Montauk Pioneer - May 8, 2009

It's hard for me to decide what to make for my Mom for Mother's Day, simply because she's a foodie like me, and therefore anything I make she would love. I know what Mom likes to eat - she's a huge pork fan, so I could come up with a million recipes involving pork of some kind - fried pork chops, grilled pork chops with sautéed apples and onions, roasted pork tenderloin with garlic - the options there are endless.

Mom's also a sucker for fried shrimp. In the past for Mother's Day, my brother, Dad and I would buy about five pounds of large shrimp and Dad would clean them up, and I would batter and fry them and serve a huge helping to Mom with a mountain of fresh lemons and some salt. Of course, anything fried is pretty much fair game in my family for any special occasion.

I've thought about taking her to a special brunch, and maybe one day I will, but for now I think cooking something especially for Mom on Mother's Day is the ultimate way to show how much you care. And if your Mom is anything like mine, she will simply appreciate your effort.

So I still haven't told you about what I'm really going to make for Mom this year. It's not fried, roasted or even baked, but it is definitely a showstopper - a trifle. I mean, I'm still making Mom a full meal, don't get me wrong, but this year I'm going to let dessert steal the show, and I think a trifle is so simple, so elegant and the possibilities are literally endless. When I think of a trifle, I'm reminded of the episode of "Friends" where Rachel makes a half a trifle and half a beef casserole - hilarious.

For Easter, we made a strawberry shortcake trifle with pound cake, strawberries, vanilla pudding and whipped cream. It was a rock star trifle, and now I'm hooked on coming up with different ideas (maybe I'll even try that beef and onion trifle from "Friends").

So for something extra special for Mom, I decided to make a trifle with marble pound cake, chocolate pudding, chocolate chips, fresh whipped cream on top, maybe a sprig of mint for a pop of color...

Happy Mother's Day to my special Mom, and to all the Moms out there!

Mother's Day Bliss Trifle

Prepare your chocolate pudding according to the pie filling recipe on the box. Let pudding sit in fridge for at least 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare your whipped cream. Take a large stainless steel bowl and pour your very cold cream in and begin whipping. This process will take about 15 minutes. You want your whipped cream to form stiff peaks. Add your sugar, a tablespoon at a time, into your whipped cream until just mixed. Taste for sweetness.

Now you can begin assembling. Layer one: Spread your pieces of cake in a single layer. Layer two: Pour about a 1/2 cup of your pudding on top, spreading evenly over your layer of cake. Layer three: Add a generous layer of your whipped cream, spreading evenly. Layer four: Sprinkle on a layer of chocolate chips. Repeat layers three times.

At the top layer, put the remainder of your whipped cream into a large food storage bag, clip off one of the corners, and pipe the cream on top of your trifle. Take your dark chocolate and grate some over the top. Finish with a sprig of mint for the ultimate "wow" factor.