Just in case you needed reminding this week: your Mom loves you, and will continue to love you, no matter what you wind up making for Mother’s Day brunch.

It’s a good thing, too. I’m pretty sure I put my mother off crepes forever when I poured an entire bottle of vanilla extract into the batter because – hey, I was in 6th grade – and who the hell doesn’t like vanilla?

There are plenty of reasons to head out to her favorite restaurant this Sunday (let’s face it – your jalapeño poppers are never gonna taste as good as the bowling alley’s) but there are several good reasons to invite her and the rest of the fam over for something special – not the least of which is: SHE’LL TELL YOU EVERYTHING TASTES GREAT, EVEN IF IT DOESN’T. You could serve her Malibu-rum-marinated furnace-filter-stuffed chicken and she’d have to say something like “the texture was really different. Crunchy. And really coconutty. Hoooooooo. I feel a little woozy after that last drumstick.”

That being said – do not test the love of the woman who bore you into this world by half-assing it this weekend. Chances are you know what sort of stuff she likes. And unless it’s something you have to bury in the ground and ferment for a month, this week should be plenty of time to get it together.

If you have the time and the resources – and a mother who likes a well-marbled steak – may I recommend a nearly idiot-proof home-run: the prime rib roast.

I used tips from this discussion thread to cook a killer piece of meat at Christmas time – it was by far the easiest thing to prepare (besides the wine and the pie.) If you’ve made a halfway-decent turkey, you can make a good roast. Yes, it’s perhaps the most expensive horseradish accompaniment you’ll ever have in your house – but isn’t Mom worth it?

I’ll be posting a proper recipe for the roast – as well as other brunch dishes – later on this week. But if you’re planning on doing a roast, I’d recommend hitting up your butcher for that piece of meat TODAY. Call your local store and have them set one aside for you. 1.5 pounds of bone-in roast can usually serve 2 people, so do the math accordingly.

Also – if you don’t have one already – get a probe thermometer. We’ll talk more about those bad boys when the recipe goes up.