A big-screen television or a gorgeous Le Creuset makes for a flashy present, but nothing quite matches the gift that requires a little effort, especially when kidlets are involved. In honor of Mother's Day, here's a super-cute Epicurious video featuring Chef Bill Telepan (of Telepan restaurant in New York City) and his daughter, Leah, as they make a quick and easy chilled cucumber and dill soup for Mom.

We won't give away all of Leah's one-liners, but she makes the video sparkle with her kid-cook commentary about everything from salt ("That's a lot of salt!") to tuna ("ew!"). Best of all, this is only the beginning: the soup is part of an entire Epicurious Mother's Day Picnic Menu encompassing all sorts of picnicky fare. Enjoy!

[Via Epicurious]

Once upon a time not so long ago, the word "beer" prompted mental images of frat boys chugging Miller Lites. It did not, traditionally, scream "mother."

But times, they are a-changin', and more and more women are drinking beer these days. And despite the lingering stereotype of a "mom drink" as a chilled glass of chardonnay (not that there's anything wrong with that), some moms are definitely sipping suds. Heck, Carol Stoudt, mother of five, has adopted the moniker of "Queen of Hops" since opening Stoudt's Brewing with her hubby in 1987.

Asked about the perfect Mother's Day brew, Matt Barclay of Brooklyn (N.Y.)'s Bierkraft says, "most of our women customers drink the Belgian Tripel [style]." With fruit and candy flavors, Tripels can be sweet but also incredibly complex. If mom is a fan of sweet wines or desserts, try pouring her a Belgian ale after dinner, like an aromatic raspberry Lindemans Framboise lambic. If she's a chocolate freak, proffer a Chocolate Stout.

Or maybe your mom does sling back Miller Lite with the best of them. School us! Does your ma drink beer? What's her favorite brew? (Moms, don't feel shy about speaking out on your behalf!)

A weekly look at the draft selection in beer-friendly bars and eateries across the country.

With Mother's Day just around the bend we hunted far and wide for an establishment whose name pays lip service to mama, happily stumbling upon the tiny but tantalizing tap selection at Cambridge (Mass.)' Hungry Mother. Though she only boasts five suds, they're solid: "Craft and quality beers pair just as well with food as wine [does]," says owner John Kessen. "Although [our draft list] is small, it's a really interesting one and a good cross section of styles."

This Mother plays favorites with careful curation:

5. Stone Ruination IPA is one of the most intense and highly regarded imperial IPAs on the market.

4. Bear Republic's Hop Rod Rye is another nationally renowned India Pale Ale but, since it is brewed with 20 percent rye malt), it boasts a distinctly different flavor.

3. Fisherman's Brew, a local amber lager, donates part of their proceeds to out-of-work fisherman.

Read Mother's last two picks after the jump.

Gretchen Roberts has passed the introductory course at the Court of Master Sommeliers and is studying for her sommelier certification this fall.

Attention doting husbands and children: Mother's Day is right around the corner. As the mom of two small children whose energy levels are inversely proportionate to their ages, I'm here to speak up for mothers of the world and give you a hint about proper Mother's Day celebratory etiquette.

It's simple, really. We want to observe Mother's Day by shirking our motherly duties and being bona fide adults.

Preferably with our feet up and a cocktail in hand.

This brings me to some easy sparkling wine recipes, in case you're planning to whip up a nice brunch for your lovely wife or mother. For mix-in drinks, don't bother spending megabucks on real Champagne; go with an inexpensive Prosecco from Italy (such as Fantinel) or Cava from Spain (Friexenet and Segura Viudas are good bets).

Three basic but beloved Mom-friendly elixirs after the jump.

Barbie, as you may know, turned 50 earlier this year. If this slightly belated bit of promotional whimsy is any indication, plenty of you still want a piece of her.

To celebrate the doll's 50th, Dylan's Candy Bar created "Barbie Loves Dylan's," a line of chocolate and candy outfitted in colorful graphics befitting the belle's pop-art and pop-cultural legacy. We love the way these chocolates are packaged, with through-the-years pix inspiring affectionate memories of both "The Brady Bunch" and yearbook photos of days (and unfortunate hairstyles) gone by.

It's rare to come across chocolate whose packaging wouldn't look out of place next to a Warhol, and we applaud whatever graphic design genius was behind this. But if Barbie taught us anything, it's that beauty is skin deep, and that lesson unfortunately applies to the chocolate bearing her name. It tastes as plastic as Barbie herself or, in the words of one judge, "like drugstore Easter candy." Like Barbie herself, this chocolate could last 50 years ... in the back of a pantry.

For $14, a better move might be to pop the candies into a frame on the bedroom wall. 'Cause Barbie also taught us that when substance fails, style triumphs.

Last Sunday was Mother's Day and there were any number of ways you could have celebrated your mom (I sent a card to my 3,000 miles away mama and had brunch with my aunt). Bear Silber chose to make this triple layer Strawberry Cream Cake (the recipe is from America's Test Kitchen) for his mother. Looks and sounds like a winner to me!

Thanks Bear, for adding your image to the Slashfood Flickr pool!

You've called around and every brunch place within a 20 miles radius is booked up solid for Mother's Day. How can you salvage the holiday and make your mom feel special without a reservation?

• Take her to a local Farmers' Market on Sunday morning. You can buy her a cup of coffee or tea and the two of you can wander around, fondle the fresh produce and taste jams and honeys. If you get there early enough, you may be able to grab a dozen local, free range eggs (those babies sell out fast). Poached and served on top of a bed of tender baby greens and you won't (even for a minute) miss the hassle of the restaurant.
  
• Pack a picnic and head for a local park. Who says a celebratory meal has to be eaten in a restaurant? Gather up an assortment of sliced meats, a couple of good cheese, bread or some good crackers and quickly blanch a pound of asparagus. Strawberries or grapes can take care of dessert.
  
• If your mom is a chocolate lover, put together a chocolate tasting for her. Hit the candy aisle at your favorite natural or gourmet foods store (I've found that they have the best assortment of chocolate) and buy four or five good varieties. The two of you can munch on chocolate to your heart's content and when she figures out which one she likes the best, promise her that you'll get her a few more bars of it next time you go to the store.
  
• Even an outing to a local bakery or coffee shop can be a good way to celebrate your mom. Often, the thing she wants most is time alone with her children. This doesn't even have to happen on Mother's Day, if you can't sneak away, schedule a time to get together over coffee and a scone or muffin for some quality mother/child time.

OK, so you didn't start making glacé fruits last month, to be tenderly rolled in sugar and wrapped in handmade paper for Mother's Day. And you didn't pre-order the fancy chocolates from the local chocolatier, the coconut truffles that say "I love you mom" in pink-dyed white chocolate. You didn't even remember to go the grocery store to get more butter to make her a batch of oatmeal cookies. Now it's Sunday morning. What to do? Here are a few ideas.

1) Buy her a subscription to Bon Appétit, Gourmet, or Cook's Illustrated Just order online and go to the bookstore to pick up this month's copy and roll it up with a ribbon and a flower. If she's far away, just forward her the confirmation email and an e-card.

2) Take her to the movies and smuggle in several bags of her favorite childhood candy (my mother's partial to Charleston Chews and those jaw-killing Jujubes). Have an illicit movie theater candy picnic.

3) Create an electronic recipe box for her on Epicurious.com - you can compile your favorite recipes and make comments about them. Email her the password.

4) Show up with a shopping bag full of ingredients and suggest you bake a cake together. Eat half the batter raw. Eat the rest while watching cheesy movies on TV.

5) Send her some virtual chocolates at virtualchocolate.com. One caveat: you must follow it up in a few days with some real chocolates. I'm partial to Moonstruck Chocolates these days - check out the friggin cute chocolate ladybugs.

Mother's Day is this Sunday, and if this is news to you then you have some work cut out for you. It's almost too late to order something, unless you want to pay exorbitant shipping fees. You may still be able to order flowers, but how many years in a row have you done that? Either way, I've been told that mom's really prefer something more personal, something that her kids have actually made. You know what would fit that bill exactly? How about a nice homemade brunch?

I know that there are tons of Mother's Day dining out options, any of which would be a very nice way of showing mom you care. However, I know my mom would be over the moon if I were able to make a nice brunch for her and the family. If you are so inclined, maybe the following pages will be a big help in providing ideas and some recipe options. Even if you know there's no way on this earth that you'll be in the kitchen this weekend, take a look. You never know how something might inspire you.

Have you ever had this sweet twist on the classic pancake? It's pretty new to me, but so utterly worth the discovery. I bet mom would absolutely love this if it were on the menu. Sweet potato pancakes would be a nice comforting favorite all dressed up for the occasion.

Here's another traditional breakfast item you can dress up for Mother's Day. I personally have never met anyone who didn't like waffles. Even if mom prefers the classic to this gingerbread variety, waffles are a great addition to any brunch menu. Try this recipe for gingerbread waffles.

Even thought the apple compote in the picture is totally a serving suggestion, it would make a heavenly topping for this tasty menu item. Here's a recipe for apple compote, or you could "semi-homemade-it" by warming up a can of apple pie filling and using that as the compote. As long as you use a product that you already think is delicious, the secret is all yours.

Turnovers are such a popular breakfast pastry, it's hard to imagine breakfast without them. Always a crowd pleaser, you can do this in a wide variety of flavors: just pick the one your mom likes the best. For this, unless you're really a glutton for punishment, I wouldn't even bother with making puff pastry from scratch. Especially when when there are quality puff pastry sheets in your supermarket freezer. Not to mention high quality pie fillings that make perfect turnover fillings.

To make the turnovers, follow the preparation instructions on the package. Cut the dough into squares (four inches is a good size) and brush two of the edges (that come together to form a corner) with a little egg wash. Place a spoonful of whatever filling you want into the center (a little goes a long way), fold the dough over and seal the edges. Bake according to the puff pastry package directions. If you want, sprinkle the top of the turnover with sugar before baking or dust them with powdered sugar when they're cooled down after baking.

It's almost a given that you need an egg dish for brunch, but you don't need to limit yourself to scrambled eggs or an omelet. Nothing wrong with either choice, of course, but there are other options. Why not try a quiche? All you need is a pie crust, a good quiche base recipe, and whatever fillings you want to throw in there.

You can get great pie shells in your supermarket freezer. Just bake the pie shell about half to three quarters of the way, put in your chosen fillings, and pour the quiche liquid over the top. Then bake that at 325F for about half an hour or til it's done. You can find lots of quiche ideas here, as well as a recipe for the actual quiche liquid.

They say that the greatest form of flattery is imitation, but what do you call an outright swipe? I guess that would be stealing. I have to admit right off the bat that I swiped this right off of Smitten Kitchen. I came across it one day, and it was so beautiful that I knew I had to include it on this menu idea list. Instructions are on the blog.

Wouldn't mom absolutely love this salad? It would be a colorful, flavorful, and seasonal addition to any brunch menu. I generally think of brunch as more breakfast-y, but (a) lot of people include lunch or dinner items in brunch and (b) who wouldn't want something as beautiful as this salad at breakfast? Anyway, it's just a suggestion, but one I know I wouldn't want to pass up!

Does this strawberry tart look amazing or what? Mom would flip if you presented this beauty on Mother's Day. They're really easy to make, from scratch or "semi-homemade".

From scratch, line a tart shell with pate sucre and bake it completely. Put a little strawberry jam on the bottom of the baked tart. Fill that with pastry cream and top with sliced strawberries. The ground pistachios are a suggestion, but sliced almonds are also very nice, or just let the strawberries shine. You can do individual tarts or one large one.

For the semi homemade crowd, get a frozen pie shell and bake that completely. It's the same deal with the jam, then fill it with a high quality vanilla pudding, and top with sliced strawberries. The pudding won't be exactly the same as the pastry cream, but it'll still taste good. You're mom will forget all about what a trouble maker you were when she sees this beauty on the table.