Good Morning.
My advice to the person hosting Easter dinner is to assign a recipe to any relative who won't mess it up. This means Uncle Larry, a bachelor driving in from out of town probably brings chocolate bunnies, his sister, a decent cook, brings the potatoes that can be popped in the oven, and the noisy cousins who are easily distracted can put together the salad.
We begin, however, with Avocado Deviled Eggs. These should be assigned to someone who likes to fuss around a bit.
12 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and cut in half lengthwise
2 avocados, peeled, pitted, and diced
6 slices bacon, cooked crisp, drained, and crumbled
3 tbsp. mayonnaise
3 tsp. lime juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
Dash of cayenne pepper
Dash of kosher salt
Scoop the egg yolks into a bowl, add the diced avocado, and most of the crumbled bacon, mayonnaise, lime juice, garlic, pepper, and salt. Mash these ingredients until well combined. Scoop the filling into a baggie, seal, and snip a bit off the corner. Pipe the filling into each egg white, and top with a little of the remaining crumbled bacon.
Deviled eggs are devoured in no time. This recipe will serve eight people three halves each which should be more than enough to soak up a Royal Pimms, better than a regular old Mimosa, I promise. Give the kiddos a Shirley Temple.
1 shot of Pimms No. 1
Champagne
A sugar cube
Place the shot of Pimms in a tall stemmed glass, fill with chilled champagne, and garnish with a sugar cube. If you want
to fancy things up, get a pack of edible flowers and throw one in each drink too, including the Shirley Temple.
While the oven items are finishing up, serve the Radish and Arugula Salad the noisy cousins made. This amount will serve 4 to 6, but the kiddos probably won't want any so tell Fred and Sally how much to fix up.
8 cups arugula
8 radishes
2 oz. Gruyere, shredded
In a large bowl, toss the arugula and radishes with the following dressing:
1 shallot, finely chopped
3/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
3 tbsp. lemon juice
2 tbsp. orange juice
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Combine the ingredients in a jar. Dress the salad with just enough to moisten it. You will have some left over and it will keep for a week in the fridge. Top the dressed salad with the shredded cheese.
The host or host couple gets to do the Leg of Lamb. Ham is also traditional but I'll go with lamb any day of the week and twice
on Sunday.
1 16 oz. container of plain Greek yogurt
4 sprigs of rosemary
1/2 bunch fresh parsley
4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 lemon
1/2 leg of lamb, about 6 pounds
1/4 cup olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
3 or 4 sprigs of rosemary
1/2 bunch parsley
4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
Strip the leaves from the rosemary and chop up the parsley leaves. Zest the lemon. In a ginormous bowl combine the yogurt, rosemary, parsley, garlic, and lemon zest. Place the lamb in this mixture, cover the bowl, and put in the fridge for 24 hours. Turn it over occasionally to make sure all it of soaks up the marinade. Remove the lamb and pat dry. Strip the leaves from the second round of rosemary and put them in a blender or food processor with the parsley, a good sprinkle of salt and pepper, and the garlic. Process until you have a paste and rub the lamb with it. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the lamb in a roasting pan and bake in the oven, uncovered, for 20 minutes, then reduce the heat to 325 degrees and continue roasting until your meat thermometer registers 160 degrees. This should take 40 to 50 minutes for medium but check with your thermometer. Remove from oven, cover with foil, and let rest for 15 minutes before slicing.
Serve with the Au Gratin Potatoes assigned to Uncle Larry's sister, Carol, who is married to Kevin who showed up late for
dinner because he squeezed in a round of golf. He gets to do the dishes.
Butter
3 pounds Idaho russet potatoes
2 1/2 cups Half and Half
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
2 cups shredded Parmesan
Salt and pepper
Grease a large, oblong glass baking dish with butter. Peel the potatoes and slice them thinly. Place them in a large boil filled with water so they won't go brown on you. In a saucepan over lowish heat, mix the cream, garlic, and thyme. When it's close to a boil, stir in half the Parmesan and a bit of kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Drain the potatoes and pat them dry. Arrange them in the baking dish. Pour the cream mixture over them and make sure everything is nicely coated. Top with the rest of the Parmesan and bake for an hour and 15 minutes in a 375 degree oven. I would cover them for the first 45 minutes,
remove the cover, and let the top brown up to a nice golden color.
These potatoes are everyone's traditional recipe with the addition of the thyme. They are rich so the asparagus, the classic
Easter vegetable, will be simple.
1 bunch fresh asparagus, trimmed
Salt and pepper
2 tbsp. butter
1 tsp. lemon
Arrange the asparagus on a cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Sprinkle the asparagus with salt and pepper. Bake for
about 12 minutes in a 400 degree oven or until tender. Melt the butter in a small saucepan and stir in the lemon juice. Pour
over the asparagus and serve. If you have the potatoes in the oven at 375, up the time for the asparagus.
We end dinner with Strawberry-Orange Trifle. Virtually anyone can put it together except someone under the age of 12 or
over the age of 87 because of the mixer.
1 quart beautiful strawberries, green hats removed, cut in half
2 navel oranges, peeled and sectioned
2 tbsp. Grand Marnier or probably orange juice if the kiddos are around
3 tbsp. granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 small jar lemon curd
18 shortbread type cookies, smashed up
In a bowl mix the strawberries, oranges, orange liqueur or juice and sugar. Set aside. With an electric mixer, beat the cream until medium peaks form, fold in the lemon curd with a spoon, and beat for a few seconds more. In a large, see-through bowl, layer one third of the fruit, then the whipped cream, then the cookies. Repeat the layers, ending with fruit and topped with whipped cream mixture. Cover and chill for several hours. Use a big spoon to scoop out individual servings.
Now is the time for Uncle Larry to hand out his chocolate bunnies, send the kiddos to the TV to play whatever games they play, and the rest of us to have a nap.
Best regards,
Elisabeth
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