Use of は particle in a particular sentence

[MeitanteiJesus]

食事前にやたらと明美がこだわって指し示した皿──これとこれは母さんが作ったんだからね──は味付けが薄すぎたり濃すぎたり、甘すぎたり、極端に酸っぱかったりと不安定だった。

Translation attempt:

Before the meal, Akemi took great care to point out the dishes --- this one and this one was made by mother okay --- she worried if the seasoning was too light or too heavy, if the food was too sweet or too sour.

I'm just not sure what the bolded はis doing there, seems kind of randomly thrown in to me.

[richvh]

Pretty sure it refers back to 皿.

[MeitanteiJesus]

Ah I see, so the words between the dashes are kind of like a bracket of sorts. Thanks!