Plated Celebrates Mother's Day With Special Holiday Menu

NEW YORK, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Plated, the premium meal-kit brand that delivers everything you need to create the personal dinner experiences you crave, is celebrating Mother's Day with a special menu featuring dishes inspired by the Culinary Team's moms. Plated is also offering tips, ideas, and recipes for Mother's Day on its new content hub, Morsel by Plated, which debuted in April.

The Plated Culinary Team, led by Head Chef and Culinary Co-founder Elana Karp, has created a special Mother's Day menu inspired by memorable dishes their moms used to make. A mix of adventurous dinners coupled with fun twists on classics, the Mother's Day recipes are available for delivery the week of May 7 and can be viewed at: www.plated.com/menus. For a full description of the dishes and the stories behind them, please see below.* In addition to the six special recipes in honor of Mother's Day, there are six Encore Recipes available that week for a total of 12 dinner choices, plus dessert.

Elana said, "We're all about embracing the special moments in our customers' lives and finding new ways to enhance their food experiences. For Mother's Day, we're making it personal by sharing reinventions of some of the dishes we grew up enjoying—thanks to our own moms."

Offering more Mother's Day celebration ideas, Morsel by Plated has timely features to help customers make the most of the holiday.

• Cooking tips from mom, courtesy of the Plated Culinary Team. Here.
• Special Spring Frittata and Biscuits recipe for the perfect Mother's Day brunch. Here.
• Chef Elana's mom-inspired "Holiday Chicken" recipe. Here.
• Recipes for fun cocktails and mocktails. Here.
• Easy-to-make muffins for Mother's Day. Here.
• Advice for how to get kids involved in the kitchen. Here.

Plated is also hosting a "Mom Knows Best" Mother's Day contest across Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Followers are encouraged to submit cooking and kitchen tips passed on/shared from their mothers using the hashtag #PlatedContest (Twitter) or in the comments section on specific posts (Facebook and Instagram). See link here for details and contest rules.

*Here, the dishes on Plated's special Mother's Day menu and the stories behind them:

Braised Chicken, Apricots, and Currants with Roasted Fingerling Potatoes — Chef Elana
Since her mother makes this warm and flavorful dish for just about every celebratory occasion, Chef Elana affectionately calls it "holiday chicken." It's super easy to make, but also feels really impressive to serve. Perfectly pan-seared chicken breasts are doused in a sauce of fresh orange juice, brown sugar, and white wine, and braised with shallots, apricots, and currants for a sweet and tangy balance. Roasted alongside tender fingerling potatoes, the aroma alone will bring some holiday magic to your kitchen, in any season.

Salmon and Bok Choy Stir-Fry over Brown Rice — Chef Elana
Chef Elana's mother was once gifted a Chinese wok for her kitchen, and it soon became her favorite pan for quickly cooking simple but exciting dinners—so much that the whole family knew her go-to dish was "[fill in the blank] in the wok." Here, Chef Elana's riffing on the original chicken and broccoli combo from her childhood, swapping in tender salmon, plus bok choy, scallion, ginger, and garlic to elevate the classic Asian flavors. It's stir-fried at high heat in a soy sesame sauce to achieve the same delicious results, but if you have a wok on hand, even better!

Four Cheese Mac and Cheese — Chef Laura
Very few dishes are as comforting and satisfying as one of our favorite childhood classics: macaroni and cheese. Chef Laura remembers having her mom's homemade mac and cheese, so we chose to honor this crowd-pleasing, cheesetastic dish for Mother's Day. Here, tender fusilli pasta is coated with a rich, creamy sauce that has, count them, four different types of cheese: Parmesan, Fontina, Gruyère, and Cheddar. Laura tops hers with breadcrumbs that form a crunchy crust in the oven—her mother's favorite part of the dish! Served with a spring green salad, this mac and cheese will become a gold standard, we're sure of it.

Cuban Beef Picadillo with Spinach Rice — Chef Michelle
As a child, Chef Michelle would wander into her kitchen, following the scent of cumin and tomato, and find a huge pot bubbling away on the stove. Her mother was born in Cuba and would frequently revive her childhood favorites—including simple and comforting beef picadillo, or hash—to share with family. In this tribute, beef is simmered with golden raisins for sweetness, olives for a little brininess, and crushed tomatoes, then paired with spinach and rice to soak up every last saucy, flavorful drop.

Lemon Butter Chicken with Orzo and Peas — Chef Andrea
Growing up, Andrea and her siblings would call this weekly dinner staple "freckles" because she thought that they had fallen off of her face, right onto her plate. Adorable, huh? Crispy breaded chicken is roasted in a lemon white wine sauce with melty Parmesan, then paired with pea-studded orzo (her mother used white rice, but the goal is the same: get those vegetables in!). Easy, quick, low on cleanup, big on flavor—we're confident it'll bring a smile to your face, too.

Savory Gruyère Bread Pudding with Spring Vegetables — Chef Suz
Growing up, Chef Suz could often be found sneaking bites of her Mom's signature challah bread pudding out of the fridge. Inspired by the rich, cinnamon-laced sweet treat, we swapped baguettes in for the fluffy challah, and showcased savory flavors instead of sweet. Seasonal asparagus and aromatic leeks are sautéed, then tossed with custard and toasted bread cubes. The dish is baked until golden and melty, and served with a bright butter lettuce salad. Did we mention you can assemble this one ahead of time and just pop it into the oven in time for dinner?!

Launched in 2012, Plated is the premium meal-kit service that empowers people to create the personal dinner experiences they crave by offering unparalleled choice, flexibility, convenience, and taste. Plated delivers distinctive recipes, crafted by an expert culinary team led by Le Cordon Bleu-trained chef Elana Karp, along with fresh, pre-portioned ingredients so you can cook, share, and enjoy delicious meals with ease. Plated has redefined what it means to connect over a memorable meal at home.

Earlier this year, Plated expanded its product offerings to enhance the customer experience. Plated debuted an Android app to complement its existing iOS app. Plated also increased its meal serving size options in February to offer at least 11 dinner choices each week in 2, 3, and 4 serving sizes.

Contact: Liz Marsh / [email protected]

SOURCE Plated