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Cooking for Mom

By Daisy Carrington | dcarrington@am-ny.com

3:23 PM EDT, May 6, 2008

Alex Guarnaschelli of Butter produces a Mother's Day salad of peas, bacon, and cheese. (Sam Horne)

Alex Guarnaschelli struggles to keep from rolling her eyes when asked about Butter's recent appearance on "Gossip Girl" as the characters' go-to restaurant.

"I think one of the reasons that I've survived here for so long is because I have no interest in that stuff," she confides. "I come in to do what I'm hired to do and I think the owners appreciate that. I'm just like "OK, so, Tiger Woods is downstairs eating dinner. I'll see you guys later. Sounds like he's happy, he didn't send back his steak, I'll be on my way.' "

It's funny to think of Butter as part of the upper echelon of great restaurants in the city, partially because it is known as much for its clubby atmosphere as much as its food. And the tables full of waifish socialites make one wonder if anyone is actually tasting the food that comes out of the kitchen.

"Sometimes I'm like 'could somebody I'm feeding weigh over 100 pounds please?' That would be nice." Because for Guarnaschelli, Butter is all about the food. "People, I hope, have come to recognize that you may see a celebrity, but you may also have a great meal. You're guaranteed at least one or the other."

The chef's own relationship with gourmet food started at an early age, thanks in part to her mother, cookbook editor Maria Guarnaschelli.

"My mother made some interesting things that I didn't know were interesting," she recalls. "She always made a scallop gratin with a little bit of cream and cheese and shallots and a little wine and she would just put this over the scallops and cook them. It was possibly one of the best things I've ever eaten and who would ever think to combine those things? My mouth is watering like the Pavlovian dogs."

Now that she's a mom herself (of 10-month old Ava), does she seek her mother's advice on parenthood?

"I generally find that if you want to maintain a good relationship with your mother and your relatives, then you should keep advice-seeking out of the relationship."

Alex Guarnaschelli on Mother's Day?

Has it been challenging to be a mom and run your restaurant at the same time? The most challenging thing about that addition to my life is that I never had anything that I wanted more than cooking in my life. Now I have a husband and I have a baby and it's hard for me to say that I'd rather be at the restaurant than sitting here with this child.

What kind of food do you cook for your mom? My mother really loves simple, bold flavors and I find that most moms, by the time you become a mother, you attitude is "just get to the point of everything. I don't have time and there's spit up on my blouse. What do you want?"

Is your husband going to make you a nice Mother's Day meal? This is our first Mother's Day together, so I told him this morning that the stakes were really high and my expectations were pretty serious and that he better get cracking with some cookbooks. Generally his attitude is sit, relax, you just cooked all day, I'll cook for you. And he happens to be a wonderful cook. I don't think I couldn't have married somebody who didn't like to eat and like to cook. So that's really nice for me, and if he's reading this article, he knows all eyes are on him.

(Butter 415 Lafayette St., bet. E. 4th St. and Astor Pl.; 212-253-2828)

RECIPE
Alex Guarnaschelli's Mother's Day Pea Salad with Bacon and Pea Shoots

Serves 4-6

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
8 slices pre-sliced bacon, cut into pieces