Easter Sunday Menus

Easter Sunday is fast approaching and I'm late making my plans. Perhaps you are, too? Are you looking for some last minute ideas for your Easter Sunday meals? Here's what I have planned (with linked recipes!).


Breakfast
Breakfast Casserole with Sausage (the "old stand-by", but it is good and I have the sausage already cooked and ready to go in my freezer)

Armenian Easter Bread - "Choereg" (if I can get to the middle eastern grocery for the mahleb spice needed)

Fresh Fruit and yogurt


Lunch/Snack
Deviled eggs and veggie platter (we'll get home late after church where we will have had snacks)


Dinner
Leg of Lamb with Rosemary (cooked in the Dutch Oven - I like the ease of letting the pot and the oven do the work!)

Ginger Ale Salad (a fruit salad in jello - southerners can't have a special meal without some congealed salad!)

Gratin Dauphinois

Asparagus with Bernaise (I know the usual is Hollandaise, but I just love the flavor of Bernaise with asparagus) (here is a "quick" version)

Strawberry-Rhubarb Crumble a la Mode


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St. Lucia Bread

We enjoy celebrating the Swedish custom of St. Lucia (or St. Lucy) Day. One of my favorite parts is baking the delicious saffron buns that are traditionally served on St. Lucia's Day. I make mine using my breadmaker and then handshape and bake. They really aren't hard, want to give it a try?

The following recipe comes from The All New Ultimate Bread Machine Cookbook:

Add the ingredients in the order specified in your bread machine's manual. (Mine is wet first, then dry, then yeast)


Liquids:
3/4 c. plus 2 T milk
1 lg. egg

Dry:
3 c. all-purpose flour
1 pinch salt
1/3 c. granulated white sugar
1/4 tsp powdered saffron (if you can only find saffron in "threads", just pulverize these as best you can then measure out 1/4 tsp. A trick I just learned is to use a bit of sugar as you pulverize with your mortar and pestle.)
3 T unsalted butter

Yeast:
2 1/4 fast-rise yeast

Place all in a 2-cup capacity breadmaker and set on "dough". At the end of the rise, punch down the dough and let rest 5 minutes before hand-shaping.

To handshape:
Lightly sprinkle work surface with flour. Divide dough into equal peices: 2 for 2 large breads, 4 for small breads, 6 to 8 for smaller buns. Lightly sprinkle with flour. Dampen hands and roll each piece into a rope. (18 inches for the 2 large pieces, 9 inches for the 4 pieces, etc.)

Lay a rope on a lightly-greased baking sheet. Curl each end, toward the center, into a coil. Cover and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brush bread with egg wash (1 egg, beaten with 1 tsp. water). Bake for approx. 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool on a rack.

This bread freezes well and is excellent served toasted with orange marmalade. (We serve small buns on St. Lucy's Day and freeze a larger bread for Christmas morning.)


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Russian Tea Mix

Looking for "Mix-in-a-jar" recipe for Christmas gifts? This one is always loved: Russian Tea Mix. The spicy-orangey flavor is delicious! My kids helped mix this and everyone who received it begged for more.

3 c sugar
2 c Tang (or other orange-flavored drink mix)
1 c unsweetened instant tea mix
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 envelope unsweetened lemonade mix

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Store in an airtight container. Mason jars work well and make for nice gift-giving. To serve: put 1 1/2 to 2 rounded spoonfuls of mix into a cup and fill with boiling water. Stir well. (Don't forget to include the serving instructions on your gift jar!)


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Erikson's Glogg

Svenska Glogg (or Swedish Mulled Wine) is a traditional Swedish drink for the Christmas season and no wonder - boy, will it chase away the chilly weather! It is a very potent spiced wine - served warm.

There are many different recipes for Glogg. Hubby's family's version takes two types of port wine, brandy, and vodka - and of course lots of spices. This one (the one we used last year and decided we liked equally as well) is a bit less alcoholic, but every bit as wonderful! I'm calling it "Erikson's Glogg" - because my kids are Erik's sons...and someday perhaps this will be their family recipe for Glogg.

Erikson's Glogg
1 large bottle red wine
1 reg. bottle port wine
10 cardamom pods, gently cracked
small handful of cloves (10 or so)
2-3 cinnamon sticks
1 T whole allspice
1/2 c (or more) of sugar (more or less to taste - depending on your wine)
Handfuls of almonds and raisins.
1 orange cut in half

Place the spices (cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, allspice) in a loosely-tied cheesecloth bundle. Combine the wine and the spice bundle in a large saucepan and bring to a simmer. Stir in 1/2 c of the sugar, carefully tasting to determine if it needs more. Continue adding by 1/4 cup fulls until it the wine tannins are smoothed out, but not too sweet. Toss in almonds and raisins (one or two handfuls of each). Float the orange halves in the glogg. Continue simmering the mixture slowly for 15 minutes.

At this point you can cool it off and store it, or go ahead and serve.

Before serving it is traditional to put a splash of Aquavit in the pot (or vodka) (or more - depending on your perferences) and light the glogg. Be VERY CAREFUL doing this...we've never had a problem, but it is fire, people! The floating almonds will sizzle and the flamed glogg mellows. (It also reduces the alcohol content a bit.) We turn down the lights and everyone gathers around when the pot is lit. The kids think it is wonderful!

Serve this in mugs - and be sure each glass gets a few of the almonds and raisins. (We serve with a spoon so we can dig these out of the bottom of the glass.) This is perfect to enjoy after the kids are in bed on Christmas Eve...in a darkened room with just the Christmas tree lights on. Very relaxing!

Interested in more Christmas recipes? Come back tomorrow, I'll post more of my favorites! Also, check out Randi's Holiday Recipe Swapbox!

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Thanksgiving Reviewed

As promised, here is my review of the recipes I used for Thanksgiving dinner:

Brined Roast Turkey - THE best way to fix a turkey. The saltiness of the brine soaks into the flesh of the bird. The light herbs give it a perfect scent. And the sugar of the brine gives a perfectly crisped and browned skin.

Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes - Oh, my gosh these were so good! I was a little unsure when I pulled them out of the fridge yesterday, but after they warmed up and the butter was added they fluffed right up. They were really, really delicious. I will use this recipe again!! Oh, by the way, I warmed mine covered in a 400 degree oven (with other dishes cooking). Just took them out a few times to stir them up a bit.

Pepperidge Farm Stuffing - how can you go wrong? :)

Holiday Waldorf Salad - Very, very good. I would recommend doubling the dressing recipe, though. I thought my salad needed more dressing, but I hadn't made enough. (It might have also been because I made a slightly larger salad than called for in the recipe.) The sweet with the crunchy, slightly bitter romaine was delicious.

Lighter Green Bean Casserole - Ok - this was WAY better than the stuff made with canned soup! I doubled my recipe, but I think I didn't double the salt...so mine needed a bit more salt on the plate. I also used a short cut and just purchased the French's Fried Onions rather than making them. (Although, the recipe for making them didn't seem too hard.) I found that I needed to keep this in the oven longer than it called for and then the onion-topping needed to be covered as it was browning up a bit. So, keep that in mind if you try this recipe.

Sweet Potatoes with Mini-marshmallows. - Delicious, of course. How can you mess this up? We mashed the sweet potatoes the day before and had them all ready to go in the baking dish, so that cut down on the time in the kitchen.

Orange-Cranberry Relish - Wonderful, Yummy, Scrumptious! This recipe calls for "grinding" - I used my CuisineArt and really chopped them up finely. This made for an almost paste like consistency, which became wonderfully jelly-like when I added the sugar and macerated. This dish was beautiful on the table, too - bright, ruby red!

Now, about the pies (Pecan-topped Pumpkin Pie and Black Walnut Custard Pie)...I didn't get to make them. My mom-in-law had offered to bring pies, but hubby forgot to tell me that before I planned out my dinner. So, instead we had MIL's homemade Apple-Cranberry, Pumpkin, and Black Walnut pies. (She even makes homemade crust.) They were wonderful!

But I still want to try these pies out. We are going to her house for Christmas, so I will see if I can make them for her and then I'll let you know how they are!

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Thanksgiving Meal Plans

So, has Thanksgiving sneaked up on you like it has me?

I was at the grocery store yesterday marveling at how early they had the turkeys out for sale...then I did some quick mental calendar work and realized - it isn't early at all!!! I went ahead and bought my frozen turkey, because I don't want to take a chance with the slimpickings that will be left by Saturday - my usual shopping day.

Brought home a 14-pound Butterball. I debated over the nice organic turkeys and almost bought one...but I just couldn't justify the extra expense. The Butterball is a great turkey and it was on sale...and that price was about 1/3 the cost of the organic bird. I hate not to support the organic farmer, but this year it just is what it is.

Then when I got home I was DELIGHTED to find that my local newspaper had a very useful "Guide to Thanksgiving". Usually, I eschew these mass-produced meal plans, but with speed of life around here recently (adoption is really in full steam!) I'm taking full advantage of someone else doing some of the hard "thinking" work for me. Of course, I can't use it entirely as is...so, let the tweaking begin! (Interested in this menu plan with day-by-day plan ahead countdown?) Of course, I'm already behind because I didn't clean out my freezer, fridge or pantry today...but I'll catch up tomorrow!

Here is my Thanksgiving Menu plan - as adapted from the Charlotte Observer:

Brined Roast Turkey
(A brine recipe I've been using for about a year and a half now and love it!)

Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes
(Not the same recipe listed in the newspaper)

Pepperidge Farm Stuffing
(I'm sure homemade is better, but I grew up on this stuff and I just LOVE it. Somethings you just can't change. And they way we make this is so - anti-gourmet. I'll have to take a picture - you'll laugh! We make big "balls" of stuffing and cook them on a cookie sheet. They get crunchy on the outside, but soft and bread-like inside.)

Holiday Waldorf Salad
(From the paper: A bit lighter and crunchier than a traditional Waldorf Salad)

Lighter Green Bean Casserole
(From the paper: Doesn't use canned soup - thank goodness!)

Sweet Potatoes with Mini-marshmallows.
(Oh, why do I give in to this? My kids just love those mini-marshmallows and it just isn't thanksgiving for them without that!)

Orange-Cranberry Relish
(My Mother-in-Law introduced me to this fresh cranberry relish and it is now an absolute must-have. I also keep the canned jellied cranberries around for sandwiches after.)

Pecan-topped Pumpkin Pie
(From the paper: This is the same recipe as listed in the paper, but I hated the name, so I changed it. The idea is that you need not choose between pecan or pumpkin pie...well, you'll see that this still doesn't get me out of making two pies...and I'm Ok with that!)

Black Walnut Custard Pie
(I've used a pecan pie and just substituted Black Walnuts with good results, but this pie recipe sounds just delicious! Hubby is a big black walnut fan, so I try to make a black walnut pie or cake for him every holiday season. Never had black walnuts? They are amazingly different than regular walnuts-very strongly scented, almost like a liquer. Don't try to substitute one for the other. If you can't find black walnuts at your grocery store, skip this recipe!)

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Pecan-topped Pumpkin Pie

Wow - love it. If this tastes as good as it looks, this will be a new tradition around here.

As listed in the Charlotte Observer:
We struggle every year to decide between pecan or pumpkin pie. Author Dorie Greenspan came up with an ingenious solution in “Baking: From My Home to Yours” (Houghton Mifflin, 2006). It's got pumpkin on the bottom and pecans on top. It's so easy to put together, it's as simple as just making a pumpkin pie.


1 (9-inch) single pie crust, partially baked and cooled

Pumpkin filling:
1 cup canned unsweetened pumpkin puree
2/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons dark rum (or rum flavoring)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon powdered ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt

Pecan filling:
1/2 cup light or dark corn syrup
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups (about 7 ounces) pecan halves or pieces

POSITION rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 450 degrees. Put the pie plate with the prepared crust on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicon baking mat.

COMBINE all the pumpkin filling ingredients in a food processor and process, stopping to scrape down sides as needed, for 2 minutes. Leave the filling in the processor for a minute.

PLACE all the pecan filling ingredients except pecans in a mixing bowl and whisk until smooth.

GIVE the pumpkin filling a final pulse in the food processor, then rap the bowl on the counter a few times to release any bubbles. Pour into the crust. Spread the nuts evenly over the pumpkin layer. Pour the pecan filling over the top, pushing any nuts that float back down.

BAKE 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees and bake 35 to 40 minutes longer, until top is puffy and a thin knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Transfer pie to a cooling rack and let stand until it is just warm. Serve chilled or warm.



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Lighter Green Bean Casserole

We've never had the "green bean casserole" tradition at our Thanksgiving - I often fix broccoli or something. I've thought about fixing lima beans (this will sound crazy, but my kids adore limas...adore them). But this recipe has me taking a second look - mostly because it doesn't use canned soup.

As listed in the Charlotte Observer:
This is almost as easy as the can-opener classic, and much tastier. Adapted from “Eating Well: Comfort Food Made Healthy,” by Jessie Price and the editors of Eating Well magazine (Countryman Press, 2009).

3 tablespoons canola oil, divided
1 medium sweet onion, half diced and half thinly sliced, divided
8 ounces sliced fresh mushrooms, chopped
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 1/4 teaspoons salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2/3 cup all-purpose flour, divided
1 cup low-fat or fat-free milk
3 tablespoons dry sherry
1 (16-ounce) bag frozen French-cut green beans (about 4 cups)
1/3 cup reduced-fat sour cream
3 tablespoons buttermilk powder (see note)
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

COAT a 2 1/2-quart baking dish with cooking spray.

HEAT 1 tablespoon oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add diced onion and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 4 minutes. Stir in mushrooms, onion powder, 1 teaspoon salt, thyme and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until the mushrooms have released their juices and the juice has mostly evaporated, 3 to 5 minutes.

SPRINKLE 1/3 cup flour over the vegetables, stirring to coat. Stir in milk and sherry and bring to a simmer, stirring often, until sauce starts to thicken. Stir in frozen green beans and cook until heated through, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream and buttermilk powder. Transfer to the prepared baking dish. (Can be made to this point about 3 hours ahead and refrigerated.)

WHISK remaining 1/3 cup flour, paprika, garlic powder and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt in a shallow dish. Add sliced onion, breaking it apart into strands, and toss to completely coat with flour.

HEAT remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a large, nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and any remaining flour mixture and cook, stirring often, until golden and flour bits are crispy, 4 to 5 minutes. Spread over the casserole.

BAKE in a 400-degree oven until bubbling, about 15 minutes.

NOTE: Look for buttermilk powder, such as Saco brand, in the supermarket with the canned milk. After opening the canister, store it in the refrigerator. It will keep indefinitely.

Yield: 6 servings.

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Holiday Waldorf Salad

I love waldorf salad, but sometimes find it a bit to heavy (it tends to be too creamy for me - I need more crunch). This looks like a recipe we'll all love, so I'll let you know if it passed "muster" after Thanksgiving.

As listed in the Charlotte Observer
From “The Healthiest Meals On Earth,” by Jonny Bowden (Fairwinds, 2008)

1/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1 teaspoon honey
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
1/4 teaspoon powdered ginger
2 small crisp apples, cored and diced
4 stalks celery, diced
1/2 cup seedless grapes, preferably purple, halved
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup lightly toasted walnuts, coarsely chopped
8 cups romaine lettuce, chopped into bite-size pieces

WHISK together yogurt, honey, orange juice and ginger in a small bowl.

COMBINE apples, celery, grapes, cranberries, walnuts and romaine in a salad bowl or large serving bowl. Just before serving, pour the yogurt dressing over the salad and toss to combine well.

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