Save your money and your sanity this Mother’s Day and skip the long lines at our few local restaurants that are open on Sunday.

I remember last year I had my mom, grandmother and my Aunt Michelle in town, and I took them to a restaurant downtown (not saying names because I still love this place and I DO understand it’s not their fault that they have to feed half the town on a busy holiday!), and while we got a table quickly, we waited over an hour for our food.

Needless to say, my family was not impressed despite my defense of how great the place usually is.

So I’ve decided the best thing I can do this year is to cook a Mother’s Day meal myself. Plus, I know this will be much more meaningful and will allow us to visit without all the background noise of a restaurant.

My plan includes fancy cheese grits – fancy meaning I’ll use Gruyère cheese instead of regular cheddar – maple chicken sausage, raspberry almond toasts and a crustless quiche. I’ll buy a bottle of champagne, various juices and, of course, brew a gallon of sweet iced tea.

My menu is courtesy in part of NYT Cooking’s selection of Mother’s Day recipes. I’ve sourced both my quiche and my toast recipe from their roundup of brunch ideas, and to ensure everything goes well, I have premade both and am sharing them here with you.

Starting with the quiche … If you love quiche, you need to get to know this crustless version, dotted with cheese, mushrooms, broccoli and herbs (and no fussy pastry to chill or roll). I found it so easy to pull together. And, once I master the perfect dairy-to-egg ratio, I think I’ll find this recipe to be as much of an ally to the Friday fridge cleanout as it is to a brunch for my mom.

My biggest tip with the quiche is to “dry fry” your mushrooms first so you don’t get a soggy bottom! Having had experience with mushrooms making my flatbreads soggy, I knew I shouldn’t risk them softening the breadcrumb bottom of this quiche.

To dry fry, heat your skillet to a high temperature. Toss in your sliced mushrooms – no oil or butter yet – and sauté dry until all the moisture from the mushrooms is gone. Then add a chunk of butter, salt and some nutmeg. Swirl them around on lower heat – the mushrooms will now absorb the fat from the butter. The result is an intense mushroomy flavor and no sogginess.

I prepare most of my mushroom dishes this way – it works like a charm.

After my quiche came out of the oven, the end result was a quivering, spoonable custard that melted in my mouth, the perfect savory complement to my sweeter raspberry almond toast. Though I did have a few additional thoughts. This Sunday, I’m going to add a lot more breadcrumbs, and since I’m doubling the recipe, I’m going to cook it for well over an hour.

For this smaller quiche, I did the standard 40 minutes, and I found I really needed another 10 to 15 for it to really set.

I think I’ll also serve crisp greens with a mustardy vinaigrette, or a citrus-laced salad – anything in that vein will make a strong complement to this rich quiche.

After my quiche was in the oven, I began working on my toast. I bought a standard, bagged loaf of brioche from Kroger, and I’m pleased to report that it worked just fine. Though, I’m sure a homemade loaf would knock this out of the park if you’re more of a baker than I am.

According to the recipe developer, Sheela Prakash, this Raspberry Almond Toast is inspired by bostock, the French pastry of syrup-soaked brioche baked with almond cream (frangipane), and a buttery British Bakewell tart filled with raspberry jam and frangipane. Prakash said she made this easy breakfast treat to combine the best of both worlds.

The recipe does call for making your own frangipane – a rich, sweet, almond-flavored pastry cream made from butter, sugar, eggs and almond flour.

If you’re like me, then you’re instantly intimidated by any sort of French cooking element (please don’t ask me to pronounce “frangipane” out loud).

But, much to my delight, it was very easy to pull together.

I used my KitchenAid mixer, but you can also use a whisk or a hand mixer.

After the frangipane was ready, I spread it along with raspberry jam (or any favorite flavor) on store-bought brioche, sprinkled it with almonds and baked until golden.

It came out a little too well-done for my first go-round. Sunday I’ll definitely watch my toasts like a hawk so that my frangipane doesn’t brown too much.

I plan on making the frangipane beforehand so I can focus on my quiche.

And, I plan on laying out the brioche the night before, since I’ve read in multiple places that the toasts are even better made with slightly stale bread, so all that’s needed to do on Sunday morning is assemble the toasts while the oven heats.

My final edit for the toast was that I wanted more raspberry preserves! So I’ll plan on adding an extra tablespoon of jam per toast.

I’m glad I made the effort to test run these recipes because now I’m sure they’ll be absolutely perfect come Sunday. I hope if you decide to treat your mom – or grandmother, aunt, any woman who did the good work of raising you – to a homemade brunch, that it’s a success. But just know even if it’s not, your mom will likely be delighted you even tried. Just don’t forget the cocktail; she saw you through the teenage years, after all.

CRUSTLESS MUSHROOM AND BROCCOLI QUICHE

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the pan
1 tablespoon fine plain dry bread crumbs
2 heaping cups/4 ounces stemmed and thinly sliced wild or button mushrooms
1 cup finely chopped broccoli — smaller than bite-sized
1 cup grated cheese, such as Comté, Gruyère, Emmental or cheddar
1 cup half-and-half or heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan (about 1 ounce)
2 tablespoons finely chopped chives, for serving

Directions:
■ Heat oven to 325 degrees with the rack positioned at the top. Butter a deep 8-inch round, square or oval casserole generously and sprinkle all over with bread crumbs.
■ Heat the 2 tablespoons butter in a large pan over medium-high heat. When melted and foamy, add the mushrooms and broccoli and cook until lightly browned, about 3 to 5 minutes. Scatter the cooked mushrooms, broccoli and grated cheese over the bread crumbs.
■ Whisk together the half-and-half, whole milk, eggs, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Pour the mixture over the cheese. Sprinkle the top with Parmesan, and bake until the top is golden and the custard is just set in the center, about 40 to 45 minutes. Set aside 5 to 10 minutes to cool before serving. Sprinkle with chives, cut into wedges or scoop out, and serve.
■ Tip: To serve 8 to 10, double the recipe and bake in a 9-by-13-inch pan for about 1 hour.

RASPBERRY ALMOND TOAST WITH POWDERED SUGAR AND MAPLE SYRUP

Yield: 12 servings

Ingredients:
1 brioche loaf, cut into 12 (about 3/4-inch-thick) slices
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/4 cups almond flour
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup raspberry jam
3/4 cup sliced almonds
Powdered sugar (optional), for dusting
Maple syrup (optional), for drizzling

Directions:
■ Arrange the brioche slices between two rimmed sheet pans. Set aside while you prepare the frangipane or, even better, set aside to dry out overnight.
■ Make the frangipane: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer), beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until pale and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes.
■ Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs, vanilla extract and almond extract, and beat on low until combined, about 1 minute. (It’s OK if it looks lumpy or curdled, as it will smooth out in the next step.)
■ Scrape down the sides of the bowl again. Add the almond flour and salt, and beat on low speed until just combined, about 30 seconds. Use a spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to finish mixing everything until fully combined and smooth. (See tip.)
■ Heat the oven to 375 degrees with racks in the top third and the bottom third. Spread each slice of brioche with about 1 tablespoon of raspberry jam. Divide the frangipane among the slices (about 2 tablespoons each) and spread to almost completely cover the jam. (Don’t worry if a little jam gets mixed into the frangipane in the process.) Sprinkle the sliced almonds evenly over the tops of the slices.
■ Bake, rotating the pans and switching racks halfway through, until the toasts are golden brown, about 20 minutes. Let cool for at least a few minutes before serving warm or at room temperature. Dust with powdered sugar, if desired. The toasts are best the day they’re baked, but leftovers can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to two days. Reheat in a 350-degree oven for 5 to 10 minutes.
Tip: The frangipane can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to one week or frozen for up to two months. Let it thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Before using, let it sit at room temperature while the oven heats to make it easier to spread.