Find some wonderful long stems of cherry blossom branches, pussy willows or other branches that are in bloom or purchase floral silk branches. Place in a tall container, secured with pebbles so container won't tip. You can then attach with beautiful ribbons small decorative eggs, little bunnies, birds or small crosses (you find at the craft store) to your branches hanging them at different lengths. Find a great basket, fill with nice looking moss and place all types of chocolate bunnies, chocolate eggs, chocolate chicks and tie a large satin ribbon on the basket. Find a large round basket, add some grape vines wrapped around it and add small pots of tulips, daffodils or other blooming spring bulbs, fill in open areas with moss and add a few beautiful colored Easter eggs.
If you are dining al fresco, get some bright lush green sod, add some clear plastic on top of your table, add a beautiful table cloth and run the sod down the middle of table. On the ruff edges of the sod place moss. Place birds nests (best to use ones from the craft store) with pastel speckled eggs inside (also from craft store), arrange pretty birds (craft store) around with small pots of flowers. Or use this table for the food buffet.
One last idea; crack whole eggs near the top, remove insides and gently wash shells. Dye the shells lilac, spring green, or pink colors. Place a small amount of water in the eggs shells and then place in egg cups; add delicate sprigs of pansies, lilacs, or other types of flower inside the shells.
Easter for Christian's is the commemorating the resurrection of Jesus after his crucifixion. The New Testament teaches that the resurrection of Jesus, which Easter celebrates, is a foundation of the Christian faith. The resurrection established Jesus as the powerful son of God and is cited as proof that God will judge the world in righteousness. God has given Christians "a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead". Christians, through faith in the working of God are spiritually resurrected with Jesus so that they may walk in a new way of life.
Easter is linked to the Passover and Exodus from Egypt recorded in the Old Testament through the Last Supper and crucifixion that preceded the resurrection. From the narratives of the New Testament, Jesus gave the Passover meal a new meaning, as he prepared himself and his disciples for his death in the upper room during the Last Supper. He identified the loaf of bread and cup of wine as symbolizing his body soon to be sacrificed and his blood soon to be shed. 1 Corinthians 5:7
The Easter Bunny and Easter egg hunts have become part of the holiday's modern celebrations, and those aspects are often celebrated by many Christians and non-Christians alike. All kids love to hunt for eggs and candy on Easter morning.
Easter Dinner - Set a beautiful table, bring out the china and crystal to make your table extra special. If you use a kids table, be sure to make it a fun, pretty table as well. For Easter dinner I traditionally serve an appetizer, Baked ham, scalloped potatoes, grilled asparagus with lemon, spinach salad with fresh blackberries, rolls and cheesecake. I hope you enjoy the recipes below.
Appetizer - If you want to serve deviled eggs, see The Farm (real Green Acres) enjoying chickens blog for various deviled egg recipes.
Mediterranean Dates
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 apple cider vinegar
2 tsp. orange zest
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/8 tsp. salt
12 oz. pitted dates
Bacon, sliced in half
Combine all ingredients, except dates in sauce pan. Bring to a boil; cook, stirring until sugar dissolves. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Place dates in bowl and pour mixture over them and let cool. Refrigerate at least 24 hours. Drain dates and wrap a half slice of bacon around each date securing with a toothpick. Broil until bacon is crisp. Serve warm.
Julia's Glazed Ham - I used to always cook a fresh bone-in-ham for years, but tried the spiral cuts and enjoy them too.
(1 ) Spiral cut ham (the spiral cut ham comes with a glaze packet, please throw away the packet of glaze)
1 jar of good quality orange marmalade or apricot jam
2 Tbl. grainy mustard
1 Tbl. honey
Place ham in baking dish, cover with foil and cook per instruction on package. Mix jam, mustard and honey together, taste and adjust with more honey or mustard if desired. Halfway through cooking, baste ham with glaze, baste again a few more times before ham is done. Remove foil and baste with rest of glaze. Just before removing from oven, I like to turn on the broiler for a few minutes. Remove ham from oven and let rest about 10 minutes before slicing. Arrange on platter and garnish with orange slices or fresh apricots and some Italian parsley sprigs.
Julia's Couscous - this side dish also goes nicely with ham
1/2 cup currants
1/2 cup apricots, finely chopped
1/3 cup sherry
2 Tbl. butter
2 1/2 cups good quality chicken stock
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1/2 cup carrots, finely diced
5 scallions, thinly sliced including green part
1 Tbl. fresh lime juice
zest of 2 limes
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
dash of cayenne
1/2 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups couscous
Italian parsley, chopped
In a bowl add currents and apricots, pour sherry over and set rest for about 30 minutes, drain. In a saucepan combine butter, and add carrots, cook about 8 minutes, stirring until tender. Add chicken stock, orange juice, lime juice, zest, scallions, cayenne, cinnamon, and bring to boil. Add couscous and stir. Remove from heat and place lid on pan. When ready to serve, fluff with fork, stir in nuts and parsley, taste and season with salt and pepper.
Baby Red Potatoes with Lemon, Parsley and Butter
3 lbs. baby red potatoes
drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
zest of lemon
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbl. butter, softened
1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley
Wash potatoes, place in steamer and steam until tender about 25 minutes. Drain water and toss potatoes with olive oil, butter, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, pepper and parsley. Place on a platter for service.
Julia's Scalloped Potatoes
3 Tbl. butter
2 lbs. russet potatoes (peeled and sliced about 1/4-inch thick)
1 large onion, sliced thin
4 Tbl. Italian parsley, chopped
1 Tbl. fresh chives, chopped
8 pieces bacon, sliced and cooked
2 1/2 cups grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese (or you can use Swiss or white cheddar)
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
2 1/2 cups heavy cream
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preheat oven to 350. Butter a large casserole dish (9x13) with 1 1/2 Tbl. butter. Layer the bottom of casserole with 1/3 of potatoes slices, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add 1/2 of sliced onions and 1/2 cup of cheese. Layer on 1/2 of; bacon, parsley and chives. Sprinkle with Parmesan. Repeat layering, always using salt and pepper. Top casserole dish with remaining potatoes and whipping cream and dot potatoes with remaining butter. Cover with foil and bake for one hour. After one hour, remove foil, sprinkle with remaining cheddar and Parmesan cheese and bake for an additional 40 minutes without covering. When tender place under broiler for a couple of minutes to get browned, but be careful and watch or they will burn.
Lemon Asparagus
2 lbs. asparagus
olive oil
salt and fresh ground black pepper
1 lemon juiced
lemon zest
Wash and trim asparagus. In a large bowl, add asparagus, drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, add juice of lemon and zest. Gently toss, place on baking sheet and bake 350 for about 10 minutes.
Julia's Blackberry Spinach Salad with Mom's Blackberry Vinaigrette - when we were kids growing up in Anacortes my mom, our neighbor, my sister Kristin and I would always go pick wild blackberries. They grew abundantly all over. My mom would make jam, pies, cobblers, freeze some, make this fabulous vinaigrette (although at the time she did not use Balsamic vinegar, she used just plain white vinegar) and she did not use a shallot, but red onion. We would have blackberry vinaigrette on salads and it was so good!!
5 cups fresh torn spinach, about 1 pound
2 cups fresh blackberries
1/2 red onion, thinly julienned
1/2 cup whole pecans, lightly
2/3 cup goat cheese, crumbled
Vinaigrette
1 cup fresh blackberries, washed
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
3 tsp. balsamic vinegar
1 small shallot, chopped
4 tsp. honey
salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 to 1/2 cup canola oil
Wash spinach and remove stems, place in salad spinner and remove water. Place spinach in beautiful serving bowl, lightly pour over some dressing and gently toss. Add blackberries, red onion, pecans and cheese. Serve extra dressing on side. Vinaigrette: In a blender puree the blackberries with the lemon juice. Pour mixture through a fine strainer to remove seeds. Pour blackberry juice back into blender and add vinegar, shallots, honey and process until smooth. While running add oil to emulsify. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
Easy Raspberry Sorbet
3 tsp. unflavored gelatin
1 cup water
2 (10 oz) package frozen raspberries with syrup (thaw partially)
3/4 cups Chambord (Raspberry liqueur)
4 Tbl. fresh lemon juice
In a saucepan, combine gelatin and water. Let stand one minute. Stir over medium heat until gelatin dissolves; set aside. In blender place raspberries and process until smooth. Add Chambord, lemon juice and gelatin, process again. Pour sorbet into pan, cover and freeze until almost firm about 5 hours, stirring occasionally. Next spoon partially frozen sorbet into large bowl, beat on medium speed until smooth and fluffy but not thawed. Transfer to covered container and freeze until firm about 6 hours.
Luscious Lime Cheesecake
Crust
2 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
zest of 1 lime
Filling
3 (8 oz) packages cream cheese
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup sour cream
2 Tbl. all purpose flour
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2/3 cup fresh lime juice (key limes if you can find them)
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
In a bowl, combine crust ingredients, stir together. Press into bottom and up sides of 10-inch springform pan. Place in 325 degree oven for about 10 minutes. Remove to wire rack to cool. Take heavy duty foil, double it and wrap around cheesecake pan. Get a larger roasting pan ready and place foil wrapped cheesecake pan inside. In large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add sour cream and flour; beat well. Add eggs one at a time on low until combined. Stir in lime juice and vanilla. Pour cream cheese mixture into crust. Place in oven and carefully pour about 1 to 2 -inches of boiling hot water into roasting pan about, careful not to get any into foil or cheesecake pan. Bake at 325 for abut 1 1/2 hours or until center is just almost set. Carefully remove from oven and place on cooling rack. Let rest about 1/2 hour and remove cheesecake pan with foil to cooling rack. Gently peel back foil and remove from cheesecake pan. Let cool about 1 hour on cooling rack and then place in refrigerator overnight. Remove springform from cheesecake and place on serving plate. Garnish with fresh whipped cream which you have whipped in a little powdered sugar and lime juice. Add fresh lime slices to plate for presentation.
Fun recipe for Coconut Easter Eggs - kids will love making these.
3 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
3 cups powdered sugar
1 cup shredded coconut
1/8 tsp. salt
1/3 cup chopped salted nuts like macadamias
1/2 tsp. coconut extract
1 lb. white chocolate candy coating
Sprinkles or other decorations (optional)
Place the cream cheese and vanilla in the bowl of a large electric mixer. Mix them on medium speed until the cream cheese is smooth and entirely soft. Stop the mixer, add 2 cups of powdered sugar, and mix on low speed until the powdered sugar is incorporated. Stop the mixer and add the remaining powdered sugar and mix just until combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and add the coconut, salt, coconut extract, and nuts (if using). Turn the mixer to low and mix until the candy is well-mixed. Check the texture of the candy you want it to be firm enough to easily be shaped into an egg, but not too dry and stiff. If necessary, add more powdered sugar or cream cheese to get the right texture. Using a spoon, scoop up a small amount of candy and roll it between your hands until it is an oblong egg shape. Place it on a baking sheet lined with foil and repeat with remaining candy until you have approximately three dozen eggs. Put the eggs in the refrigerator to stay firm while you melt the white chocolate candy coating. Place the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave in one-minute increments until melted, stirring after every minute to prevent overheating. Once the coating is melted, dip the eggs in the white chocolate coating and replace them on the foil-covered sheet. While the chocolate is still wet, decorate with sprinkles or other decorations of your choice. The eggs can also be sprinkled with coconut or left plain. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to set the coating. Coconut Easter Eggs can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to a week. They are best served at room temperature.
Bon Appetit
"Nothing is too difficult for You."
Jeremiah 32:17
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