I am so thrilled to tell you all I have been asked to be a Gourmet Live Socialvore! What is a socialvore you ask? Gourmet Live, the online offshoot of the former magazine, has handpicked a great group of food enthusiasts to join them on their culinary adventures. I’ll be contributing to the Gourmet Live blog on an ongoing basis and sharing a lot of their great work with you right here on The Naptime Chef. On Friday we kicked things off by including my recipe and photograph for Orange Blossom & Almond French Toast in their Mother’s Day recipe round-up. How fun!

When I scrolling throw the Gourmet Live website the other day I read a great article about this fun pizza taste test and want to share it with you. In fact, my friends at Gourmet Live even wrote a guest post for Babble’s The Family Kitchen all about the taste test experience and I suggest you check it out, it is adorable!

What’s Going on Today: Planning family brunch for the weekend, cleaning up the house after the little one goes to bed (!)

Naptime Goals: Prepare french toast for tomorrow, work on a few articles and stain stick the grass stains out of my daughter’s clothes.

Brunch Menu Tomorrow: French toast, bacon, mimosas.

Product of the Week: Planning to serve Mom breakfast in bed? Don’t forget the tray! This cute tray is perfect for serving up delicious treats to deserving Mom while she enjoys a day lounging in bed watching the news. Need one? Buy it here at my Amazon store!

To follow up on yesterday’s Mother’s Day post I thought I should tell you about my most recent french toast recipe. This has been in regular rotation in our house as of late. With the weather warmer again we are outside 24/7 and my daughter is one hot mess by 10am. I mean, seriously, we are talking grass stains, mud in her hair, dirt under her finger nails, the whole she-bang. It is really fun for the most part, except when I have to spend the entire evening with my stain stick in hand. In order to take part in the outdoor bedlam fun I need to be dressed and out the door like a shot each morning. This means there is very little time to cook long, involved breakfasts. My solution to this is simple: overnight french toast. Not only is this perfect for harried mornings, but it works beautifully for surprising someone, like, say, your Mom, with breakfast in bed. Pop it in the oven first thing and rig up a tray with some coffee and a fresh slice and the morning celebration is complete!

Cinnamon Blueberry Waffles

I know it seems a little ironic that I, the mother, and giving you tips on how to celebrate Mother’s Day. But, I figure that either a) you reading this are not a mother and need ideas for the mother in your life, b) you need to give directions to your spouse or partner on how to make you breakfast in bed or c) you like breakfast in bed in general and are looking for new ideas.

No matter your reasons for reading I am glad you are here. I, for one, think breakfast in bed is a terrific way to celebrate Mother’s Day. It is always a fun activity for kids to participate in and breakfast food is simple and delicious to make. A lot of things can be made in advance too, so you don’t have to worry about getting up at 3:00am to start cooking. Here are my tips for how to celebrate Mother’s Day with breakfast in bed:

The French Toast Route:

Make-ahead French Toasts are a fantastic way to celebrate breakfast. I’ve made this dish several times the day before and baked it the next morning. Serve a slice with warm maple syrup, hot coffee and a fresh wedge of melon for a sweet breakfast.

The Occasion: Friends coming over for a casual early dinner party with kids.

Menu: Fish Tacos, Roasted Asparagus, Guacamole, Salsa, Mexican Green Rice, Tres Leches Cake, Red Wine Sangria.

Attendees: Party of 7, with kids!

Naptime Goals: Bake cake, trim asparagus, make the green sauce for the rice, cook the onions and peppers for the tacos.

Our family entertaining style is casual with a capital “c.” I mean, who wants to have kids at a formal dinner party where they are expected to be quiet and well-behaved at the table. Not me! Let the kids run around the yard, I say, the more relaxed the better. Last weekend we had friends over for an easy dinner party and I decided to serve a Cinco de Mayo inspired menu. We called it our Treinta de Abril Fiesta! Mexican food always goes well with casual entertaining and it is so much fun to make.