Favorite recipes for Mother’s Day brunch

If your mother is anything like mine, whatever food you put in front of her this Sunday for Mother’s Day (or most any day) will make her happy, mostly because you made it for her and also because she did not have to lift a finger to do anything other than eat it. If you’re not sure what to make, you are reading the right post. We have recipes and you have choices.

Where to start? Well, if your mom is a drinker, along with the coffee, start her day with a bacon bloody Mary or a mimosa — for atmosphere, if nothing else. Then it becomes a matter of whether you want to go sweet, savory or both.

Regardless, you’ll want a basket of magnificent baked goods. Blueberry muffins, passion fruit-poppy seed muffins, vegan strawberry muffins, sweet potato bread and chocolate chip banana bread with peanut crumble are all good choices, especially as starters. For extra fun, try your hand at homemade pop tarts. This fantastically gooey, brown sugar cinnamon walnut monkey bread will be all the rage. (If you are feeding a crowd, you may want to make two.)

To keep things simple, you could go with classic breakfast fare like silky scrambled eggs or omelets with hot and fluffy pancakes or crisp everyday waffles on the side. Or elevate those basics a bit and save some time with this almond Dutch baby with honeyed figs. It is one large pancake that you can cut into wedges rather than flipping individual pancakes one by one. The extra step of folding whipped egg whites into the yeasted batter — which you make the night before — is what make these ultimate overnight waffles extra light and crispy.

Or take a cue from the Dutch baby and make the whole entrée in a single pan. This egg and cheese skillet pancake is a cinch — and cleanup is easy, too. Migas — either vegetarian or with chorizo — are a skillet full of flavors and textures. While it is not exactly a one-pan preparation (you need a skillet and a pizza pan), breakfast pizza is always a hit.

If your gathering is happening closer to the lunch hour, you may want to look to dishes like a leek, bacon and tomato tart, a smoked salmon quiche or the classic quiche Lorraine. You can make the crust (or the whole pie) in advance to have more time with your guests. The free-form crust of a greens and potato galette makes it a less fussy savory pie to prepare. For no crust at all, there is always creamy, custardy cherry tomato clafouti. A classic Caesar salad — or a vegan Caesar — or a simple salad of mustard greens or beet greens would complement any of these dishes nicely.

Whatever you serve, remember to pour yourself a glass of what everyone else is drinking and to photograph what you make before everyone digs in. As she did with your kindergarten finger paintings and pasta-bean art, your mom will want to display those pictures on the refrigerator — or post them on social media so that she can kvell about the wonderful meal you cooked to celebrate Mother’s Day.

Omelet

A perfect omelet is soft-centered and bright yellow. To make a perfect omelet, the egg yolks and whites must be mixed to a completely uniform state. Then cook it very slowly.

Time 15 minutes

Yields Serves 1

Chorizo Migas

A Tex-Mex egg dish that is well known throughout the Southwest, this version calls for tortilla chips, but if you have some stale corn tortillas, it's a great way to use them up.

Time 25 minutes

Yields Serves 4

New Mex Migas

A cousin of chilaquiles, migas are eggs scrambled with green onions, chopped green chile, tortilla chips and cotija cheese topped with black beans, more cheese, Mexican sour cream and cilantro.

Time 20 minutes

Yields Serves 4 to 6

Silky Scrambled Eggs

Using chopsticks to stir melted butter and eggs results in a delicious hot breakfast.

Time 5 minutes

Yields Serves 1

Almond Dutch Baby With Honeyed Figs

This easy, gluten-free almond Dutch baby is served with quick honeyed figs spooned over the top for a delicious breakfast or brunch that is sure to impress.

Time 30 minutes

Yields Serves 2 to 4

Hot and Fluffy Pancakes

Fluffy and hot all at the same time, diner-style pancakes are the best breakfast for two.

Time 20 minutes

Yields Serves 2

Passion Fruit-Poppy Seed Muffins

These passion fruit-poppy seed muffins are a spin on classic lemon-poppy seed muffins, but where the passion fruit brings the acidity.

Time 45 minutes

Yields Makes 12

GGET Vegan Strawberry Muffins

Strawberry runs through these super-soft muffins with swirls of jam in the batter and fresh-cut fruit on top.

Time 1 hour

Yields Makes 1 dozen

More-Berries-Than-Batter Blueberry Muffins

Blueberry muffins, here packed with more berries than cake batter, are the perfect breakfast treat for mornings when granola just won't cut it.

Time 40 minutes

Yields Makes 12

Sweet Potato Bread

Sweet potatoes bring more natural sweetness and tenderness to this bread loaf than pumpkin, and a combination of oil and yogurt keeps the slices from drying out.

Time 1 hour 30 minutes, largely unattended

Yields Makes 1 9-by-5-inch loaf

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread With Peanut Crumble

Chocolate chip banana bread is made extra delicious in this recipe thanks to the addition of dark chocolate and a crunchy peanut crumble on top.

Time 2 hours

Yields Makes one 9-by-5-inch loaf

Cinnamon walnut monkey bread

Monkey bread is relatively easy to morph into this fantastically gooey brown sugar-cinnamon breakfast bread.

Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Yields Serves 10 to 12

Homemade pop tarts

Homemade pop tarts are revelatory. Flaky crust encasing a jammy center and popped in the toaster just long enough to warm the tart, give a sudden crisp to the edges and a bit of steam when you break it open.

Time 2 hours

Yields Makes 8 pop tarts

Crisp Everyday Waffles

Dead simple and nearly instant, this pantry-staple batter makes waffles that are extra crisp outside and tender inside.

Time 35 minutes

Yields Makes 6 (7-inch) waffles

Ultimate Overnight Waffles

This yeasted waffle batter rests in the refrigerator overnight, developing deep flavors and making breakfast easy.

Time 45 minutes

Yields Makes 1 to 2 dozen.

Bacon bloody Marys

Blend tomatoes with Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, chipotle chiles, horseradish, olives and seasonings. The secret ingredient is bacon, which gives it heft and extra richness.

Time 30 minutes

Yields Serves 6 to 12

Bottomless Mimosas

With plenty of chilled Champagne and fresh orange juice on hand, you can mix mimosas easily. For a more potent cocktail, add a splash of liqueur.

Time 5 minutes

Yields Makes 6 drinks

Egg and Cheese Skillet Pancake

Soft-cooked eggs, complete with runny yolks, dot this large pancake, which also features sharp cheddar cheese and chopped chives.

Time 30 minutes

Yields Serves 6

Breakfast Pizza

Breakfast pizza starts with a serious crust and ends with mozzarella and ricotta, but instead of tomato sauce in between, it's Italian sausage, sauteed kale and eggs.

Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Yields Serves 6

Leek, Bacon and Tomato Tart

This savory tart captures the season's bounty with young leeks, tomato and bacon.

Time 2 hours 40 minutes, plus 3 hours chilling

Yields Serves 8 to 12

Campanile's quiche

This quiche recipe, from chef Mark Peel, features smoked salmon and caramelized onions — a satisfying and original combination of favorite morning flavors.

Time 1 hour

Yields Serves 6 to 8

Le Pain Quotidien's quiche Lorraine

Le Pain Quotidien's quiche combines sauteed leeks and onions, diced ham and grated Swiss cheese suspended in a fluffy egg filling and baked in a crisp, buttery pastry crust

Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Yields Serves 8

Greens and Potato Torta or Galette

This luscious pie works well with a number of greens — chard, rapini, beet greens, spinach, whatever looks best in the market.

Time 2 hours 15 minutes

Yields Serves 6 to 8

Savory Cherry Tomato Clafoutis

This savory clafoutis transforms the traditional sweet baked custard dessert with whole cherries into a breakfast dish using cherry tomatoes instead.

Time 35 minutes

Yields Serves 4.

Mustard green salad

Sam Sifton's light, refreshing salad of peppery mustard greens, croutons and toasted pecans in a lemon vinaigrette is not a Caesar and has no kale.

Time 30 minutes

Yields Serves 4 to 6

Salad of beet greens with walnuts

Massaging a small portion of the vinaigrette into the mustard greens will soften them; they will shrink in volume and darken in color.

Time 20 minutes

Yields Serves 4

Classic Caesar Salad

Whole Romaine leaves are coated in a light yet rich dressing of lemon, Parmesan and garlicky oil. Eggs and anchovies optional.

Time 20 minutes

Yields Serves 1 to 2

Lodge Vegan Caesar Salad

This totally plant-based version of Caesar dressing blends nutritional yeast with miso and tahini. Lemon juice and cider vinegar balance the richness.

Time 15 minutes

Yields Serves 8