Redistribute vegetables around the chicken breasts.

Pour in bottled Bloody Mary mix until the chicken and vegetables are covered. Bring to a boil and lower heat, cover the skillet, and let simmer until the chicken is fork tender.

Serve over a bed of rice. Zatarain’s Yellow Rice is an especially nice side dish for the flavors here, and we recommend substituting chicken broth for the cooking water to add extra richness.

This dish can be as spicy or as mild as you would like. If you want extra zest, try Zing Zang brand Bloody Mary mix, and you might even add a few dashes of hot sauce.

Just remember that you’re cooking for her, not for you. If she’s not a fan of spicy food, play it safe and use plain V-8 juice rather than the Bloody Mary mix and skip the Tabasco.

Crawfish Soup

A friend of ours who lives on the Mississippi Gulf Coast passed this one along to us, and it’s super easy, but will taste like it took hours to make. Shrimp can be substituted for the crawfish, but frozen crawfish tails are now available in many supermarkets and really do add more flavor.

Ingredients:
1 stick of unsalted butter (don’t use margarine)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 pound frozen crawfish tails or 2 pounds if you want the soup to be hearty
2 cans undiluted potato soup
2 cans whole kernel corn, drained
2 cups half and half or heavy cream if you want the soup to be especially rich
2 capfuls of liquid crab boil (don’t be tempted to add more, as it packs a wallop)

In a large pot, melt the stick of butter and sauté onion over medium low heat until soft, then add the green onions and cook them until tender.

Add the frozen crawfish tails and sauté until heated through.

Add the potato soup, stirring to combine all ingredients.

Add corn, then half and half, and finally the crab boil.

Let all ingredients heat through, being careful not to let the soup come to a boil.

Beer Batter Bread

If you can drink beer, you can bake bread with it, and we’re not lying. This bread will go great with either of the two dishes above, and trust us, she will be impressed!

Ingredients:
3 cups self-rising flour
3 tablespoons sugar
12 ounce bottle of good, unopened beer (no PBR please!)
¼ cup melted butter, plus more for greasing the loaf pan

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and generously grease a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.

The easiest way to do this is to keep the butter in its wrapper and just run the end over all the pan’s interior, not forgetting the corners.

In a large bowl, carefully mix the flour and sugar together, making a well in the center (just push your fist down in the center of the flour).

Add the beer to the well and stir all ingredients together until well blended.

Using a plastic spatula, scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan, smoothing out the top as much as possible.

Bake for twenty minutes, and then carefully pour the melted butter over the top of the bread (you might want to put down a sheet of aluminum foil on the bottom rack of the oven to avoid a mess in case the butter bubbles over).

Return to the oven for another twenty minutes.

By now, the top should be a nice golden brown, and the bottom of the loaf should sound hollow when lightly thumped with your knuckles. Turn the loaf out on a wire rack to cool.

For variations, add a couple of teaspoonfuls of dill weed or Italian spice blend to the dry ingredients.

Either of these dishes, served with fresh baked bread and a simple salad, will make her Mother’s Day, and the menu is equally good for birthdays, anniversaries, Valentine’s Day, or anytime you might need to get out of the dog house!